COUPLE 2 COUPLE
HOME
Married? Getting married? Seriously dating? Our ministry exists to encourage you in your relationship with God and each other by doing couples' Bible studies and events, marriage preparation and REFOCCUS after you are married. We believe that divorce is not an option. We know that God has ordained this ministry because He has guided and grown and blessed it as you will see in some of the testimonies we will share.
ENGAGING ENCOUNTER
We start with a tool called FOCCUS, a survey that the bride and groom complete individually in the home of our team coordinators, Dave and Kari Rajotte. The survey is based on years of research, and focuses on thirteen major categories or topics for discussion. Some of the topics to be discussed are ones known to contribute to relationship break down: sex, finances, and religion. With a minimum of four months notice prior to your wedding day, you can meet with one of our mentor couples, couple to couple, in their home in a series of personal, confidential, couple to couple sessions.
You will have a chance to discuss any differences between your answers or between your answers and the preferred responses. Our couples provide a safe, confidential environment for these discussions, and they will share their experiences with marriage. The discussions are supported by a number of exercises and tools designed to prepare you to have a healthy, happy marriage. Generally, you will meet four to eight times prior to your wedding day, on a schedule mutually agreeable to you and your mentor couple. The relationship does not end there; your mentor couple is always glad to have you call to give an update, or to help you to REFOCCUS after your marriage.
TESTIMONIES
Here are some testimonies from some of the couples who have participated in our marriage preparation program.
The following are some testimonies from participating couples:
ok, here's the Cole's Notes version.
"Allowed us to discuss issues with mediators present. Sooo valuable because the privacy of the home can allow for convenient barriers to arise. A mediator, however, helps both parties to see things objectively."
"Provided additional moral and spiritual support that weren't 'mom & dad'"
"itemize and catalogue priorities. Get us focusing on the things that really needed help. Example: Our finances have always been well managed. Thus we spent a fair amount of time on relational topics."
"Made new friends!!! We love you guys."
"In sharing their struggles, the mentors reinforce that this is a 'process'. Not always a quick fix to things. Goes back to #2 to help strengthen us in the journey."
What the marriage [preparation] program meant to us:
"Without this program, we could have had great difficulty surviving the first months of our marriage. Never the less, we did survive because we were better prepared and equipped with coping skills we learned with our mentors (God bless them). They pointed out (very lovingly) our strengths and where we needed to grow. The pre-marital inventory was very intensive and thorough. Having previously been married led us to think we would go through the program with ease. This wasn't the case. Coming from different backgrounds, our expectations were somewhat different which caused a lot of misunderstandings. Never the less, with God's help and our willingness to change, we are happy to highly recommend that any couple contemplating marriage should take the marriage [preparation] course.
PS. We are very happy to be married! God bless."
"The program was helpful. We learned that our family of origin influences how we express things within our relationship. It is important to think about the questions where we were on the same page, and where we were not. Although you can't resolve everything prior to marriage, it is easier to deal with those issues when we face them in our marriage. There was also a spiritual impact. We wouldnst have ended in the same place if we had just been married by a Christian pastor."
MARRIAGE MAINTENANCE
Much like we need to do preventive maintenance on our cars, we need to continue to work on our marriage relationship after marriage. REFOCCUS is a tool we use, either for preventive maintenance or to work on a repair if you are struggling.
You will complete a survey similar to the FOCCUS, again developed based on years of research and work with a mentor couple, couple to couple in their home on a mutually agreeable schedule.
OTHER COUPLES' ACTIVITIES
Watch this site for notices of couples events and Bible studies as well as links to recommended marriage and relationship resources.
Married? Getting married? Seriously dating? Our ministry exists to encourage you in your relationship with God and each other by doing couples' Bible studies and events, marriage preparation and REFOCCUS after you are married. We believe that divorce is not an option. We know that God has ordained this ministry because He has guided and grown and blessed it as you will see in some of the testimonies we will share.
ENGAGING ENCOUNTER
We start with a tool called FOCCUS, a survey that the bride and groom complete individually in the home of our team coordinators, Dave and Kari Rajotte. The survey is based on years of research, and focuses on thirteen major categories or topics for discussion. Some of the topics to be discussed are ones known to contribute to relationship break down: sex, finances, and religion. With a minimum of four months notice prior to your wedding day, you can meet with one of our mentor couples, couple to couple, in their home in a series of personal, confidential, couple to couple sessions.
You will have a chance to discuss any differences between your answers or between your answers and the preferred responses. Our couples provide a safe, confidential environment for these discussions, and they will share their experiences with marriage. The discussions are supported by a number of exercises and tools designed to prepare you to have a healthy, happy marriage. Generally, you will meet four to eight times prior to your wedding day, on a schedule mutually agreeable to you and your mentor couple. The relationship does not end there; your mentor couple is always glad to have you call to give an update, or to help you to REFOCCUS after your marriage.
TESTIMONIES
Here are some testimonies from some of the couples who have participated in our marriage preparation program.
The following are some testimonies from participating couples:
ok, here's the Cole's Notes version.
"Allowed us to discuss issues with mediators present. Sooo valuable because the privacy of the home can allow for convenient barriers to arise. A mediator, however, helps both parties to see things objectively."
"Provided additional moral and spiritual support that weren't 'mom & dad'"
"itemize and catalogue priorities. Get us focusing on the things that really needed help. Example: Our finances have always been well managed. Thus we spent a fair amount of time on relational topics."
"Made new friends!!! We love you guys."
"In sharing their struggles, the mentors reinforce that this is a 'process'. Not always a quick fix to things. Goes back to #2 to help strengthen us in the journey."
What the marriage [preparation] program meant to us:
"Without this program, we could have had great difficulty surviving the first months of our marriage. Never the less, we did survive because we were better prepared and equipped with coping skills we learned with our mentors (God bless them). They pointed out (very lovingly) our strengths and where we needed to grow. The pre-marital inventory was very intensive and thorough. Having previously been married led us to think we would go through the program with ease. This wasn't the case. Coming from different backgrounds, our expectations were somewhat different which caused a lot of misunderstandings. Never the less, with God's help and our willingness to change, we are happy to highly recommend that any couple contemplating marriage should take the marriage [preparation] course.
PS. We are very happy to be married! God bless."
"The program was helpful. We learned that our family of origin influences how we express things within our relationship. It is important to think about the questions where we were on the same page, and where we were not. Although you can't resolve everything prior to marriage, it is easier to deal with those issues when we face them in our marriage. There was also a spiritual impact. We wouldnst have ended in the same place if we had just been married by a Christian pastor."
MARRIAGE MAINTENANCE
Much like we need to do preventive maintenance on our cars, we need to continue to work on our marriage relationship after marriage. REFOCCUS is a tool we use, either for preventive maintenance or to work on a repair if you are struggling.
You will complete a survey similar to the FOCCUS, again developed based on years of research and work with a mentor couple, couple to couple in their home on a mutually agreeable schedule.
OTHER COUPLES' ACTIVITIES
Watch this site for notices of couples events and Bible studies as well as links to recommended marriage and relationship resources.
ENGAGING ENCOUNTER
TESTIMONIES
MARRIAGE MAINTENANCE
OTHER COUPLES' ACTIVITIES
OUR TEAM
Pastor Josh Sklar - Staff Liaison
Dave and Kari Rajotte
Ray and Nadia Barlow
Mark and Sue Peelow
Leo and Bev Vienneau
MINISTRY OPPORTUNITY
Pre-marriage mentoring
Marriage mentoring
10 Great Dates - Facilitator
Social opportunities
Marketing and promotion
CONTACT
Please contact the church to connect with our co-ordinators Dave and Kari.
(705) 673-6110
loveandrespect.com
Learn more about membership at All Nations