A Small Group Marriage Ministry

Purpose: To help educate our young people, couples, and families in how to build strong relationships and marriages in a small group setting.

Place: These small groups could be Sunday School classes, special small groups, on-site at the church, or off-site in homes or other convenient places.

Organization: Short-term small groups (ten to fifteen) of singles, couples or a mix that meet for a pre-determined number of weeks (from 4 to six weeks) for study and discussion. These would be open groups, meaning individuals or couples could join or leave at any time during the study. This provides another opportunity to "plug in" new couples or individuals around a topic of great interest to our society. These groups should concentrate primarily on information (about good marriages), creating a safe environment for anyone to attend regardless of their circumstances.

Resources: A great starting resource is the Breakout Curriculum provided by the Sunday School and Discipleship Ministries International Curriculum Department and written by Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott. Other materials on marriage education can be found in the resources area of this page.

These marriage education small groups would be a great prelude to starting a Nazarene Marriage Enrichment Growth Group ministry in your church. 

Additional resources include:  20 Reasons Not to Cohabit Before Marriage