What is a “Marriage Enrichment Workshop”?
It is a course that seeks to encourage couples who are wanting to deepen their marriage relationship and equip them with practical tools to do so, because healthy marriages are needed to build strong families, churches and communities (Phil 3:12–14). Another goal of the workshop is to prevent marriage crises.
Principles and topics
The workshop is based on the values of the Christian faith and imparts Biblical and psychological principles for building fulfilling relationships.
The workshop is structured by topic and takes an educational approach. No individual counselling is offered during a workshop. The participants are given tools for their everyday married life which they learn to use.
This dynamic course takes 20 hours.
- Successful communication,
- Using conflicts creatively, including the purpose of anger and how to deal with it in a healthy way,
- Intimacy as the foundation of fulfilled sexuality.
The main portion of the workshop comprises a series of brief teaching inputs followed by exercises to allow the participants to implement the content. In the 25 exercises couples dialog is central.
The participants look at the issues individually and then share their thoughts with their spouse. Finally there is the voluntary option of sharing briefly in the group. This creates a meaningful group experience which builds up the participants.
The workshop ends with a celebration.
Download the free Participants Manual (registration required)
Who can participate?
Each workshop is designed to serve approx. eight couples who are committed to growing in their marriage relationship. They may be younger or older people, recently married or married many years, with good marriages or faced with serious challenges. If however a couple is living in a hostile relationship and cannot talk to each other, they are recommended to seek counselling or therapy before attending.
Where and when are workshops held?
Ideally the workshop is held over a long weekend at a conference or retreat centre. But it can also be held over two weekends, e.g. at a church. The date and place are agreed by the organizer and the facilitators.
Who leads the workshop?
Every REAPP Marriage Enrichment Workshop is led by a certified facilitating couple. They coordinate the practical details in consultation with the organizer.