MARRIAGE CHAMPIONS

Enriching the Marriages of Northwest Arkansas

Thank you for your concern for healthy marriages, your willingness to become a “marriage champion” and for the honor of partnering with you to prepare engaged and married couples for successful, healthy marriages.

What Is A Marriage Champion?

Marriage Champions...

• believe that healthy marriages are vital for healthy families, churches and communities
• are looking for an opportunity to make a lasting difference by using their experience, training and gifts to strengthen marriages in their church and community
• want to purposefully invest in other couples to help them build and sustain healthy, satisfying and lifelong marriages
• have been married at least 5 years
• don't have a “perfect” marriage—who does?—but do have a healthy marriage and a strong commitment to continued growth in their relationship
• have a passion to see Northwest Arkansas become a place that is known for healthy marriages

What Are The Benefits Of Being A Marriage Champion?

• You will receive so much from the couples you guide—it truly is an enriching experience for your marriage as well.
• You will have a greater understanding of your own marriage as you wrestle with their questions and talk about your marital relationship.
• As you and your spouse work as a team to help other couples, you become much more relationally aware, better communicators, closer to each other and your marriage will become stronger.
• You will receive renewed energy and passion by being around the energetic couples you mentor.
• You will enjoy the satisfaction of investing in something that has a lasting impact and significance.
• You will indirectly impact domestic violence, teenage pregnancy, fatherlessness, and the other negative effects of divorce.
• You will have a generational impact on the children and grandchildren of the couples you mentor, whose lives are dramatically impacted by having a father and mother who have a satisfying and lifelong marriage.
• You will be a part of an “army” of marriage champions in Northwest Arkansas.
• You will receive hundreds of dollars in free premarital and marriage enrichment training, free training materials and other resources, the opportunity to host free events, a model for the face-to-face training, and ongoing support and training.

What Is The Commitment Of A Marriage Champion?

Consistent with the requirements of the NWA Healthy Marriage federal grant, marriage champions who receive the free training and resources will agree to the following:

1. Must have been married at least 5 years, take the Couple Checkup, and have a vitalized, harmonious or traditional couple type on the Couple Checkup.
2. Provide free marriage enrichment for 2 groups of 4 to 6 married or engaged couples and/or work individually with 4 to 6 married or engaged couples with a minimum of eight 8 hours enrichment education per group or individual couple on a yearly basis.
3. Begin your first group/individual meeting within 60 days of training while information is still fresh.
4. Provide marriage enrichment to all eligible persons regardless of their race, gender, age, disability or religion.
5. Clearly inform each person that their participation is voluntary.
6. Participate in assessment and monitoring activities that measure program outcomes.
7. Will not proselytize or promote religion.
8. Pursue converting your marriage license into an Arkansas covenant marriage license.
9. Promote and explain how couples can obtain an Arkansas covenant marriage license.
10. Refer a domestic violence victim to the appropriate service for support.

How Do I Get Trained As A Marriage Champion?

NWA Healthy Marriages will offer a variety of FREE training opportunities throughout the year. These Marriage Champion Training events will offer you the opportunity to be trained by experts in nationally recognized programs (i.e., Couple Checkup). Typically, the training events will consist of three hours that teach you how to use the program with couples.  The training workshops provide you will a Leader’s Guide and all other materials needed to work with couples.

Who Do I Contact If I Need Help?

For support and other questions, please contact:

Nathan Oliver, M.A.
Marriage Champion Coordinator, NWA Healthy Marriages
(479) 524-7353
noliver@jbu.edu