information about the church, click on http://www.clcdayton.com/ To visit the pages
about the marriage ministry, click on Ministries, then click on Adults, then click on Marrriage.
Also visit the new pages about weddings.
The Christian Life Center Marriage Builders Ministry began operation in January 1997
It is a lay-developed and lay-run ministry. During the time it has been in operation, our
mentor couples have mentored 207 seriously dating and/or engaged couples and 217
troubled married couples. Many marriage ministries mentor engaged couples. What
makes us unique is that we also mentor seriously dating couples and mentor troubled
married couples.
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Operational Statistics (January 1997 to January 2007)
207 Engaged couples mentored
23 of the 207 called off their weddings after the mentoring
184 engaged couples married after the mentoring. Only 13 have divorced (7.1%)
Of the 217 troubled couples mentored, only 49 divorced after mentoring (22.6%)
Montgomery County Ohio has gone online
with public records. We can now access
Marriage License applications and Divorce Records including docket number.
So
we are confident that we have accurate information. The only records we
would be
missing are those for couples who move from Montgomery County and subsequently
divorce in another county. To access the Public Records Online (PRO)
click on
http://www.clerk.co.montgomery.oh.us/pro
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Our
mentoring process consists of skill-based, interpersonal relationship tools
and skills.
We like to make an analogy here to my previous work in engineering. In
that field, we
did not develop anything new. We took the developments of the physical
scientists
and used those technologies to develop a functional, practical system such as
a
commercial airliner or a fighter jet. In our marriage ministry, we did
not develop anything
new. We took the developments of the social scientists and used those
technologies
(marital and pre-marital inventories, temperament assessments, communication
techniques, conflict resolution techniques, marital intimacy tools and
marriage growth
plans) to develop a practical, functional system of marriage mentoring.
In addition, our marriage
enrichment division sponsors in-house and overnight retreats,
enrichment seminars, empty nest seminars, an adult Sunday School class and
numerous
small groups. As a result, we have first-hand knowledge and experience
with many of
the resources listed in the pages of this website.
Publicity
We were
honored when we were approached by Focus On The Family and asked about
our ministry. As a result much of our marriage ministry info was
included in their Marriage
Ministry Guide. To order
a copy
click on
http://www.family.org/resources/itempg.cfm?itemid=3857/
The Dayton Daily News has published
two
articles about the ministry.
To see the
complete text of the May 22, 2004 article, click here.
To see the complete text of the July 27, 2006 article, click
here.
The Cincinnati Enquirer
published an article about the ministry on July 24, 2006.
To see the complete text of the article, click here.
Reporter Bina Roy of Dayton TV station
ABC/Fox 22 did a Special Report on the mentoring ministry on
their nightly news program that aired on Nov 19-20, 2006. Click
here to view
the report.
We are pleased that Drs. Les & Leslie
Parrott, on page 14 in their book "The Complete Guide
To Marriage Mentoring," acknowledged the first director of our marriage
ministry (Kent Dyer) for
the input he provided "from the front lines of marriage mentoring." To
order a copy of the book,
click on
http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0310270464/redirect-home/ohiomarriager-20
We are pleased that Dr John Van Epp,
on page ix of his book "How To Avoid Marrying a Jerk - The
Foolproof Way To Follow Your Heart Without Losing Your Mind," acknowledged
Dick & Carol Cronk
as "those who have devoted so much of their time and energy to bringing
marriage programs to their
regions and states, and have included the PICK program in their selections."
To order a copy of the
book,
click on
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0071472657/redirect-home/ohiomarriager-20
12 Hour Mentor Training Class
A 12 hour training class has been developed to train your couples to be
marriage mentors
The first portion of the training consists of proven mentoring procedures that
have been
developed and refined over a nine year period during which they were used on
380
couples:
1. Mentoring Engaged Couples
2. Mentoring Troubled Married Couples
The second portion of the training
consists of personal assessments that mentor couples
can apply to themselves as well as apply to the couples they are mentoring:
1. Marriage Satisfaction Inventory
2. Five Love Languages Assessment
3. Temperament Assessment
The third portion of the training
consists of skills that mentor couples can apply to their
own marriage as well as to the couples they are mentoring:
1. Written/Verbal Dialogue Technique
2. Communication Skills
3. Conflict Resolution Skills
4. Growth and Planning Skills
Mentor Training Alumni
The following churches and
organizations received
marriage mentor training or
assistance/advice from
members of the Christian
Life Center Marriage Builders Ministry,
and subsequently
formed (or are forming) marriage
mentoring ministries.
1. Immanuel Assembly of God,
6486 130th Street, Middleburg Heights, OH
phone 216-676-0252, Contact Paul & Mona Sproul
2. Fellowship Christian
Church, 2301 Valley Loop Drive, Springfield, OH
Click on
http://www.fellowshipchristian.org/Pages/Ministries/marriageminpopup.html
3. Franklin Christian Church,
403 Oxford Road, Franklin, OH 45005
4. Faith Evangelical Free
Church, 5910 Price Road, Milford, OH 45150,
5. Vandalia First Baptist Church (In development)
6. Crestview Presbyterian Church, 9463 Cincinnati-Columbus Road, West
Chester, OH
phone 513-777-6555, contact couple Gary & Lidy Johnson (In development)
Click on http://www.crestpres.org/congregational_life.php
7. Elizabeth New Life Center,
359 Forest Ave., Dayton, OH 45405, Contact Mike & Debbie
Nieport, email psalm27@donet.com
8. The Gathering Place, Piqua, OH, Contact Pastor Don Riley