The preparation of a couple to serve as marriage mentors entails thirty hours of classroom instruction, weekly home application, a meaningful retreat, counseling and/or mentoring of each couple on an “as needed” basis. The journey [with minimum of ten, maximum fifteen couples] is highly relational and interactive. Every phase is processed by the student. Their preparation is not a course, not a class – an experience!

Equipping Experience – Mentors in training are led through a discovery process that includes:

• An examination of the unique person God intended, an assessment of how one’s personhood is molded by their family of origin, cultural and relational environment, and consistent choices made throughout life; followed by an evaluation of the present impact this has on their life and relationships
• Learning how to better understand, accept, and manage one’s God-given emotions; development of a secure emotional connection, which is a foundational aspect of a healthy marriage
• Assessment of emotional safety in the marital relationship; development, reinforcement or restoration of emotional safety
• An Intimacy Retreat that powerfully strengthens the spiritual, emotional and physical oneness in marriage
• Mentoring techniques and traps; steps to implementation

Further In-Service Training – Upon completion of the Equipping Experience, couples may be certified as Marriagizers; however, each mentor couple is encouraged to attend further in-service training on a regular basis that includes a wide range of topics:

• Remarriage and Blended Families
• Coping with Crisis; Chronic Illness; Grief
• Infidelity and Abuse; Forgiveness; Rebuilding Trust
• Communication Concerns
• Principles for Conflict Resolution