building healthy marriages: marriage enrichment class guide

Somewhere around 1998/99, the call of God to do full time itinerant ministry was very strong, after God healed our marriage and we (Ola and I) started to help other couples (mostly our friends) having couples’ groups and informal counseling. In 2000, when we moved from the state of New Jersey to Nebraska, the call to full time itinerant ministry on marriage began. On the advice of a mentor, to study and know everything about marriage in the Bible, I took a year to do just that and read lots of sociology books as well, which led to the writing of ＂Building a Healthy Marriage＂ workbook. The workbook focused on 12 topics, and in the early years of ministry I often insist on teaching all 12 topics in a weekend retreat setting. Over the years, as God opened doors for me to speak, the workbook has been translated to many languages - Nepali (Nepal), Swahili (Kenya), Telegu (India), Creole (Haiti), various Spanish dialects, Moore (Burkina Faso) and French. Over the 23+ years of ministry, I have noticed that churches have moved away from intense weekend retreat model to small group model for couple’s ministry, and I felt it was time to convert the workbook into a small group guide. This book focus on 8 topics for 8 weeks of class or small group discussion on marriage. It can be used by a church group and non-church group. It is my prayer that as couples worldwide grab this book and bring their friends together to discuss marriage based on biblical principles, that many marriages and home will be healthy for God’s glory. W. Femi Awodele is the Executive Director of Christian Couples Fellowship International, Inc., a marriage ministry based out of Omaha Nebraska for 23+ years. Femi is married to Ola (a physician) for 32 years, and they have three adult children. Femi is the author of many books, many on marriage (such as Peculiar Conflicts - African Marriages in Western Culture, and the Home Improvements Series I and II) and some on doctrine (The Character of a Leader and The Discipline of Surrender).