ChosenRebel's Blog

In all three communities in which I have served the people of God, we have worked to produce a Community Marriage Agreements that a number of churches from various denominations have signed on to and used as a part of their premarital counseling of couples contemplating marriage. For those that might find this helpful, I post it here and will give copies of the Press Release that followed the agreement as well as some of the argumentation we used to encourage other churches to adopt the agreement. Simply, contact me through email at Chosen-Rebel@hotmail.com, and I will send you the documents for free.

Community Marriage Covenant

For the churches of ___________________________.  Reflecting our joint commitment to Christ and to our community, we the undersigned churches of the greater ______________________ area, after much prayer and discussion, covenant together in the following commitments.

Definition of Marriage

Marriage was created by and defined by God in the Scriptures as the sexual and covenantal union of a man and a woman in a life-long commitment to each other alone, as husband and wife, and whose marriage is to be a picture of the covenant relationship of Jesus Christ and His bride the church. (Genesis 1:27-28; 2:23-24; Matthew 19:1-12; Ephesians 5:21-33)

Our Goals as a Church with Regard to You

We love the people of our community and we know the devastating consequences of both marital disharmony and divorce on individuals, as well as the powerful impact that healthy marriages have on both couples and culture. Believing that we can make a difference and be of help to couples, before, during, and after marital crisis, we have committed ourselves to the following goals:

1. To being churches that are “family friendly.”[1]

2. To regularly pray for the marriages of our community.

3. To design and offer premarital classes for those contemplating marriage.

4. To design and/or host periodic classes, conferences, and events to enhance marital fulfillment and communication.

5. To design and offer periodic classes on parenting and child development.

6. To design and/or host personal growth seminars for couples.

7. To, wherever possible, and if the couple[2] likes, we commit to linking newlywed couples with older couples with healthy marriages to befriend and mentor them.

8. To offer counseling for those seeking reconciliation after divorce.

Our Common Agreement for the Marriages In Which We Officiate

Believing and seeing from experience that great marriages are built on sound biblical foundations, and because of our love for the couple and our community, we have agreed together, that we will encourage all we counsel to commit to the following guidelines.

1. A commitment to premarital counseling.

2. A commitment to Christ and to living as a Christian.

3. A commitment to marriage as a life long relationship.

4. A commitment to sexual purity before and after marriage.

5. A commitment to an ongoing relationship with a local church community of faith.

6. A commitment to seek pastoral counseling quickly if problems develop.

[1] “Family” = any husband and wife, with or without children, or any single parent with children in the home.

[2] “Couple” = one man and one woman.