Marriage Growth, Romance Officiants, CLI, and Follow-Up Pathways

Speaker: Henry Reyenga

Yeah, so today we're going to continue our last topic.

A lot of this last topic is about pulling things together, especially if you discern a calling in wedding ministry.

So, what about marriage growth, romance officiants, CLI, and follow-up pathways?

We have opportunities for you to advance in promoting Christian marriage throughout our lands.

A Christian wedding is not the finish line. It is the beginning.

A couple may have spent months preparing for the wedding day. They chose the venue, planned the ceremony, invited friends, selected music, thought about vows, rings, clothing, flowers, photography, and the reception.

But after the wedding day comes marriage.

After the vows come the daily practices of love, forgiveness, communication, sexual faithfulness, money decisions, family boundaries, spiritual habits, and household formation.

That is why the advanced wedding officiant should follow up and check in.

Wedding ministers should ask: What happens after the ceremony?

Does the couple have a church connection?

Do they have mentors?

Do they have a plan for prayer?

Have they talked about conflict?

Have they discussed money?

Have they talked about children?

Have they faced family pressures?

Have they considered the habits that will shape their home?

In premarital counseling, these are the questions you bring up. Afterwards, these are also questions that allow you to say, "Hey, I'm here. I'm available."

If any of these questions arise, and if I'm not a life coach minister, I may know a life coach minister. If I'm not qualified to counsel, at least I can pray. At least I can refer you to someone in your area.

Most couples want a beautiful wedding, but they have not yet built the practices for faithful covenant marriage.

A minister can serve them by pointing them toward ongoing formation.

At Christian Leaders Institute, we have a Christian Marriage Growth course. I tell you, it is a free course.

You can simply send the link to the course. I'll put that in the class.

You might say to the couple, "This was wonderful, and the counseling was wonderful. Here's a free course for you to go through together."

Even if they do not take the course for credit, they can still go through the topics.

The point is that your responsibility is ultimately to launch this couple. It is not just to perform a legal ceremony.

Christian Leaders Institute offers these public-facing resources. A course such as Christian Marriage Growth can help engaged couples, newly married couples, remarried couples, and long-married couples grow in covenant understanding, communication, forgiveness, intimacy, family life, and spiritual habits.

A wedding minister does not need to become a couple's therapist.

The minister does not need to solve every conflict.

But the minister can say, "Here's a pathway that can help you keep growing."

When couples first come for the ceremony, there is often some trepidation because marriage is such a long-term commitment.

It is a great time to start talking about follow-up, continuing education, and continuing growth.

Wedding ministry can also connect to a romance officiant ministry.

A romance officiant is not about matchmaking.

It is not manipulation.

It is not entertainment.

It is a Christian ministry lane that helps people think wisely about dating, courtship, engagement, relationship discernment, remarriage questions, and preparation for covenant life.

So, if you are a wedding officiant, why not think about becoming a romance officiant?

Some ministers discover that their ministry begins before engagement.

Singles ask questions.

Dating couples ask questions.

Parents ask questions.

Remarried couples ask questions.

Widows and widowers ask questions.

People want to know what Christian romance looks like in a confused world.

A romance officiant can help guide those conversations with biblical wisdom, whole-person care, and referral awareness.

Again, keep the lanes clear.

A wedding officiant serves the ceremony and the couple's preparation for marriage.

A romance officiant helps people discern romance, dating, engagement, and relationship formation.

A life coach can help with goals, values, communication, and action steps.

A chaplain can provide spiritual care in sensitive settings.

A pastor or church leader provides shepherding and discipleship.

A licensed counselor addresses clinical concerns.

A wise minister does not pretend to be all of these at once.

Instead, the minister builds pathways.

I love that phrase: a minister builds pathways.

A wedding officiant is a minister who builds pathways.

For the one-time wedding officiant, the follow-up may be simple.

Recommend the Christian Marriage Growth course.

Encourage the couple to connect to a church.

Pray for them.

For the ordained wedding officiant, it may be very similar, but perhaps with additional follow-up.

Recommend mentors.

For a church staff minister, this fits naturally into the church's role of continuing to shepherd people under its ministry.

For a chaplain, it may involve a follow-up plan and institutional referrals.

For a life coach minister, it may be as simple as saying, "Would you like to meet for coaching during your early years of marriage?"

For the wedding minister, this is a great pathway opportunity at a time when people are paying attention because they truly want a wonderful marriage.

The wedding day is one day.

Marriage is life.

If you have the opportunity, serve both.