by Married People | May 2, 2019 | Training
Orange Conference 2019
Speaker: Ted Lowe
- 59% of Christians disconnect either permanently or for an extended period of time from church life after age 15. —Barna Research
- Millennials top two priorities. (Pew Research)
- To be a great parent
- To have a great marriage
- Because marriage matters to millennials the church can matter to millennials.
Because marriage matters to everyone the church can matter to everyone.
- Millennials need a bridge into the church.
- Authenticity
- Relevance
- Experiences
- Acceptance
- Inclusion
- Respect
- Community
- Stats about church events
- Special events have significant appeal to those ages 18-45 years old. —Ed Stetzer, Christianity Today
- 49% agree special events make evangelizing easier. —Ed Stetzer, Christianity Today
- 57% of churchless Americans would prefer a different introduction to church vs. Sunday Service. —Reach Right Studios
- 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.
Christianity Today
- Ways to use the Larger Group Experiences
- One-night events
- Worship services
- Marriage retreats
- Closer Annual Marriage Ministry Bundle
- Two larger group events: Fall Marriage Kickoff & Valentine’s Event
- Small group study: Closer Connection, the 4 Ways We Communicate
- Four date nights: Take Out Date, Play Date, Picnic Date, & Pizza Date
- One-year of Married People Monthly, a customizable email template
- One month free of the MP Monthly for all the couples at your church
- All of the
- Testimonials
- “I consistently hear the same thread: ‘We never had intentional marriage modeled for us, and it always seemed like hard work and survival. But Married People has helped us have fun and given us practical steps to take in marriage.’ At least three couples per event have the same story.” Josh Fortney
- “We had a young couple in our community that had only been married three or four months and found themselves struggling and desperate. They had no church affiliation. They randomly googled “marriage help group” and our marriage small group came up. Since joining, they would tell you that their marriage is getting better each week. In addition, they have begun a journey towards faith in Christ as well!” Kyle Plew
- “I would talk about the couple who decided to try again after our community event. I would also talk about having just a night to be around other couples who are focusing on their marriage makes it easier to commit to focusing on yours—you are not alone.” Heather Matarazzo
- “I’ve heard from several couples that they now focus on the little things more since attending our events. Another thing I’ve heard is that couples see the value in being proactive in caring for their marriage as opposed to ignoring things and hoping the bad stuff fixes itself.” Monica Humpal
- Things To Know
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 | May 2, 2019 | Training
Speaker: Matt Engle
- One of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the people who had survived the exile, and also about the city, Jerusalem. They said to me, “The people who survived the exile and are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of the city is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.” —Nehemiah 1:1-4
- Church Statistics
- 80 % of churches plateaued or declining
- 23% of Americans are “nones”
- 3 million people leave the organized church each year
- 59% of millennials raised in church have dropped out
- To understand the change that is happening we need to understand three big ideas
- Big Data
- Predictive Analytics
- Precision Messaging
- Big Data: extremely large data sets that may be analysed computationally to reveal patterns, trends, and associations, especially relating to human behavior and interactions
- Where does Big Data come from? In the next 60 seconds:
- 70,017 hours watched on Netflix
- $752,522 spent on Amazon
- 3.5 million search queries on Google
- 16 million text messages sent
- 1.8 million Snapchats created
- 452,000 Tweets sent
- 46,200 photos uploaded to Instagram
- 4.1 million videos viewed on YouTube
- 900,000 logins to Facebook
- 156 million emails sent
- Big data can show us what we have never been able to see before.
- With big data: correlation does not equal causation (but it doesn’t really matter).
- Big Data shows us “what” not necessarily “why”
- Big Data and Zacchaeus
- First party data: he was short, climbed a tree, athletic and fit
- Second party data: Male, Jewish, Tax Collector, Chief Tax Collector, Income 1%, Homeowner
- Big Data: he wanted to see Jesus
- Predictive Analytics
- Predictive Analytics help churches use data to inform their mission
- People who are doing “A” have done “B”, “F”, “Z” in the past.
- People who are currently doing “B”, “F”, “Z” are most likely to do “A” in the future.
- Precision Messaging
- Motivations give insight into the why behind the actions, behaviors, and decision making of your selected audience.
- The right message to the right person at the right time…on the right device
- Relationship is key to growth; Engagement is key to Relationship!
- Know your city and people from Big Data and engagement
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 | May 2, 2019 | Training
Orange Conference 2019
Speakers: Ted Lowe & Dave Safstrom
- Marriage is still the reflection of Christ and the Church.
- Marriage is a spiritual issue.
- One of the best gifts your church can give a kid is a mom and dad whose marriage is thriving.
- Or step parents whose marriage is thriving.
- Or foster parents whose marriage is thriving.
- Or grandparents whose marriage is thriving.
- Or youth leaders whose marriage is thriving.
- 59% of Christians disconnect either permanently or for an extended period of time from church life after age 15. —Barna Research
- 1996: 9% identified as “nones.”
2016: 19% identified as “nones.” —Barna Research
- Millennials top two priorities (according to Pew Research)
- To be a great parent
- To have a great marriage
- Marriage isn’t seen as urgent by the church, but it’s still important.
- You are voting no everyone when you say we can’t do marriage ministry.
- Don’t say no because of a lack of time, resources, or leaders.
- Deficit mentality: “We don’t have enough.”
Strategic Scarcity: “Let’s work with what we have.”
- “Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. . . But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.” —1 Corinthians 12:12, 18-20
- Things to Know:
- Talk with Misty Phillips, Married People Orange Specialist: info@marriedpeople.org
- Check out the Marriage Ministry Starter Kit in the Orange Store: marriedpeople.org/closer
- Get a free month of MarriedPeople Membership
: marriedpeople.org/ItsPersonal
- Join the Married People Leaders Facebook Group: https://facebook.com/groups/MarriedLeaders/
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 27, 2018 | Training
The 10 Commandments for Hosting a Killer Marriage Event, Date Night, or Comedy Show
- Thou Shalt Not Trust Only Posters
What motivates people to attend an event?
- Thou Shalt Not Eat
- Thou Shalt Not Be Boring, Outdated, Preachy, or Feminine
- The Emcee Shalt Be Excellent
- The Seating Shalt Matter
- The Staging Shalt Matter
- The Sound Shalt Matter
- Thou Shalt Not Go Three Hours
- Thou Shalt Not Include an Infidelity Recovery Story
- Thou Shalt Skip the Wrap-up
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 26, 2018 | Training
- In America, there is one divorce approximately every 36 seconds. — McKinley Irvin, US Census Bureau
- Half of all American children will witness the breakup of a parent’s marriage. Of these, close to half will also see the breakup of a parent’s second marriage. — Furstenberg, Peterson, Nord, and Zill, “Life Course”
- 60% of children of divorce walk away from their faith. — The Journal of the Scientific Study of Religion
- “Divorce statistics represent all marriages and have absolutely nothing to do with any individual marriages. Our own chances depend on our own situations especially the way we approach marriage.” — James M Henslin, Essentials of Sociology
- Families are not statistics. Families are stories.
- Don’t just be shocked into silence by divorce statistics, be impassioned into action.
- The two top priorities of Millennials:
- 1. To be a great parent
- 2. To have a great marriage
- Pew Research
- Two combined forces are more powerful together than either could be alone.
- When a church designs a simple, strategic path that strengthens marriage and family, everyone wins.
- The power of strategy sometimes lies in the things you choose not to do.
- 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 that special event attendance actually strengthens their faith.
- 56% affirm that these events help them overcome life’s difficulties.
- 49% agree special events make evangelizing easier.
- Marriage & Family Tools
- MarriedPeople
- Parent Cue
- What we learned from Lighthouse Church
- Get the leaders of marriage and parenting in the room together to lay an annual plan.
- Spotlight your combined strategy with a combined event or month.
- Marriage impacts all of us. We are all raising future husbands and wives.
- Our posture is always hope—we are not focused on regret. We are focused on redemption.
- Next steps to partner together
- Combined team meeting
- Determine first steps with large groups, small groups, marriage, and family tools
- Create annual calendar
Married People exists to help your church help marriages. We provide resources, training, and community to church leaders who work with marriages and families.
