The Prepare-Enrich program has been used by counselors and clergy since 1977 to help dating couples prepare for marriage and married couples enrich or recover the joy of their relationships. Churches, high schools and colleges use it to educate members and students about healthy couple and family relationships.
Bringing it home
The Kansas-Nebraska Conference has taken advantage of this program and is making efforts to reduce the number of divorces and enhance marriages by training every pastor to use the Prepare-Enrich online relationship assessment.
Couples complete a customized online assessment to identify areas in their relationship that are strong and areas that need to be improved. After they have completed the assessment, they meet with a trained facilitator to learn how to apply the results in practical ways to improve their relationship. The assessment lets them evaluate their relationship by agreeing or disagreeing with statements about them and their partner regarding communication, finances, spiritual beliefs, personality, family background and more.
More than 4 million couples have taken the assessment and worked with a certified facilitator. Just taking the assessment has been proven to improve relationship satisfaction, but a couple learns and grows even more by working with a trained facilitator to process and apply the results.
The tools and confidence to help
I became a Prepare- Enrich facilitator in 1991, and in 2005 I became a trainer. I have trained more than 100 pastors to lead couples through the process of relationship self-discovery and enrichment.
Every pastor in our conference is trained to use Prepare-Enrich to serve their members and communities.
Pastor Edwin Bravatti from Scottsbluff, Nebraska, said, “This program not only addresses issues among pre-married or married couples, it allows me to work with individuals who are single and struggling with various relationship issues. I can also use Prepare-Enrich to help people who are struggling to find a partner. I think that what they learn by taking this course may help them avoid getting into relationships that won’t last.”
Pastor Joseph Carty of North Platte, Nebraska, added, “Prepare-Enrich gives me the tools and confidence to help couples prepare for
marriage. It helps put into words both the positive or negative things the couples have identified in their relationship in ways that are constructive and helpful.”
Within 24 hours of taking the training, Pastor Mitch Elrod of Hays, Kansas, shared, “I am thrilled with Prepare-Enrich! I shared it with my head elder and his wife, and they want to sponsor the cost so engaged couples in college have this resource. Prepare-Enrich training is amazing and needed. Thanks for providing this valuable resource.”
Find a trained Prepare-Enrich facilitator near you at www.prepare-enrich.com.
John Sweigart is vice president of administration for the Kansas-Nebraska Conference.
