Here at Marriage Missions, we’re continually asked the question, “What book or material on the subject of marriage can we use in our Small Group to help us?” Our answer is, it depends upon what you’re looking for. But we have a lot of resources listed on this web site. You can also use some of our postings on this web site for a marriage group study.
We have books and resources listed in the various categories that can help you in many different ways. We wouldn’t have them listed on our web site if we didn’t think they could be helpful. So that would be one recommendation.
Using This Web Site for a Marriage Group Study
Another would be to use our web site for a launching pad for a small group marriage study. Here are some suggestions you might find helpful to be able to do just that.
You can:
• Select a married couple or someone who can facilitate/lead the discussion time.
• Go into the index for a topic (of your choice) such as, Grow Your Marriage, Sexual Issues, Communication and Conflict, etc…
• Make a copy of the “QUOTES” section for every couple (or person) participating. (NOTE: Everything on our web site is down-loadable and printer-friendly.)
• Give them a few minutes to glance through the pages you’ve given them. Tell them ahead of time that you’re going to have them select one statement or quote to discuss.
• Each person (or couple) is to read the “QUOTE” they’d like to comment on. They then say the following, giving their comment afterwards:
“I find this quote interesting because…”
– or –
“I think this is an important point because…”
This could even take several weeks to cover a subject.
Further Studies
If you want to further delve into the subject for another week or so, the teachers/facilitators could find an article, which they can copy. They would hand them out to each couple (or person) attending. And then they ask them to read the article that week. This will prepare them to discuss what they found important or interesting the following week.
The teacher(s) should be prepared the following week with several discussion questions they’ve put together. Maybe they can even add other material they’ve found on their own on the subject.
You may want to have a book or resource list available. (We have some listed under “Helpful Resources” in each subject.) That way the couples can do further study on the subject on their own after the class has ended.
The following week you can be prepared to go on to another subject using the same format.
Of course, you can adapt this plan however you care to. We’ve used this format ourselves and have found that it lends itself to some very interesting discussions. We’ve also heard from a number of people who use the weekly Marriage Messages and Insights as their “topic of discussion” when they meet together as couples to strengthen their marriages.
We’d love to hear from you if you use it in your group or classroom study. We’d love to know how it worked for you and if you made any changes that worked well for you. Even if it didn’t work well it would be good to know because we learn from each other’s mistakes and triumphs. May the Lord bless you as you work with marriages.
Cindy Wright of Marriage Missions International wrote this article.
If you have additional tips you can share, please “Join the Discussion” by adding your comments below.
Filed under: Marriage Counseling & Mentoring