Liv and I had the privilege to be interviewed by the Tango Family Initiative last week on Friday. This new private, non-profit group is currently conducting research to see what they can do to support and encourage "family champions" around the country. This research will be used to shape what the initiative does.
Our names were given to Liz Swanson from a short list of 10 couples from Tim Bell, Director of FamilyLife's Weekend to Remember Getaway. The fact that of the hundreds of couples Tim knows, of all the City Ministry Directors (CMDs) for WTR, Tim thought of us for the short list of 10 couples to offer up to the Tango Family Initiative as "family champions" made us feel honored and put us in awe of what God has done for our lives.
We shared our story about why we have a passion for marriage ministry, what we do, and how we do it. Liz's questions helped us to learn more about ourselves. Her immediate observation was that we will use ANY vehicle to show people God's plan for strong, healthy marriages, whether it is FamilyLife, Bay Area Fellowship, a Web resource, the Bible, or something else. We're "scrappy" in that respect. While most folks will rally behind a single organization, Liv and I have rallied behind a single message, "God hates divorce, marriage is a commitment worth making, and we can show you resources to help you build a long-lasting, healthy marriage."
Liz also got us thinking about how many families are impacted each year by our efforts. We never really gave it much thought, and often felt like we were not doing enough. We gave a conservative answer of roughly 100 couples, but when we started putting it all together including the people who attend Weekend to Remember, serve for WTR, attend a small group at church, attend men's groups at church, and so on, that number was closer to about 250 families each year impacted by our efforts!
We were blown away by that kind of impact. God has taken two children of divorce, placed them together in a committed marriage, brought them to know His Son Jesus Christ, and through their submission and struggle to Him is using them to impact families for generations to come! I am so humbly grateful to be a part of this ride, God's ride.
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