Preparing for marriage is an exciting journey full of learning and growth. It is a short term investment into your life-long relationship and it will help to set a firm foundation to navigate life together. Marriage is the most important relationship you will ever have here on earth, and impacts your whole experience of life going forward. So taking time to prepare well is time well spent.
The Prepare for Marriage course is designed to help engaged couples prepare for marriage alongside a mentor couple. If you are completing this course independent of a church community who can pair you with a mentor couple, seek out a married couple who has been married longer than 10 years, who you trust and ask them to walk this journey with you. There is a Mentor Guide which will equip them for this role.
If you are part of The Street Church, get in touch with us to be paired up with a mentor couple from our community.
If you are already married but would like to do the course, there is a version of the workbook with questions that have been edited to suit a married couple. Download it here, and complete it alongside watching the videos together.
If you are a leader in another church you are welcome to use the Prepare for Marriage resource in your church community. Please get in touch and let us know how it goes! This is offered as a free resource owned by The Street Church therefore you are not permitted to make financial profit off this course (if necessary you may charge a fee to cover any costs you incur such as printing of booklets).
Make sure you have downloaded the Workbook above or received a printed copy before you begin. Your workbook will tell you when to watch each video. Watch these together as a couple, completing the relevant questions in your Workbook in between and meeting up with your Mentor Couple to discuss.
In this course you will unpack the theology of God's design for marriage, as well as explore practical topics and tools. Meeting with a mentor couple to dig deeper into each of these areas is a key component to the success of the course, so make sure you arrange a couple to meet up with if you haven’t already.
Your relationship with God is to be your number one priority. The growth and health of this relationship is your individual responsibility. In marriage there is an incredible opportunity to spur one another on and grow together in your faith. A marriage relationship can enhance your relationship with God. This works best if you are both heading in the same direction spiritually.
The Bible is the living Word of God and has the power to absolutely transform us. Having an active and vibrant relationship with the Word is essential for our individual spiritual growth but can also be one of the most precious parts of your married life together. While you are preparing for marriage, identify what your current relationship is with the Word, and what this could look like as you join your lives together.
Prayer is an amazing thing, enabling us to boldly enter into the presence of God and converse with Him. Having a vibrant and dedicated prayer life is a foundation stone of being a follower of Jesus as well as being important as you lay the foundation of your marriage. As you come together as a married couple you can bring your prayer lives together. You can share together and grow together in prayer over the years of your marriage in all seasons.
A Biblical design for marriage is of one man and one woman, leaving their family of origin and single life to be united with each other and to become one. It is a covenant relationship that brings every part of these two lives together. All marriage relationships have been affected by sin. So therefore to have a marriage which reflects God’s design takes intentionality and a lifelong pursuit.
Through the words of Paul in Ephesians 5:21-33 we are given some clear instructions that are for husbands and clear instructions that are for wives. These verses, with the correct context and understanding can provide a wonderful roadmap to a beautiful unity within marriage.
In the book of Genesis we read the story of creation which culminates in the creation of Adam and Eve. It is a beautiful story in which we see that God intended man and woman to be a perfect fit for one another. God creates exactly what is needed for humanity to be complete.
Marriage is less about the big day and more about the everyday. More than just planning a wedding, planning for your marriage helps establish a firm foundation for your life together and gives you a matrix to use for all decisions both big and small. Crafting a vision to articulate for yourselves your non-negotiables and what you are committed to and will fight for provides a common ground that you can work towards together.
Healthy communication is key to a great marriage. This includes clearly and assertively communicating with honesty and respect. This happens through the words we choose to say, how we choose to say them and what we do with our bodies. It also relies on the development of active listening, that seeks to fully understand, rather than only seeking to be understood.
Dealing with conflict situations is part of being in a relationship with others. Conflict can be managed in a healthy way which maintains respect for one another and does not damage the unity between you. The key is to put your own victory aside and fight for restoration. With a few simple tools and a heart of humility and forgiveness, a healthy environment for managing conflict situations is possible.
Our differences come in all shapes and sizes. We are a mixture of strengths and weaknesses. In a marriage our differences complement each other and help us to be more balanced, even though at times our differences can create tension. Knowing your differences and identifying strengths and weaknesses is healthy understanding.
We develop expectations over our lifetime. Whether you realise it or not you will already have expectations for your marriage. Working out as a couple what your expectations are, and if they are realistic or not can help provide a framework as you plan ahead together. Exploring where your expectations come from and which ones you will work together to meet can take time and this conversation will need to be revisited more than once. Walk forward with honesty, openness and some flexibility as you discover your expectations together.
When we think about a marriage relationship, love is one of the primary words that comes to mind. A Biblical model of marriage prioritises three types of love and actively pursues growth in each of them. Agape love, Philia love and Eros love.
Sexual intimacy is an incredibly important aspect of marriage. God designed it and the Bible has a lot to say about it. Sexual intimacy within marriage is for fun, it is for protection, it is for procreation and it is integral to the building of unity and oneness. It is a lifelong journey, one to be enjoyed and accepted as a wonderful gift from God.
Money is a practical and necessary part of life. Coming together in marriage to create a new economic unit will require some time to establish a shared understanding between you. Nearly all married couples will experience periods of financial difficulty and challenge. Therefore, it is wise to lay a firm foundation on Biblical principles as you begin.
In every area of your life you will have opportunities to share your faith in Jesus and your marriage is a fabulous example of this. While you are preparing for marriage this opportunity is highlighted as you will find yourself in many conversations with people who may ask questions about some of the decisions you are making.
In this course you will unpack the theology of God's design for marriage, as well as explore practical topics and tools. Meeting with a mentor couple to dig deeper into each of these areas is a key component to the success of the course, so make sure you arrange a couple to meet up with if you haven’t already.
Your relationship with God is to be your number one priority. The growth and health of this relationship is your individual responsibility. In marriage there is an incredible opportunity to spur one another on and grow together in your faith. A marriage relationship can enhance your relationship with God. This works best if you are both heading in the same direction spiritually.
The Bible is the living Word of God and has the power to absolutely transform us. Having an active and vibrant relationship with the Word is essential for our individual spiritual growth but can also be one of the most precious parts of your married life together. While you are preparing for marriage, identify what your current relationship is with the Word, and what this could look like as you join your lives together.
Prayer is an amazing thing, enabling us to boldly enter into the presence of God and converse with Him. Having a vibrant and dedicated prayer life is a foundation stone of being a follower of Jesus as well as being important as you lay the foundation of your marriage. As you come together as a married couple you can bring your prayer lives together. You can share together and grow together in prayer over the years of your marriage in all seasons.
A Biblical design for marriage is of one man and one woman, leaving their family of origin and single life to be united with each other and to become one. It is a covenant relationship that brings every part of these two lives together. All marriage relationships have been affected by sin. So therefore to have a marriage which reflects God’s design takes intentionality and a lifelong pursuit.
Marriage is less about the big day and more about the everyday. More than just planning a wedding, planning for your marriage helps establish a firm foundation for your life together and gives you a matrix to use for all decisions both big and small. Crafting a vision to articulate for yourselves your non-negotiables and what you are committed to and will fight for provides a common ground that you can work towards together.
Healthy communication is key to a great marriage. This includes clearly and assertively communicating with honesty and respect. This happens through the words we choose to say, how we choose to say them and what we do with our bodies. It also relies on the development of active listening, that seeks to fully understand, rather than only seeking to be understood.
Dealing with conflict situations is part of being in a relationship with others. Conflict can be managed in a healthy way which maintains respect for one another and does not damage the unity between you. The key is to put your own victory aside and fight for restoration. With a few simple tools and a heart of humility and forgiveness, a healthy environment for managing conflict situations is possible.
Our differences come in all shapes and sizes. We are a mixture of strengths and weaknesses. In a marriage our differences complement each other and help us to be more balanced, even though at times our differences can create tension. Knowing your differences and identifying strengths and weaknesses is healthy understanding.
We develop expectations over our lifetime. Whether you realise it or not you will already have expectations for your marriage. Working out as a couple what your expectations are, and if they are realistic or not can help provide a framework as you plan ahead together. Exploring where your expectations come from and which ones you will work together to meet can take time and this conversation will need to be revisited more than once. Walk forward with honesty, openness and some flexibility as you discover your expectations together.
Sexual intimacy is an incredibly important aspect of marriage. God designed it and the Bible has a lot to say about it. Sexual intimacy within marriage is for fun, it is for protection, it is for procreation and it is integral to the building of unity and oneness. It is a lifelong journey, one to be enjoyed and accepted as a wonderful gift from God.
Money is a practical and necessary part of life. Coming together in marriage to create a new economic unit will require some time to establish a shared understanding between you. Nearly all married couples will experience periods of financial difficulty and challenge. Therefore, it is wise to lay a firm foundation on Biblical principles as you begin.
In every area of your life you will have opportunities to share your faith in Jesus and your marriage is a fabulous example of this. While you are preparing for marriage this opportunity is highlighted as you will find yourself in many conversations with people who may ask questions about some of the decisions you are making.
