Conducting a marriage seminar is both a privilege and a challenge. You will encounter couples who are at different stages of the journey of marriage. Some will be thriving, others struggling. Some couples might be teetering between wedded bliss and catastrophe. Acknowledging and addressing the issues that arise will require some juggling, finesse and help from an experienced team of lay people and professionals.
Instructions
1. Use a large facility and provide refreshments. Your living room is probably not the best place to conduct your seminar. Secure a conference room or church facility that is large enough to host your group while also giving them plenty of space. Refreshments might not seem that important when addressing a group of adults. However, refreshments are a good excuse to walk around without appearing rude or to give individuals a minute or so to process without being glued next to their spouse.
2. Secure a trusted team of helpers and counselors. Those helping you with the seminar need not be professionals. But they should have proven, solid marriages from which to share wisdom. Make sure they are introduced to the attendees and allow them to give a brief, honest assessment of their marriages. Make it clear that they will be on hand for questions, short talks and that confidentiality is honored.
3. Maintain a non-judgmental attitude throughout the seminar. The last thing couples want to be presented with is a list of don'ts and reminders of how they have failed if they made certain mistakes. While it is important to point out how marriages can go wrong, it is even more important to offer hope for couples.
4. Provide quality resources. Include tables with books, CDs, DVDs and pamphlets that are written specifically to help marriages thrive. It also is beneficial to include literature from specific counseling centers and professionals who are in the area.
5. Be gender neutral. Unfortunately many marriage seminars focus on the unrealistic expectations of spouses solely based on gender. A woman shouldn't carry the burden of being everything to everyone in her marriage. In the same way a man doesn't want to feel that he and he alone is responsible to be sole provider. By treating the couples as partners and taking the performance factor out of the equation, couples have a better chance of leaving the seminar on a positive note.
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