We were married at LAC by Pastor Chuck Olson in 2011 and since we reconnected later in life, the term “newlywed” was both exciting and unexpected for us. Frank had been married once before in his early 20’s and this was Cori’s first marriage so we entered our union with different experiences and spiritual backgrounds, but we both agreed that we wanted ours to be a “Christ-centered” marriage.
While our first 7 years of marriage were very good, and we would consider ourselves “happily married,” we are also aware that married couples further down the road of life have wisdom and life lessons that we could use to make our marriage even better! So, when the opportunity to participate in a marriage coaching program from a biblical, Christian perspective was presented, we jumped at the chance to strengthen our marriage and gain valuable insights from our marriage coaching couple.
The Marriage Coaching program at LAC seeks to equip married couples with tools, resources and scriptural wisdom from a biblically based curriculum, and offer encouragement, insights and support through trained and compassionate “Marriage Coaching Couples.” Our coaching couple has been married for over forty (40) years and we appreciated how they created a safe place in their home for deep conversations that were often times fun as well as serious. We learned that the Marriage Coaching Ministry Team prays and then carefully matches the couple to be coached with a Coaching Couple with similar backgrounds and experiences to optimize their time together. The program is very flexible, both in the meeting frequency (once or twice a month) and in the order of discussion of the topics, so as to create a stress-free environment and encourage meaningful discussions.
The LAC Marriage Coaching program utilizes a curriculum developed by the Biola Center for Marriage and Family Relationships which uniquely combines the timeless wisdom of Scripture, scholarly marriage research and a variety of tools and skill for strengthening marriages. This program is interesting, thought-provoking and prayerfully designed to help couples realize a deeper connection in their marriage and we thoroughly enjoyed each session, especially the “Healthy Communication,” and “Forgiveness” sessions.
The cost of the workbooks is $30 per couple, and the required on-line marriage assessment is $35. This on-line assessment is an effective tool, because it provides personalized results that reveal important insights to help put your marriage on a path toward life-long relationship growth.
There are currently fifteen (15) trained Marriage Coaching couples at LAC now available to encourage and walk alongside another couple. The LAC Marriage Coaching couples are not professional counselors or therapists, but they are trained and qualified volunteers who are passionate about Christ-centered marriages. We strongly recommend this program, because the time you invest in your marriage will result in an increasing love for God and an increasing love for one another! For more information about the LAC Marriage Coaching program, please visit Marriage Ministries or contact Pastor Bill Mead at (626) 817-4882.