Married Couples Ministry. Here at the Glasgow Church of Christ, in Scotland, our marriage ministry welcomes all husbands and wives. Whether you have a background in church or have never entered a church in your life, you will be made totally welcome in our marriage ministry.
Who Is Our Married Couples Ministry For?
You can come and meet up with us either with your spouse or without. It is worth noting though that marriage is a thing invented by God (Genesis 2:24), so we can get most out of it by looking to the Bible to be our guide and teacher. Relationships can be difficult, and our small groups and events will allow you to meet couples and parents from the local area that will help you to have a great vision for your marriage.
What Can The Glasgow Church Marrieds Ministry Help Us With?
When someone gets married, they spend so much time as a couple together that all sorts of issues, challenges, and points of conflict can arise: communication, planning, sex, finances, children, work responsibilities. These are all things that can cause tension and division in our marriages and prevent them from being a joy and comfort. Scripture says that “no sin is uncommon to man (or woman)” and that God will always provide a way out of the problem (1 Corinthians 10:13). Meeting with one of our mentor couples can give you ideas for improving your relationship and tools for conflict resolution if this would meet your needs.
The apostle John emphasised that “God is love”, and that since He loved us, we ought also to love one another. Sometimes the hardest people to love are those who are closest to us and hurt us most often. This can include our spouses. But he goes on to say, “if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is made complete in us”. This is worth persevering with!
How Can It Help Me & My Spouse?
The Married Couples Ministry helps men and women in one-to-one, two on two, or in group counselling sessions. We may use many different methods but the most successful is using personal guided bible-study to bring God’s wisdom in a way that can have far-reaching positive effects on your whole life, including your marriage. Our marriage ministry is not just about hard work though! If you get in touch via our website, one of our ministry volunteers is likely just to invite you and your spouse to meet up for a cuppa in one of our homes (or a pint in the pub, or at your place) and a friendly chat in the first instance. We like to get to know each other as it is through genuine and authentic friendship that the power of God works the best. God’s love is selfless and seeks no reward, we try to imitate this great quality in our relationships with each other and in our marriages too.
Do I Need To Persuade My Spouse To Get Involved Too?
No, not at all; although it would be helpful in the long term if you could. There is a biblical principle that a wife can help her husband when he is in need, and vice-versa (we can see this in Ecclesiastes and in 1 Corinthians 7:14). Even if your spouse is hostile to Christianity or biblical faith, our group can probably help you, even as an individual.
Marrieds Ministry – How Does The Bible Help?
True Christians believe in the Holy Scriptures as the timeless word of God. The Bible says, in Genesis 1 that, “God created mankind in his image, he created them male and female”. Therefore everyone can rejoice in this assertion that when we are married as male and female, living in harmony together, we can reflect the image of Him. A corollary of this is that neither man alone, nor woman alone reflects the full glory of the creator. What an amazing thing to realise – that marriage can draw us (and others who see us) closer to the Lord! At the end of this passage, God declares that his creation is “very good”.
In Genesis 2:18, we read that the woman was created as a “suitable partner” (CEV) for the man. The meanings of the Hebrew word [Ezer] are variously translated as “helper suitable” (NIV, NASB), “help meet” (KJV), “helper to complement him” (VW), “companion for him who corresponds to him” (NET), to mention a few of the more orthodox ones, and they are much debated. Scholars talk about man and woman being created complementary to each other to the extent that one does not feel complete without the other, and that one needs the other for a fulfilling and happy life.
In the Genesis narrative, God removes something from Adam and presents it back to him as something beautiful and somewhat mysterious, but altogether pleasing to him as well as being almost a necessity to his life.
But the Scriptures also teach that our sinful nature makes us desire independence from all kinds of authority and submission (Romans 8:7), including one another. It is, in fact, the antithesis of the humility that Jesus taught and modelled for his disciples. That desire for independence can make us distant from our spouse, which in turn can rip apart our closest and most treasured relationship.
It is encouraging for the married believer to know that marriage is God’s ideal plan for our lives. It doesn’t always seem so, though. Sometimes life can get in the way of our ideal marriage; and we don’t always have the marriage we dreamed of when we were young. Sometimes we need some help with our relationship. This is where a friendly and bible-believing Christian fellowship comes into its own.
Do I Need To Be A Believer For This To Help Me?
No, you don’t. Although the success of God’s way may help you to believe in him subsequently! As our current society evolves and moves on, biblical principles tend to look increasingly counter-cultural. Do not let this alarm you or put you off. Come to one of our Married Couples Ministry meetings and see for yourself the loving, caring and functional relationships that we can have through a deep trust in the Lord.
Is There Any Charge For Marriage Counselling?
No, none at all. Christian ministry works on a “pay it forward”* principle: that is, if you feel you have benefited from it, you can use the knowledge you have to help someone else. We as church leaders feel that the marriages and families of our members have benefited so much from the small groups that we feel that our events should be available to all for free.
* if you haven’t seen the film “Pay It Forward” it is well worth a watch. Just remember the principle appeared in the Scriptures first! (Matthew 28:18-20)
Can I Be Participate If I’m Not Married?
Good question. Many couples today are not married, and this does not mean that they don’t need counselling. Most of the people involved in our groups are married or planning to get married very soon. However, if you wish to become involved and you are not married you would be most welcome. Christians believe that to get the best out of the one-to-one, male-female, relationship described in the Garden of Eden, a deep commitment is required (Hebrews 13:4), so marriage always works best.
If you come along to our marriage groups or to church, we will try to help you to find that commitment, firstly with your maker, and secondly with your partner.
Can I Participate If My Partner Is Of The Same-Sex As Me?
If you have read this far, then you are probably aware that the main tool in our marriage toolbox is the Word of God. As the biblical message does not support same-sex marriage it is unlikely we will be able to help you very much with your marriage. However, we would be happy to do bible studies with you on other points of the Christian life and hopefully help you this way. We would be very happy to meet you!
Is There Anything Else I Should Know About The Marriage Ministry?
Our couples’ ministry is intended to help couples to grow closer to each other, and to Jesus, though our support community and groups. We believe that God’s plan through marriage helps us to become more like Jesus, and this gives us comfort and to provide a safe and loving environment for raising any children there might be in the family. The secular world feeds us an increasingly common lie: that if we find the perfect partner we will be deliriously happy. The reality is that none of us are perfect and therefore it is unlikely that our partners will be perfect either. That special person who seemed so perfect when we said “I do”, may end up needing some maintenance. Indeed, we may end up needing some “maintenance” also.
Spiritual maintenance for us as Christians generally involves doing our best to become closer to God. If Christian couples both become more like Jesus then it stands to reason that they will become closer to each other; this is the main precept of a strong marriage ministry.
A further element of the Christian marriage ministry is the provision of a forum where couples can talk in an honest and loving way to each other about issues or problems that they face in their marriage. This can be done in groups or in a more private setting where a husband and wife are mentored by a more mature couple.
An important aspect of this process is sometimes called “safety”. Safety is ensured when participants endeavour not to share personal information outwith the mentoring environment. It is common during a two-on-two session for the more mature couple leading the session to share some of the challenges they have had in their marriage, ensuring openness can be fostered as the couple being mentored grow in their marriage.
Further Information…
If you have more questions or need further information on this or other topics, please email or contact us via the website.
