The Marriage Course was developed in 1996 by Nicky and Sila Lee for couples looking for practical support to strengthen their relationship. The course equips couples with tools and techniques to keep the spark alive and stay connected. There is no group work and each couple’s conversations are completely private.  Over seven sessions, the course will help you to:

• Understand each other’s needs
• Communicate more effectively
• Grow closer by learning methods to resolve conflict
• Recover from the ways you may have hurt each other
• Recognise how your upbringing affects your relationship
• Improve relationships with parents and in-laws
• Develop greater sexual intimacy
• Discover each other’s “love language” and much, much more….

The Pre-Marriage Course was developed in 1985 by Nicky and Sila Lee to help couples invest in their relationship to build a lasting marriage. It is for couples who are engaged and for those exploring marriage. There is no group work and each couple’s conversations are completely private.  Over five sessions, the course will help you to:

• Recognise the importance of commitment
• Understand and appreciate your differences
• Learn the art of communication
• Resolve conflict
• Spend time together
• Recognise the influence of your family background
• Develop a good sexual relationship
• Talk about your goals, values and dreams and much, much more…

The Marriage Course and The Pre-Marriage Course act as a bridge between the church and the local community by recognising the need to go beyond the social, as well as physical, walls of the church to help couples with their relationships. In a world of increasing complexity, people more than ever need a tool to help with their relationships. The Marriage Course is designed to refresh, strengthen and, in some cases, transform relationships. The course equips couples with tools and techniques to keep the spark alive and stay connected. For couples who are engaged or wanting to explore marriage, The Pre-Marriage Course provides practical guidance on how to build strong, deep foundations that will last a lifetime. As marriages become healthier and stronger, so too does family life and this has the potential to transform entire communities.

To access and download all the materials to help run your course, please register your course on our Marriage Course Builder. There are a few resources you need to run The Marriage Course:

• The Marriage Course episodes – available to download online
• Two Guest Journals per couple
• The Marriage Course Leaders’ Guide
• And we recommend you watch our training videos

To access and download all the materials to help run your course, please register your course at Marriage Course Builder. There are only a few resources you need to run The Pre-Marriage Course:

The Pre-Marriage Course episodes – available as to download online

• Two Guest Journals per couple
• The Pre-Marriage Course Leaders’ Guide
• Couple Survey (optional)
• Support Couples’ training videos (if using the Couple Survey)

The Couple Survey is an optional series of questions to be completed by guests on The Pre-Marriage Course before the course begins. The purpose of the Couple Survey is to:

• Affirm areas of strength
• Highlight those issues the couple needs to discuss
• Help them make sure they are ready for marriage
• Give a realistic view of what makes a marriage work

Couples do not receive the results of their Couple Survey. Instead following the course they have a discussion with a designated Support Couple. The Couple Survey report guides the conversation, affirming areas of strength in the couple’s relationship and highlighting issues for discussion.

Each couple on The Pre-Marriage Course is allocated a support couple. The requirements for support couples are simply that they are married; that they have completed The Marriage Course; that they are happy to host a couple from The Pre-Marriage Course, usually in their home, over an evening and that they have been approved by someone with pastoral oversight. During the evening the Support Couple guides the guests in conversation using the findings of the Couple Survey, which the guests would have completed before the start of the course.

The role of the support couple is to affirm areas of strength and highlight issues the couple needs to discuss. The Couple Survey report is very easy to use, with suggested follow-up questions for the Support Couple to ask the guest couple to facilitate the discussion. Once you register your course, you’ll be able to access dedicated training videos for support couples which fully explain their role. Head to Marriage Builder to get started.

There are seven sessions of The Marriage Course, looking at the following topics:

• Strengthening Connection
• The Art of Communication
• Resolving Conflict
• The Power of Forgiveness
• The Impact of Family
• Good Sex
• Love in Action

There are five sessions to The Pre-Marriage Course:

• Communication
• Conflict
• Commitment
• Connection
• Adventure