I never thought that I would be in marriage ministry. After all, marriage is just what people do, right? My parents have been married for over almost 40 years, my husband and I are happily married, why do we even need marriage ministry? Only God knew that answering the call for help a new ministry in Wyoming would completely change my thinking regarding marriage and ministry geared toward it.
I met Brady and Melissa Vandeberg at a marriage workshop they were brought in to lead at the church Seth and I were attending at the time. It sounded like it would be worth our time and childcare was provided, so we thought “why not?” We had a good day, got to spend some time together, and even learned a few things. We took the opportunity to sign up for the Vandeberg’s FamilyLife newsletter.
Fast forward a few years to when I opened one of those newsletters. I was looking forward to reading what they had been doing and how God was working through their ministry. They shared that they were working to start a ministry specific to Wyoming. One of their prayer requests was for someone to build a website for this new ministry. This caught my attention! I had built a couple of websites at that point and enjoyed doing it. My kids weren’t babies anymore, which meant I had a bit more available time. I reached out to see how I could help.
Brady and Melissa have contagious passion to help hurting families and fight for marriages to succeed. The more I talked to Melissa about their vision for this new ministry, the more excited I became. It was quickly apparent that marriages need help, and that people aren’t getting the help they need. Melissa and Brady had formulated a plan to make resources available to the people of Wyoming, to help them see the importance of marriage and the family unit as God created it. It didn’t take long for me to be all in! I was going to create a website for Wyoming Strong Families.
I’ve always been the type to be in behind-the-scenes roles, while wanting to understand what’s happening on the front lines so I have the full picture. I hadn’t been with WSF long when Brady and Melissa hosted a Marriage Ministry Workshop near my home. Seth and I planned to attend, just to see what the workshop was about so I could communicate it well through our new website and social media channels. We went through the exercises, thinking about what marriage ministry could look like at the church we were attending for the sake of going through the workshop (NOT because we planned to start a marriage ministry!). As newer members at our church, we had been asked to serve in several different capacities, but we hadn’t yet figured out where God wanted us. It was through this workshop that God seemed to whisper to both of us, “I want you to start a marriage ministry.”
We were both surprised! Yet going through the workshop helped us to see that starting a ministry the church had never had before was doable. It was also necessary. In fact, WE could do this! We took the plan we’d created at the workshop to our pastor. The passion for marriages we caught from Brady and Melissa, along with the vision we’d created in the workshop, made for an easy sell. It didn’t happen overnight, but God is doing big things! We now lead a team of couples who also see the need for couples to be regularly investing in and fighting for their marriages. We have monthly meetings with other couples in our church to spend time strengthening our marriages. We’re planning a full-day marriage event to help couples remember that marriage should be fun and chart a good path for the future.
It has been a blessing to find ways to serve in my local community AND have an impact for families across the state while staying home to care for my children. I regularly get to hear about God’s miraculous work calling couples back from the brink of divorce. I’m more aware of the marriages around me and am looking for ways help support them. I have a clearer picture of God’s design for marriage, the importance and impact a great marriage can have.
