So what exactly is Marriage Encounter?
Marriage Encounter is a weekend away for couples who want to take their marriage from good to great. It’s not a retreat and it’s not a seminar–it’s one of a kind, just like your marriage.
From Friday evening at 8 to 4 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, you and your spouse will experience unique presentations and dynamic discussions in the comfort of a secluded environment. Specially trained couples will guide you through carefully honed communication techniques with talks inspired by their personal experiences–experiences that open up discussions about money, family, changing seasons of life, sex, and God. Almost every session ends with time to talk it over in the privacy of your own hotel room.
Marriage Encounter gives couples the opportunity to sign off, get away, and examine their lives together in a real and realistic way. It’s based on the belief that marriage is the most significant relationship on earth. If you believe that, too, Marriage Encounter is for you.
Marriage Encounter is Not…
It’s not Seven Steps To…; it’s not a “how to” book; and it’s not a marriage “expert” who charges big bucks for the repackaged advice everyone’s heard. It’s not a sharing session and it’s not couples therapy. Marriage Encounter isn’t your chance for a family vacation or a getaway with your Sunday School class or small group, either.
Our Promise To You
- No circle time or singing kumbaya
- No embarrassing skits or role-playing in front of the group
- Only one introduction, at the beginning of the weekend
- Plenty of one-on-one time to share with your spouse
- No need to share with anyone else
Who is Marriage Encounter for?
It’s for anybody who believes that marriage is the most important relationship on earth. It’s for handyman dads and soccer moms, for empty-nesters and almost-newlyweds, and for everyone in between. It’s for the couples who know they have it good and want to make it even better—it’s for couples like you.
Marriage Encounter is for anybody who knows there’s always more to learn about each other, and that it’s the weekends away that spice things up at home. Most of all, Marriage Encounter is for anyone who believes they made the right choice on their wedding day and every day after.
Couples who have been married a few years attend Marriage Encounter weekends with couples that have been married a few decades—there’s no age limit on a great marriage. And while Marriage Encounter is presented from a Christian perspective, it’s perfect for people of any faith, or of no faith at all.
We do ask that only couples who have been married more than one year (or have at least one previously-married spouse) attend a Marriage Encounter weekend. We understand the excitement of newlyweds, but giving your marriage time to grow will make your future Marriage Encounter weekend even more fulfilling. As an Assemblies of God organization, AG Marriage Encounter adheres to the denomination’s standing rooted in Biblical doctrine that marriage is between one man and one woman (Genesis 2, Matthew 19).