A Little More Detail....

Okay, I've been getting some questions concerning what exactly I am doing my research project on, and why I am asking these specific questions. As briefly as possible, I will try to give a small rundown. We have to come up with a "problem" that we see - either in our specific church, in churches in general, in society, in the workplace - wherever, and then after MUCH research and study, we have to come up with a proposed solution/program that we could implement which might HELP in solving or aiding this problem.

The particular problem that I have chosen is two-fold: First of all, I am stating that "a devastating problem in today's society is that with increasing numbers, the Christian community, and our nation as a whole is being threatened by escalating numbers of divorces, marriages that simply exist but that are certainly not thriving, and a diminishing readiness and preparation for marriage among engaged couples." The second part of my problem is this: "Within every church there are couples with good, solid marriages who could be of help to other couples who are young or struggling, but they have never been motivated, trained, or inspired to come alongside to help mentor and disciple these marriages in order to make them successful and meaningful."

Here is my statement of purpose: I am proposing to implement and establish a program which will serve as a "mentoring marriage ministry" for helping couples begin, build, and sustain better marriages, and to restore those threatened by divorce. The process will be simple: equip couples with solid marriages to mentor and disciple other couples at ALL stages of the marital cycle so that they, in turn, will one day have vibrant, thriving, marriages of their own.

My end goal as a result of establishing this "Mentoring Marriage Ministry" is to have an explosion of strong, stable couples and families who will grow the church, who will have a huge impact on their surrounding community, and who will reach out to other needy marriages and families in their areas - saved and unsaved alike.

NOW - there is definitly much more to this problem, program, statement of purpose, and end goal, but that is the basic idea. One question that I forgot to ask on my little survey was this: Do you feel there is a need for this kind of ministry in your church, and if so, would you attend such a ministry program - either as a mentor couple or as a couple who would like to be mentored?

I realize that there are differing views out there - and I LOVE THAT - that's great! This is the whole point of research. I want to hear them and the whys of your agreement or disagreement. This is all very very helpful in the accumulation of my research. So, PLEASE tell me what you think. Give honest analysis and insight. If you don't wish to publish on either my blog or your own, email me: kevame@verizon.net