by Married People | Apr 25, 2018 | Training
- In the U.S., we are working an average of six more hours a week than in 1965.
- In the U.S., we are working an additional four hours a week doing “hidden work.”
- “My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:2-3
- How to Reach Married Couples:
- Larger Group Experiences
- Small Group Experiences
- Individual Couples
- Larger Group Experiences
- 74% of those who participate in special events feel more connected with their faith community.
- 70% believe special events allow them to meet others of their faith.
- 69% agree special event attendance strengthens their faith.
- 56% affirm these events help them overcome life’s difficulties.
- 49% agree special events make evangelizing easier.
- Game Changers Larger Groups
- What Happy Couples Know, Andy Stanley
Bottom Line: Happy couples make it a habit to choose to believe the best.
- Marriage and Money, Lee & Martica Jenkins
Bottom Line: Money can either be a point of connection or disconnection in marriage.
- The Chase, Ted & Nancie Lowe
Bottom Line: Silly fights cause serious damage because there’s something deeper going on.
- Kill the Spider, Carlos Whittaker
Bottom Line: Stop cleaning the cobwebs of sin and instead kill the spider creating the cobwebs.
- Who is the one couple in your church that you could create a testimonial video of?
- Small Group Experiences
- Individual Couples
- Promotion to Reach Married Couples
- Use people’s desire for a great marriage to attract them to your church.
- Social media graphics
- Leadership Training
- Next Steps
Married People exists to help your church help marriages. We provide resources, training, and community to church leaders who work with marriages and families.
by Married People | Apr 12, 2018 | Resources, Spotlight
Every year, MarriedPeople releases an annual strategy pack that provides your church with a ton of great resources to impact marriages. This includes everything you need to put on large group experiences, host a small group study, send couples on date nights, and send them a monthly email.
This year, the theme of our strategy pack is Game Changers—because small things can make a big difference. We’ll be examining some of these little issues in marriage that can have a huge impact.
To help us with this, we’ve enlisted the help of some tremendous communicators. They’ll be delivering messages for each of the four large group experiences. And we wanted to introduce you to each of them.
CARLOS WHITTAKER: Kill the Spider
Carlos Whittaker is a People’s Choice Award winner, a former recording artist signed to a major label, a social media maven, and currently spends the majority of his time writing books and speaking on stages around the world.
It really began when the Whittaker’s found their family in America’s spotlight with appearances on shows like CBS Early Morning, The Today Show and more when their viral video “Single Ladies Devastation” went viral. But for Carlos, his wife Heather and their three children, this viral moment was just a snapshot of the bigger picture.
Recommended Resource
Kill the Spider by Carlos Whittaker
ANDY STANLEY: What Happy Couples Know
Communicator, author, and pastor, Andy Stanley founded Atlanta-based North Point Ministries in 1995. Today, NPM is comprised of six churches in the Atlanta area and a network of 50 churches around the globe, collectively serving nearly 90,000 people weekly.
A survey of U.S. pastors in Outreach Magazine identified Andy Stanley as one of the top 10 most influential living pastors in America. The author of 20-plus books, Stanley holds an undergraduate degree in journalism from Georgia State University and a master’s degree from Dallas Theological Seminary.
Andy and his wife, Sandra, have three grown children and live near Atlanta.
LEE & MARTICA JENKINS: Love and Money
Lee Jenkins is the president of Lee Jenkins Group—a ministry outreach, financial education, and consulting firm. He is also the Founder and Senior Pastor of Eagles Nest Church outside of Atlanta. Previously, Lee had a 25-year career in the financial services industry. His financial advice has been featured numerous times on CNN, Fox, ABC, CBS, and NBC affiliates, as well as in USA Today.
Lee is a proud graduate of the University of Tennessee where he was a standout defensive back on the football team. After graduation Lee was drafted by the the New York Giants of the NFL. Unfortunately, his football career was cut short by injuries.
Lee is in high demand as a speaker at conferences, churches, and to college and professional sports teams. Additionally, Lee has authored several books on personal finances over the last fifteen years. Lee was named one of the 70 Most Influential Black Christians in the U.S. by the Black Christian News Network.
Lee has been happily married to the love of his life, Martica, for 28 years. They have three grown children, a daughter Kristin, and two sons, Martin and Ryan.
Recommended Resource
On Money by Lee Jenkins
TED & NANCIE LOWE: The Chase
After serving as the director of MarriedLife at North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Ga., Ted Lowe started MarriedPeople, the marriage division of Orange.
Ted is the author of two books—”Your Best US” and “MarriedPeople: How Your Church Can Build Marriages That Last,” which he co-authored with Doug Fields.
Ted lives in Cumming, Ga., with his wife, Nancie, and their three children.
Recommended Resource
Your Best US by Ted Lowe
You can also meet the communicators from last year’s annual partnership: CLEAR
Married People exists to help your church help marriages. We provide resources, training, and community to church leaders who work with marriages and families.
by Married People | Apr 5, 2018 | Spotlight
Every month, we want to profile a church leader just like you. This month, we’re featuring Laura Wright.
Laura has been the Family Ministries Director at First Baptist Church of Gray in Gray, Ga., for the last 10 years.
What’s your favorite part of the job?
Seeing the social media posts after an event of people who had a blast or felt like it meant something in their life. Even better when they quote something or share a resource because you know the ministry is making a difference.
What are some challenges you face at your church?
Finding volunteers! People are so busy these days, which comes to the other challenge of getting people to sign up and buy in.
Whether it is a date night, night out or even an email, you can’t make people stop long enough to pay attention. Getting them to want to use the resources is a challenge.
How has MarriedPeople changed how your church works with married couples?
It provided us a framework to do ministry proactively and not just reactively.
Before MarriedPeople we did not have a ministry to couples outside of a few couples Sunday School classes. With this we are now keeping marriage and the importance of marriage in the forefront of what we do.
What’s one helpful tip you’d like to share with other church leaders?
Find a few people in your church that are passionate about seeing marriages succeed. Often, they will be people who have felt the pain of divorce or adultery or drift either in their own family or with someone close. Allow them to own the ministry and use that passion to drive the ministry.
Are there any other helpful resources you’d recommend people check out?
Francis Chan’s You and Me Forever book was very helpful for our family. We actually listened to it on family vacation while the kids watched movies.
Want to be featured on the blog?
If you’re a MarriedPeople partner and want to be featured on the blog, just fill out the form here and we’ll be in touch.
Married People exists to help your church help marriages. We provide resources, training, and community to church leaders who work with marriages and families.
by Married People | Mar 29, 2018 | Leadership
The 2018 Orange Conference is right around the corner! This year’s theme is ONE VOICE: We Can Do More Together. Sounds like a pretty good slogan for both ministry AND marriage.
As always, there will be plenty of marriage breakouts happening at the conference. We hope that you’ll join us for as many of these as possible. These are some of the best ways to learn more about our resources and how you can impact local marriages.
And be sure to stop by the MarriedPeople booth to meet us and ask any questions you might have. You’ll also be able to pick up tons of our resources from the conference store. It’s gonna be awesome.
MARRIED PEOPLE INTERACTIVE
- TIME SLOT: Wednesday April 25, 9:30-10:30 am
- SPEAKER: Ted Lowe
- ABOUT: When it comes to marriage, every day is full of challenges and victories. And to be honest, just getting out the door Sunday morning can put most marriages to the test. That’s why you need MarriedPeople, the marriage division of Orange! Join us to explore creative planning, tips, tools, and resources to start your marriage ministry or take it to the next level.
MARRIAGE MINISTRY 201
- TIME SLOT: Wednesday April 25, 11 am-noon
- SPEAKER: Ted Lowe
- ABOUT: So you already have an established marriage ministry in your church, and you’re ready to take it to the next level. But what more is there than one-night events, weekend retreats, and the occasional date night? In this breakout, you’ll discover how to leverage research, practice methods, and craft messaging that will span the millennial bridge into your church.
VOLUNTEER-LED MARRIAGE MINISTRY
- TIME SLOT: Wednesday, April 25, 3-4:15 pm
- SPEAKER: Todd Graham
- ABOUT: Married people make up a big portion of your church, but that doesn’t mean your church has the resources to employ a full-time marriage pastor. However, that’s no reason the couples in your church can’t experience a thriving marriage ministry. Join us in this breakout as we unpack how to lead, recruit, train, and empower volunteers to lead the marriage ministry in your church.
MARRIEDPEOPLE 101
- TIME SLOT: Thursday, April 26, 10:45-11:45 am
- SPEAKER: Ted Lowe
- ABOUT: MarriedPeople is the marriage division of Orange. It’s a foundational Orange concept that what happens at home is just as important as what happens at church. We get that with kids, but it’s also true for the married couples in your church. Because as any married couple can tell you—disconnection happens easily, connection takes intention. Your church can be strategic in helping couples connect. This breakout will walk you through some ways your church can be marriage heroes and impact couples inside your church and in your community.
HOW TO COMBINE PARENTING AND MARRIAGE MINISTRY TO REACH MILLENNIALS
- TIME SLOT: Thursday April 26, 1:15 – 2:15 pm
- SPEAKERS: Sherry Surratt & Ted Lowe
- ABOUT: So your church has a thriving marriage ministry. And your family ministry is knocking it out of the park partnering with parents. But imagine the impact you could have if your teams capitalized on the crossover between these two groups. By aligning your church’s marriage and parenting strategies with one voice, you can do more to reach the next generation. Join us in this breakout as we unpack how.
DOING MINISTRY TOGETHER
- TIME SLOT: Thursday, April 26, 3-4 pm
- SPEAKERS: Geoff & Sherry Surratt
- ABOUT: This breakout isn’t a how-to guide to create a model marriage; it’s more like coffee with friends who’ve been where you are going and have learned some lessons that may help you find your way. You’ll walk away with some practical tools the Surratts have discovered in 35 years of marriage and ministry together, showing how to thrive in ministry while loving your spouse and raising a family.
MARRIAGE EVENTS OVERHAUL
- TIME SLOT: Thursday, April 26, 4:45-5:45 pm
- SPEAKER: Ted Cunningham
- ABOUT: Married couples are busy, and sometimes it can feel like a literal song and dance is necessary to get them to come to your church’s marriage event. After all, whatever “free” time they have is often reserved for sweatpants and Netflix. But that doesn’t mean couples aren’t interested in what you have to say. With an authentic, fun-filled night that escapes from being boring, preachy, and outdated, your church can help marriages in your church and your community.
Married People exists to help your church help marriages. We provide resources, training, and community to church leaders who work with marriages and families.
by Married People | Mar 22, 2018 | Resources, Technology
We are thrilled to introduce a new online shopping experience for our church partners.
Previously, our partners purchased resources and downloaded content on two separate websites with two separate accounts. Now, we’re rolling those two separate platforms into one place. We hope this will make for a much better user experience.
Click here to visit the new store.
To help you navigate the new store, we’ve included a series of screenshots of the store below. Your Orange Specialist is also on hand to answer and questions you might have.
Online Products
View and purchase all of the resources from MarriedPeople, as well as the rest of Orange.
Login to the store using the same username and password as our previous system. No need to create a new login.
The Strategy Pack
You can now purchase or renew the annual Strategy Pack straight from the store. This is also where you will download all of the Strategy Pack files, too.
MarriedPeople Monthly
One year’s worth of MarriedPeople Monthly access is available as a separate product in the store. For MP Monthly subscribers and all Strategy Pack partners, access to Monthly is provided in their My Downloads section, and the content will be updated monthly as each new issue is available.
Shopping Cart
My Downloads
Find all of the Strategy Pack resources you’ve purchased in the My Downloads tab and download the files directly.
Downloading Files
You can select to download files and folders individually or download them all at once. You’ll see video files listed separately (because of their size), or other files grouped by event or purpose (like marketing or Larger Group Experiences).
For MarriedPeople Monthly, you’ll be able to download each month’s worth of resources separately. You’ll have access to these files starting with your purchase of the Strategy Pack. Access to the MP Monthly content will be open for 12 months, with new files be loaded in the previous month for the next month’s content. After one year, your subscription to MP Monthly will need to be renewed by either purchasing it individually or as part of a new Strategy Pack.
Click here to visit the new store.
What do you think about the new store? Let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
Married People exists to help your church help marriages. We provide resources, training, and community to church leaders who work with marriages and families.
