About Marriage Mentors

Marriage Mentors is a Christian response to high divorce rates in Shasta County. The ministry began in 1997 as a means to help couples prepare for marriage by working with a mentor couple. Jesus instructed in Matthew 19:5-6: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” Using Biblical principles, the mentor couple works through a series of areas in conjunction with results from an inventory which the couple takes at the beginning of the process.

Included areas are:
- Understanding the nature of marriage covenant
- Spiritual
- Communication
- Conflict resolution
- Role relationships
- Families of origin
- Finances
- Gender differences
- Sexual expectations
- Parenting and children

If couples have had previous marriages with children, special attention is given to the dynamics of step-families. In addition to working with pre-marital couples mentors also work with couples who are experiencing stress and unresolved issues in their marriages. Married couples take a different type inventory; many of the same areas are addressed as well as specific issues that the couple has.