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Hosting a REAL LIFE Marriage Advance

Thank you for your interest in hosting a REAL LIFE Marriage Advance.

What are the expectations from the host team?
Provide a strategic Prayer Shield Team.
Provide the blessing and support of church leadership.
Promote and advertise the Marriage Advance.
Handle all administration, registration, and facility issues.

What are the financial costs to host a REAL LIFE Marriage Advance?
A prayerful and strategic commitment of time, energy, and finances are required for a successful REAL LIFE ministry experience. Much groundwork is laid before the Marriage Advance occurs. REAL LIFE ministries desire is to build a relationship with each hosting church.

The expenses to host a REAL LIFE Marriage Advance include:
Traveling expenses-
All traveling and related expenses are to be covered by the hosting church/organization. These include round trip air travel from Colorado Springs, car rental, hotel, meals, parking, tolls, etc.

A Marriage Advance work book-
This workbook is filled with biblical principles and REAL LIFE practical applications. It is a tool that can be utilized after a person attends a Marriage Advance. The cost for each workbook which we provide is $20 per person ($40 per couple).

Honorarium -
A In lieu of a specific Marriage Advance honorarium, at the end of the gathering a love offering will be taken for REAL LIFE ministries.

Other miscellaneous optional costs in hosting an Advance-
You may want to have refreshments available on Friday night and during the Saturday breaks. Hosting churches and organizations sometimes provide a box lunch for each couple that allows them time to be together during the lunch break. The Saturday night session ends with vows and covenants. After this session wedding cake and refreshments can be provided. In addition, some churches offer child care and help offset these costs to parents.

Budgeting possibilities-
These are a few of the ways churches and organizations across the country have handled the expenses in hosting a REAL LIFE Marriage Advance weekend.
  • Budget the total costs to hold an Advance into a line item in the church budget.
  • Charge a fee to those who attend the Marriage Advance. For example a seventy-five dollar per couple charge could cover workbook costs, lunch, and refreshments.
  • Prayerfully ask a specific number of partners for a specific amount to be given. For example- ten couples who each give $750 provides a $7,500 operating budget.
  • Our experience is often high capacity donors who have the gift of giving, and a passion for marriage, joyfully help cover Marriage Advance expenses.
  • Partner with another church to help share expenses.
We occasionally hear church leaders say:"we can't afford to invest in marriage this year."
Our humble response is there is an all out attack on marriage, intimacy, and sexuality. Our belief is that churches can not afford not to invest in marriage training. In reality, the REAL LIFE costs (the least of which are financial) for even one marriage breakdown are astronomical.