Talking Points:
- Marriage mentoring allows couples in church to receive care – not from one overworked pastor, but from another couple who has walked in their shoes. Exodus 18:14,18
- PursueGOD marriage mentoring uses conversation starters to speak truth in love in the context of a growing relationship. Ephesians 4:15
- Marriage mentors are not professional counselors, but disciples who make disciples. Matthew 28:19-20
Discussion:
- Read the talking points above as a group, including scripture references. What are your initial thoughts about these points or about the podcast lesson (see audio above)?
- What excites you about mentoring? What worries you?
- What can go wrong if conversations are not structured and directed?
- Why is it important to distinguish mentoring from professional counseling or therapy? How could failing to make this distinction derail a mentoring relationship?
- Read Galatians 6:1-2. Why is it important to help others who are struggling? How does marriage mentoring fulfill this command from Paul?
- Is there a step you need to take based on today’s topic?
Talking Points:
- Want to be an effective marriage mentor? Learn these five essentials and put them into practice:
- Know the couple. Invest time and build rapport so you can establish trust for your future conversations.
- Know the Basics. Get to know our flagship Marriage Basics series to understand the three pillars of a healthy marriage: choose love, earn trust, and keep talking.
- Know the library. Dig into all of the conversation starters at pursueGOD.org, and be ready to use content from the family, faith, and life categories.
- Know your limits. Draw a boundary on your time (if necessary), and don’t forget that you’re not a professional counselor.
- Pray. Remember to depend on God for results, and be sure to pray as a couple for the other couple
Discussion:
- Read the talking points above as a group, including scripture references. What are your initial thoughts about these points or about the podcast lesson (see audio above)?
- What are some questions you can ask the couple in the first meeting to get to know them? Make a list. (Hint: what would you want someone else to ask you?)
- List the three pillars of a healthy marriage. Which one do you think would be the hardest to talk about, and why?
- Take a look at the faith category online and identify three topics that might be great conversation starters for a couple who is investigating Christianity.
- What are some signs that it might be time to recommend a professional counselor for a couple? Make a list.
- Why is it important to pray together as a couple for the couple you are mentoring? What are the benefits?
- Next steps: talk through Marriage Basics if you haven’t already, and then cover additional training topics as needed.
- Posts not found
