TwoIgnite

It All Started with 3 Questions...

#1. When someone says "Marriage Ministry" you think...

Top 5 Answers

1. Out-dated and "preachy"
2. Boring
3. Counseling and lots and lots of homework
4. Feminine
5. Once-a-Year, parachurch-based, or led by someone my grandparent's age

#2. How would you rate your marriage on a scale of 1 to 10? (10 being the best)

Top 3 Answers

1. 5
2. 7
3. 6

#3. For a marriage ministry to work in the local church it would have to be...

Top 5 Answers

1. Fun and adventure-based
2. Relevant, real, and undomesticated
3. In the church, by the church, and from the pulpit
4. Peer-to-peer and sustainable
5. Focused on marriages going from a 5 to 10

A one-day meeting to ask and answer these three questions led to one more question: Now what?

After eighteen months of countless follow-up meetings, multiple research assignments, and cross-country dialogue with counselors, couples, and pastors we had our answer. We need a new kind of marriage ministry led by the local church.

Easier said than done. We began the task of finding two churches, each with a senior pastor willing to turn his church and his own marriage inside out.

And Then There Were Two

So, in the fall of 2009, two churches, Woodland Hills Family Church in Branson, MO, and Mission Community Church in Gilbert, AZ, decided to put the results to the test.

Marriage would be front and center at their churches. They would come alongside their congregations not only to lead with enthusiasm, but participate in improving their own marriages. Small groups would be turned upside down and challenged to "get off the couch" to incorporate adventure/fun with couples who shared similar affinities. Small groups would not be zip code based or focused on videos or studies, but would be built around community and creativity to "dream big, gear up, and live the adventure" with other couples.

Some might say this is an experiment. Others might say this is an experience. In the end, it’s two churches with two pastors who believe that a marriage movement must be ignited in the local church by the local church.  This is twoignite: a real, relevant, and undomesticated revolution to learn together and share what’s best for Christian marriages.