CMBA is hosting an association-wide “Marriage That Lasts a Lifetime” Conference on Friday evening, May 2, through Saturday, May 3, in the North Trenholm Baptist Student Center. The Friday evening session and meal will be held 6:30-9pm, and the Saturday morning session with a continental breakfast will be held from 8:30am until noon. Sessions will be led by Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Professor Dr. Tate Cockrell and his wife Wendy.
“This will be an intensive, focused time for couples to spend an extended period together that can make a real difference in a relationship,” Cockrell said of the experience.
Participants will explore topics including the biblical foundations of marriage, personality differences, communication, and rekindling intimacy during the five hourly sessions. “Real talk” segments tend to be a highlight, when the Cockrells have transparent discussions about related session content that they have learned or wished they had known going into their own marriage.
Regarding the need to prioritize marriage enrichment, Cockrell encourages couples to “carve a time out of the busy-ness of life, particularly if they are in ministry and have children, because they can quickly fall into having a marriage that is surviving but not thriving.” He sees that too often lifestyles and schedules crowd out opportunities for couples to connect, recharge, and correct areas of their marriage that need growth.
Couples will learn things through the conference that they can immediately begin using in their relationship. A recent participant’s marriage was in such danger before the conference that the couple was considering divorce. That same couple now reports having a new vision for their marriage and are committed to working to improve it.
“This story is echoed dozens of times each year,” Cockrell says. “One pastor shared that when he and his wife implemented what they learned at the conference, it was a ‘game-changer’ and absolutely transformed their marriage. The marriage principles will apply universally, regardless of whether you are a church member or serving in ministry.”
When Associational Missions Strategist Jamie Rogers and his wife Tasha experienced Marriage That Lasts a Lifetime with other AMS couples, Rogers knew it would be a blessing to marriages and families throughout the Columbia area.
“You will receive solid, biblical teaching and extremely practical content to implement immediately,” Rogers says, adding that lost and broken marriages have likely contributed to other aspects of “moral and spiritual chaos throughout our area.”
The conference is open to all members of the association and includes engaged couples. Online registration is open through April 27 and is $25 per couple. There is no charge for CMBA pastors and church staff members and their spouses to attend. The North Trenholm Student Building is located at 6515 North Trenholm Road in Columbia.