"Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain."  Psalm 127:1

The Marriage and Family Ministry at Suburban wishes to glorify God and grow in our love for Him and each other as we Bring people to Christ, Mature people in Christ, Serve people for christ, Worship Christ with people, and Impact our community through Christ.

We have a variety of teams and people to serve this purpose and invite you to browse through the following information to see how we might come alongside each other's lives to accomplish what God intends.

The Family Support Team has need of volunteers in the following areas:

• Becoming a prayer partner or mentor for someone going through a difficult time
• Helping as a Care Coordinator who comes alongside people within our body who are going through cancer, long term illness situations, or other challenging seasons
• Joining the Repair Ministry Team which consists of volunteers who are willing to do light maintenance work occasionally to assist others in our body who are in need of help
• Contact Carey if you are interested at 753-2802

The Grief Recovery Group is taking a break and taking on a new look.  Betsy Boren is our new Bereavement Coordinator and she will be available to help people going through the grief process or anticipating grief in their lives.  The Grief Recovery Group will take a break until October 5th, where it will then meet weekly for 6 weeks from 7-8:30 on Tuesday evenings. 

Family Support Team…In Galatians, Paul tells us to “bear one another’s burdens” and help others to “carry their own load”. Several people have come together to assist in making “body life” happen easier here at Suburban. Some of the components we will be addressing on this team are:  Some of the components of the Family Support Team are as follows:

• Young Family Support (baby pantry, the quilt ministry)
• Divorce Care (matching prayer partners with those going through divorce, practical help, support for the kids and pastoral care)
• InService Care (helping with light maintenance needs, moving, etc.)
• Single Parent Support (helping with practical needs, support, networking)
• A Classifieds System (helping people in the body care for practical needs of others in the body)
• Long term illness (pastoral care, card ministry, prayer support, practical support, etc.) 
•  Holiday Baskets (blessing others during the holidays with food and gifts
• Bereavement Ministry (helping those in the process of grieving the loss of a loved one)

Check out the "Classifieds" display on the Celebrate bulletin board in the foyer to see current listings!

Also check out the "InService" display on the Celebrate bulletin board for current opportunities to serve within our own body!

Suburban marriages.......Want to take your marriage from good to great?  Or work on areas that need some assistance?  We are starting a new small group in the marriage ministry entitled, "Maximizing Marriage".  We want to encourage healthy marriages and will be offering this small group 3 times throughout the year. Not only will we look at core topics such as personality styles, love languages, financial management, conflict resolution, etc. but we will also have guest couples share their experience with the topic of the night.  See the newsletter or bulletin for details.

Are you engaged or planning on engagement this year?  For 8 weeks in October-November, we will be offering the fall PreMarital class at the 9:30 hour on Sundays (we also offer the same class in the spring).  If you are newly engaged or planning on engagement this year, this class may be a great fit (it mostly fulfills Suburban's marriage policy for engaged couples).  We will look at several topics including financial management, expectations, personality styles, gender differences, etc.  Led by Bruce and Carey Penner

Want to connect with other couples/families who can relate to stepfamily issues?  Join us on Sunday mornings at 11:00.  We're starting a new curriculum on September 12th entitled, "I Love You More" by Les and Leslie Parrott.

• PreMarital Class for engaged couples or soon to be engaged:  October-November 
• Newly Marrieds Sunday Bible Fellowship:  September 12th
• Smart Stepfamilies Sunday Bible Fellowship:  September 12th
• Maximizing Marriage Small Group:  September - October
• Rekindle:  A Night for Your Marriage:  November 12th
• Let's Make A Difference Day for Single Moms:  October 24th
• Baby Pantry Promotion:  January
• Rekindle:  A Night for Your Marriage:  January 7th
• Maximizing Marriage Small Group:  January-February
• Cancer Care Promotion:  April-May
• Maximizing Marriage Small Group:  April - May
• PreMarital Class for engaged couples or soon to be engaged: April - May
• Single Moms Mother's Day Celebration:  May 5th
• Couples Retreat:  May 21-22

•  Newly Married Couples...(for couples without children who have been married 5 years or less) continues on Sundays at 9:30 am. starting on September 12th  Led by Buddy and Brandy Sturm and John and Jane Eberhardt.
• Homebuilder's Group....will start a new series on Sunday, September 12th at 11:00.  Class led by Rick Herbert.
• Smart Stepfamilies.....We are focusing on the challenges and opportunities of merging families together.  Meets on Sundays at 11:00
• Other Small Groups focus on different seasons of married life and other aspects of family life. Check out the Small Groups brochure at the Welcome Center.

 What is a marriage mentor and why do we need them? According to Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott, a marriage mentor is a relatively happy, more experienced couple purposefully investing in another couple to effectively navi­gate a journey that they have already taken. The purpose of marriage mentors is to encourage a mentoree couple to grow in their marriage and in their relationship with the Lord. Every mentoring relationship will look different because different people are involved. We have a trained team of volunteers willing to spend time in this type of relationship!  If you are interested in growing in your marriage, please contact Carey Penner 753-2802.