marriage
Our personal background, culture, and traditions shape our understanding of marriage.
At Fellowship, we recognize the value of that diversity while holding strongly to our biblical convictions for the covenant of Christian marriage.
We understand that a biblical marriage is a unique and exclusive covenant made by a man and woman to share their lives together in a bond of love that reflects the love of Jesus Christ. That requires much more than a ceremony and a blessing from the church. It requires that the bride and groom both put their faith in Jesus and commit their lives to following Him.
PreMarital Class
Our mission at Fellowship is to make disciples, and part of this mission includes the essential work of building remarkable marriages centered on Christ and marked by love, enjoyment, and commitment to one another. That's why we offer a 7-week PreMarital Class for couples who are seriously dating, engaged, or otherwise anticipating marriage.
Engagement Tips
We don’t choose to simply perform wedding ceremonies, but we also want to help build marriages that will thrive and go the distance. These are our recommendations for engaged couples before beginning to plan their wedding.
1. Make individual commitments to follow Jesus the top priority in your marriage.
We highly recommend that both man and woman are committed to following Jesus before they are married. To not share the same faith leads to very challenging circumstances in marriage. If you or your fiancé have not put your faith in Jesus Christ and you want to learn more about what that means, we would love to walk with you through that and answer any questions that arise.
2. Seek formal counseling prior to being married.
We require that anyone married by one of our pastors participate in both our Premarital Class and several sessions of counseling with a counselor or therapist. Your marriage will have a greater chance to thrive if you enter it knowing your areas of strength and weakness as a couple, as well as if you gain tools for how best to navigate those areas.
3. Find a local church that you can trust and support, and get involved.
All remarkable marriages face challenges, and every bride and groom who strive to keep Jesus at the center of their marriage needs a community who is committed to living Christ-centered lives with them. At Fellowship, the primary way we build this kind of community is through joining a Group.
4. Reach out to the pastor you want to officiate your wedding at least six months before your wedding day.
This will maximize the time to connect with you and your fiancé and to get your wedding date on the pastor’s calendar. If you have any questions about our wedding ministry, please contact us at marriage@madeforfellowship.com.
Wedding Officiation
What are the steps to having a fellowship pastor officiate your wedding?