Have you ever worried that something in your past might disqualify you from serving God? Feel like poor choices or growing up in a dysfunctional home are too much to overcome? Be encouraged. God can redeem all things. There’s no background or brokenness God can’t use for good for those who wholeheartedly seek him.

These high school sweethearts always knew they were called to ministry. Early in their marriage Trey and Lea Morgan began working together, first with youth, and then families. In 2003, Trey became the preaching minister for the Childress Church of Christ while Lea concentrated on children’s ministry, a natural fit as they raised four sons in their small community in the Panhandle of Texas. Now 34 years later, the Morgans have been inspiring and equipping couples for decades.

What is the purpose of marriage? Is it to make people happy, as portrayed by Hollywood? An unspoken expectation in marriage vows is that the couple will live happily ever after. If marriage doesn’t make someone happy, is it time to move on? What if, as the Grinch found out about the meaning of Christmas, marriage was meant for “a little bit more.” Writer, editor, and Anglican priest Al Janssen noted that despite the end of millions of marriages annually worldwide, “it is striking that nine out of ten people worldwide choose to marry at least once in their lives.

What would inspire a single person to read a book about marriage when they are not even dating anyone? How about because it’s a gift from their mother? Pleasing his mother motivated author and speaker Michael Johnson to crack open a “marriage book” Christmas break his junior year of college – little imagining its future impact. What he found inside opened his eyes to common marriage pitfalls and became a treasure, not just for him and his future family, but for the thousands influenced by his ministry where he and his wife, Julie, help singles transform their dating practices.

Many symptoms in our troubled society point to a need for a revival of men and benevolent masculinity. Too many men, young and old, feel isolated. Siloed, stressed, pressured – without connection and direction they wander and detour through life, failing to fulfill their God-given purpose. Former NFL quarterback, author and leader for families Jeff Kemp wants to turn the tide. He inspires men with a simple message: Friendship is the way of Jesus.

Your first fight started long before you ever met your spouse. That’s because coping skills formed in childhood play a much larger role in later relationships than most people realize. Counselors and authors Milan and Kay Yerkovich realized when studying attachment research that the ways young children bond (or don’t) with their parents during their early years deeply affect their ability to connect with their spouse later in life. Their How We Love resources help people discover their unhealthy behavior patterns and overcome the deficits that plague their marriages.

“Culture tells us real men make a lot of money and have it all together” — BetterMan.com. That description may seem like the guy version of the American Dream, but is that definition obtainable? Does that goal give a man purpose and the desire to bring his best self to his marriage, his family and his work? 

That standard leaves a lot to be desired according to best-selling author, pastor and trailblazer in Christian men’s ministry Robert Lewis, who for 40 years has helped millions discover and pass on a biblically based, authentic and life enriching definition of what it means to be a man.

You’ve reached a point in your life when you realize something needs to change. Maybe it’s in your finances, your parenting or your relationships. But getting started is overwhelming! How to even begin? Dr. Randy Carlson, counselor, best-selling author and nationally syndicated radio host, believes living a better life is easier than you think.

God has a beautiful way of redeeming brokenness to serve his purposes. As carbon under enough pressure becomes a beautiful diamond, so too, do those who overcome adversity through the power of the Holy Spirit shine Christ’s light.

When Julie and Greg Gorman married 24 years ago, they didn’t start with a blank slate. Both were previously divorced, Greg was raising a pre-school-age daughter, and when Julie became pregnant shortly after their honeymoon with two babies in three years, stress levels escalated.

Brokenness thrives in a sin-sick world. We see marriages fall apart due to infidelity or addictions to sex or pornography. Who steps in to help people heal from these hard problems? Who can be trusted to understand such personal pain and shame? Be Broken Ministries, founded by Jonathan Daugherty 20 years ago, effectively addresses these very issues with kindness, skill, and the power of the God’s redeeming grace.

How many times have you wished for a friend to confide in or ask for advice? Someone who was just a little farther down the road in marriage or relationships? Consider Ashleigh Slater the big sister you always wanted. The author and podcaster shares stories in her work from her 20-year marriage and life raising four daughters to inspire and encourage.

Marriage coaches, international speakers, mentors, ministry founders, radio show hosts, best-selling authors … There's no avenue in the marriage and family realm where Dr. Gary and Barb Rosberg have not only participated but excelled. The impact of their biblically based wisdom is felt around the world – whether through their more than one million books and DVD series translated into 12 different languages, 35-year international speaking ministry, 22 years hosting a radio program, or marriage and life coaching through their America’s Family Coaches.

Gary Chapman, Ph.D., counselor, pastor, speaker and best-selling author, can be considered a founding father in the field of family and relationship ministry. He’s best known for developing the 5 Love Languages concept. His book by the same name, The 5 Love Languages, published in 1992, continues to sell more copies each year than the one preceding. It’s now been continually in print for 30 years, sold more than 20 million copies in English and has been translated and published into 57 languages worldwide.

William J. Doherty, Ph.D., has dedicated his work to marriage and family flourishing. A professor of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Doherty has worked with couples since 1977. He’s been the Director of both Minnesota’s Couples on the Brink Project and the Citizen Professional Center since 2010. He has been a Fellow of the National Council of Family Relations since 2004 and was granted the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Family Therapy Academy in 2017 as well as an Outstanding Community Service Award from the University of Minnesota in 2005. He’s a licensed marriage and family therapist, a licensed psychologist and a fellow and clinical member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

The CDC recorded 630,505 divorces in the United States in 2020. Each figure represents a choice to dissolve a marriage experiencing crisis. But divorce doesn’t have to be the only answer. Where can people turn when their marriage is so broken it feels like there’s no hope? Hope Restored Marriage Intensives, offered by Focus on the Family, save marriages and redeem relationships.

You want to raise your children in a happy home, and you agree a healthy marriage is key to that goal. You might listen to a few podcasts, follow a speaker in the relationship field, even read a book or two. But how do you keep up with all the information from all the experts? Is there a way to easily incorporate best practices into your busy life?

Money problems in marriages have the potential to tear a couple apart. Unpaid bills, looming student debt, overspent credit cards … It’s no wonder money is one of the most often named reasons for marital discord. Dr. Art Ranier, author, financial counselor and founder of Christian Money Solutions offers Bible-based wisdom for couples, parents and church leaders about finances and stewardship

What if you found the cure for cancer? Wouldn’t you want to spread the news? Theologian and Theology of the Body Institute president Christopher West believes he has found the answer to the cancer plaguing our society and souls. The key is intimacy with God – not a sterile, head-knowledge belief, but a true relationship experienced in and through our physical bodies.

Nobody gets divorced if they are in love. That profound realization became the thesis upon which marriage therapist and researcher Willard Harley, Ph.D., built his work and eventually became the inspiration for bestselling, His Needs, Her Needs book. The concepts Dr. Harley introduced became the bedrock upon which later experts in the marriage field founded their practices, including the Nashville-based Marriage Dynamics Institute (MDI), which began in 1994.

Don’t you wish that there was an instruction manual to help you in your marriage? Unfortunately, there isn’t one perfect roadmap, but there is The Alexander House, an apostolate strengthening marriages throughout San Antonio and South Texas. The Alexander House was birthed by Julie and Greg Alexander out of their passion to share their experience after their marriage on the brink of divorce was miraculously restored. Julie and Greg began telling their story, speaking and mentoring others in 1999.