Premarital Ministry Resources
Prepare Couples for Marriage in Your Church
Merge is a premarital ministry that helps churches prepare seriously dating and engaged couples for a Christ-centered marriage.
PREMARITAL MINISTRY
How Merge Works
Merge gives churches a practical way to prepare couples for more than just a wedding day. In a safe and engaging environment, seriously dating and engaged couples receive biblical teaching, engage in honest discussion, and process what they are learning with mentor couple and through homework.
Program Length
Eight weekly sessions or one weekend class
Time
Two hours, once per week
Leader Structure
One leader couple per three to four participant couples, or one mentor couple per one participant couple if used in 2-on-2 mentoring.
Cost
No licensing fees
A Premarital Ministry Focused on Discipleship
Merge helps churches do more than offer premarital counseling. It provides a repeatable ministry model that strengthens couples before the wedding, creates space for honest conversations, and helps churches build a culture of healthier marriages.
Not Just for Engaged Couples
Many premarital ministries begin after engagement. Merge helps churches get upstream by inviting seriously dating couples in earlier—showing them what a Christ-centered marriage can look like before they take the next step.
A Flexible Ministry Model
Merge provides churches with a flexible premarital ministry model that can be used in 2-on-2 mentoring, small groups, or large-group settings. Churches can offer it over 8 weeks or adapt it into a weekend experience based on their context and needs.
Play Offense Instead of Defense
Rather than responding to problems after they surface in marriage, Merge helps churches prepare couples early, equipping couples to build a strong foundation, address issues early, and honestly evaluate their reasons for pursuing marriage. The result is a church strengthened by healthier marriages.
A Side Door into the Church
Merge welcomes couples who may not attend your church on a Sunday morning, creating meaningful opportunities for evangelism, discipleship, and ongoing connection.
Intergenerational by Design
As mentor couples invest in younger couples, churches cultivate relationships that strengthen the body and develop future lay leaders with a vision for Christ-centered marriage.
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Ministry Structure
Teaching
Each session begins with biblical teaching on topics that are essential to a healthy marriage, including communication, conflict, finances, intimacy, and expectations. Churches can deliver the teaching in the way that works best for their ministry format.
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Ministry Structure
Guided Discussion
After teaching, couples process their homework and what they heard with a leader couple and, depending on the format, a small group of peers. This creates space for honest conversation, practical wisdom, and encouragement.
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Ministry Structure
Weekly Homework
After each session, participants complete the weekly curriculum individually and discuss their responses as a couple.
CHRISTIAN PREMARITAL COUNSELING CURRICULUM
What’s Covered in Merge?
Merge walks couples through the topics that most often shape the health of a future marriage. The curriculum helps couples align expectations, grow spiritually, and think honestly about the covenant they are preparing to enter.
Session 1
What to Expect in Marriage
Marriage is more than a wedding. Couples look beyond the big day and begin preparing for the lifelong covenant of marriage according to God’s design.
Session 2
Communication and Conflict
Healthy marriages grow through intentional communication. Couples learn to pursue understanding, practice active listening, and approach conflict as an opportunity for greater unity.
Session 3
Appreciating Differences
Oneness in marriage does not mean sameness. This session helps couples appreciate their God-given differences as they learn to serve, support, and strengthen one another.
Session 4
Strengthening Your Relationship
A great marriage does not happen by accident. Couples are encouraged to prioritize their relationship with Christ and intentionally protect their relationship with one another.
Session 5
Finances
Oneness applies to every part of marriage, including finances. Couples learn to leave behind a “mine” and “yours” mindset, communicate openly, and steward everything they have according to God’s Word.
Session 6
Sexual Intimacy
Sex is a gift from God, designed to bring joy and oneness within marriage. This session invites couples to approach intimacy with grace, healing, trust, respect, and communication as they align their hearts with God’s design.
Session 7
Family & Future
Marriage means leaving one family and forming a new one together. Couples learn to trust God as they navigate family history, honor their parents, pursue peace, and establish healthy independence as husband and wife.
Session 8
The Gift of Marriage
Marriage is a gift God uses to shape both husband and wife more into the image of Jesus. Couples are invited to see both the joys and challenges of marriage as opportunities for growth, grace, and Christlike love.
Testimonials
What Churches Are Saying
The Merge material is a biblical and powerful tool for our lay leaders."
Gordon Knapp, Marriage and Parenting Pastor
Pathway Community Church, Fort Wayne, IN
Merge is the best training we've found for seriously dating or engaged couples.”
Louis Miori, Pastor of Pastoral Care
Champion Forest Baptist Church, Houston, TX
Merge provides leaders with an opportunity for evangelism and discipleship”
Lance Sisco, Director of Marriage
Watermark Community Church, Dallas, TX
Ready to Explore Merge for Your Church?
If you’d like to explore whether Merge is a fit for your church, fill out the ministry interest form to start the conversation. Our team would love to help you think through the next steps.
Church Conferences
Attend an Upcoming Event
Our training conferences connect you with other ministry leaders so you can walk away with the vision, resources, and tools needed to build and sustain a healthy ministry.
October 14-15, 2026
Dallas, TX
Re|engage Training Conference
A two-day training event for churches looking to start or strengthen a Christ-centered marriage ministry.
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March 10-11, 2027
Dallas, TX
Re|engage Training Conference (Coming Soon)
Registration opens soon. Check back for event details.
Marriage Equipping Resources
Our Church Leadership Podcast, regular blogs, and deep library of discipleship resources encourage and educate church leaders as they serve in their specific ministry context.
Blog
The First Steps To Starting A Marriage Ministry
What we've learned the past 14 years Church marriage ministries offer on-ramps into your church for people who might never otherwise come. They establish an authentic and healthy foundation for families and relationships in your body, and they address an obvious and heartbreaking need, as couples within the church continue to separate and divorce at rates comparable to those outside it. But deciding to serve married couples is the easy part; figuring out how to start a marriage ministry is much more complicated. You don’t need any special credentials to do this work--God equips the people he calls--but it does take wisdom and planning. Based on what we’ve learned over the past 14 years running our own marriage ministry, Re|engage, here are the steps you shouldn’t skip:
Podcast5 Marriage Trends and How They Affect Your Church
Scott Kedersha, Watermark National Director of Merge and Foundation Groups, joins Adam and John to discuss five trends he’s seeing in marriages.
BlogDraw A Circle Around Yourself
You can only change yourself When conflict arises, is it ever your fault? It’s easy to see the mistakes of others or recognize their flaws. After all, the problem is literally staring you in the face. Your spouse is the reason your marriage is in shambles. Your friend is the one who started the argument. Your child is rebelling against your authority. That church Member is being unreasonable. And so on. It’s always somebody else’s fault; someone else is always the source of the problem.