3 Ways to Fight Complacency in Your Marriage
How CS Lewis' Simple Game Can Save Your Marriage
Christian Radio Exec to Wed Key Focus on the Family Staffer
Navigating the Ocean of Emotion in Ministry Marriages
Bringing a man and a woman together in marriage is like bringing two different countries together and trying to form one.
5 Keys to Working Well With Your Spouse in Ministry
Working together in ministry can be like walking a thin line. With God's grace and mercy, however, you can do it.
Pastors and Wives: Be Thankful for Your Marriages
As a husband or a wife in the ministry, take time to sit down and write out a list of why God has blessed you with your spouse.
Why You May Not Want to Marry a Preacher
Would it be an unequal yoke for one called into the ministry to be wed to a Christian who resents his calling and resists the demands that this life has?
No Two Marriages Are Alike, but Some Are Amazingly Like Yours
It was Ruth Bell Graham who said many unhappy husbands and wives expect their spouses to be to them what only Jesus Christ can be. Here's why that's so true.
Against the Odds, This Incredible Love Story Has Persevered For 75 Years
On the eve of Valentine's Day, Pastor Mark Rutland pays a heartfelt tribute to his parents, who recently celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary.
MinistryToday 21: MarriageToday
Throughout the month of May, MinistryTodayMag.com will highlight Ministry Today magazine's 21 ministries and churches influencing the 21st-century church. Today it's MarriageToday, Jimmy and Karen Evans' ministry that is helping to biblically equip and save marriages.
If You're Not a Good Husband, Can You Be a Good Pastor?
As a pastor, have you remembered the covenant you made before God concerning your bride, or do you act like John Wesley did toward his?
Should Engaged Couples or Newlyweds Take One Year Off From Church Ministry?
Here are seven reasons Bishop Joseph Mattera debunks the concept that these couples should step back from church ministry.
Should a Wife Keep Her Husband’s Sexual Sin a Secret?
Find out the most loving and respectful thing a wife can do for her husband on behalf of their marriage.
3 Ideas of How to Support Your Spouse in Ministry
Whether it's the husband or the wife—or both—here's some suggestions on how to encourage your mate in doing God's work.
What is God's Vision of Marriage?
Ever met anyone who opened your eyes to something that revolutionized your life? For me, that guy is my ministry friend, David Smith. More than 20 years ago after a game of golf, in casual conversation David unknowingly introduced me to an idea that ever since has been a game changer in my marriage.
Anyone who meets David for the first time quickly discovers he’s married—happily married. David talks about his wife Linda all the time—even on the golf course where many men seldom talk about their wives. I’ve always admired that about him. When I spent time with him, he constantly complimented Linda and went out of his way to build her up in front of others.
Marriage Battle: The Frontline of Offense
Have you ever stopped to think and seriously consider that the local church—your church—is the frontline of offense in the battle for marriage and ultimately the family?
It’s a daunting thought. God instituted marriage as one of the foundational principals of mankind, and since the moment of its inception, this sacred bond has been under attack. How is a pastor, whose time and capacity are already spread paper thin, supposed to wage a war for these covenant relationships and maintain a revolution of this magnitude and importancewhen the world is working to make them ever more dispensable?
The Day Hope Died
Hope: An expectation of obtainment. To expect with confidence.
I hope that I get that promotion. I hope that my children don’t get hurt. I hope that I find an amazing man to marry.
Everybody hopes in something. For something. It’s as natural as breathing.
I (Cindy) hoped that one day I’d find my knight in shining armor. I didn’t know when he’d arrive on my doorstep, so while I waited for him, I made a list of things that I desired to find in my future husband. Tall. Musical. Loves Jesus. Sensitive. Funny. Respectable. Admirable. Honest. Trusting. Protecting. Handsome.
I hoped for a lot.
Jump-Start Your Communication Strategy
Some will say the very act of sitting down to come up with a communication strategy will improve how you communicate. Though that may be true, it helps if you’re asking yourself and your team the right questions.
Question 1: Who is our church trying to reach?
You might be tempted to answer, “Everyone!” But start with your church’s mission statement. Everything you do will trickle down from the mission of your church. If your church is like most, it probably has some sort of evangelistic phrase in its mission statement. In fact, if you asked your senior leaders to share their heart about whom they would like to reach, they will most likely speak of reaching those who do not already know Jesus.
This step is critical because it will drive how you communicate on your website and from the stage. It will force you to come up with a communication system that’s easy, obvious and strategic. It will mean giving preference to the outsider who hasn’t yet been to your church, instead of the insider who has been there for years. If the mission of your church is to reach those not in the church, then start talking to them!
Question 2: How are we going to reach our audience on the weekend and during the week?
The weekend seems easy, but without a strategic plan, it will turn to chaos. You’ll need to put together simple criteria to determine what will be talked about through your bulletin, from the stage and on the weekend. The easy criteria to start with is the percentage of your total audience that a particular announcement applies to. If it’s below 90 percent, then you might not want to talk about it from the stage. If it’s below 50 percent, then you might not want to talk about it at all on the weekends.
But don’t stop there. Your online efforts should continue to engage and dialogue about the same things emphasized on the weekends. Your website should be the most trusted source of information. All other media (e-newsletter, social media, etc.) should point to that content.
The most important element about reaching your online audience is engagement. Don’t just tell them the information you want them to hear. Dialogue with them. Ask questions. Post photos.
Asking these two simple questions will begin to frame a strategy from which to start. Focus on communicating creatively and effectively with the people already connected to your church to get them motivated, excited and equipped for outreach. Then you can begin to focus on external marketing based on your mission and budget.
Joe Porter is the communications director at Whitewater Crossing in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area, in addition to maintaining his photo and video business. Adapted and used with permission from churchmarketingsucks.com.
Why Our Society Needs a Marriage Revolution
In America, one divorce happens every 13 seconds, equating to 6,646 divorces per day and 46,523 divorces per week.
Forty-one percent of first marriages end in divorce; 60 percent of second marriages end in divorce.
Forty-three percent of children growing up in America today are being raised without their fathers.
Half of all American children will witness the breakup of a parent’s marriage. Of these children, close to half will also see the breakup of a parent’s second marriage.