Resources in Marriage Preparation and Marriage Enrichment
Great Start
What is Great Start?
Designed to stem the rising tide of divorce, the Great Start program
transforms a wedding program into an effective wedding preparation
and
early marriage ministry for any congregation, regardless of size
and faith
tradition. The program was launched in Kansas City in May 2000,
after
three years of pilot development at Country Club Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ). Great Start has demonstrated that it not
only
benefits the couple, but also will renew and grow the congregation.
Dr. R. Robert Cueni, senior pastor and developer of the program,
says, “The statistics are alarming. Today, 50 percent of all
marriages end in divorce – 20 percent in the first two years.
The average marriage lasts seven years.” He says his concern
over deteriorating marital relationships evolved into the action
program called "Great Start." The program is being offered
nationally in partnership with the Religion, Culture and Family
Project of the University of Chicago Divinity School with a generous
grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc.
Great Start combines two acclaimed, proven and highly successful
programs with a mainline theological grounding for marriage:
-
Prepare/Enrich, developed by Life Innovations,
Inc., Minneapolis,
Minnesota, provides an inventory assessment and feedback for couples
to
develop together and understand their strength and growth areas.
-
Couple Communication, developed by Interpersonal
Communication
Programs, Inc., Evergreen, Colorado, features practical talking,
listing
and conflict resolution skills.
Great Start is designed as a marriage ministry for all churches
and
is adaptable to any faith community or theological emphasis. Dr.
Cueni and
Rev. Carla Aday, associate pastor, have developed a Christian perspective
on effective and lasting marital relationships as based on equal
regard and
the interplay of love, mutuality, self-sacrifice and self-fulfillment.
Over the last three years, Dr. Cueni and Rev. Aday on request have
presented workshops on how to implement Great Start at national
meetings of
the Disciples of Christ, Smart Marriages and the Association for
Couples in
Marriage Enrichment.
Great Start features workshops on how to implement the program
with several models now being used by congregations and
training in “A Practical Theology for a Congregation’s
Marriage Ministry,” that provides a Christian perspective.
Information on the program, future workshops and how to
schedule a workshop is available on the Web site: www.greatstart.org.
For program training information see: www.prepare-enrich.com
and www.couplecommunication.com.
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