Re-launch of Married Couples Ministry (MCM).

The re-launch of the Married Couples Ministry coincided with the more integrated approach of

the Family Life Ministries, which sought to incorporate the various focus groups into the Family

Training Hour (FTH), with each group being assigned a particular Sunday in each month.

Consequently, our first FTH aligned program under the guidance of the new Executive team,

took place on Sunday February 16, 2014 under the theme “A Richer You”. O what a Blessed

launch it was! The evening was a tremendous success, which saw the presentation of our new

Logo, as well as the freshly minted Mission Statement and Ministry Objectives.

Coming so soon after Valentine’s Day, we decided to continue in the vein of Love and Romance

as it would dove-tail seamlessly into the Financial, Emotional and Spiritual benefits of being a

part of a healthy, God centered Marriage. As such, the programme contained highlights such

as the presentation of decoratively wrapped Bobbies to each Married Couple, prepared Love

Notes which were read to the Wives by their Husbands, while being toasted with wine (Non

Alcoholic of course!). We also had a few Husbands serenading their Wives as an extra treat.

Our guest speaker, Sister Blossom White, was absolutely phenomenal in highlighting the nu-

merous benefits of a wholesome Marriage, and ended the evening on a highly entertaining yet

edifying note.

This issue

Re-launch of MCM P.1 God’s Plan for Marriages P.2

The ASHES series P.3 Activities for the Quarter P.4

OBJECTIVES

To provide the tools to facilitate, maintain and encourage healthy mar-riages;

To provide opportunities for sharing practical solu-tions for a successful marriage relationship;

To provide support to newlyweds as well as those who are engaged to be married; and

To provide a deeper rela-tionship with God, spouse and others.

MISSION STATEMENT

The Married Couples Ministry

is committed to building

healthy marriages on the

foundation of biblical stand-

ards through the provision of

practical solutions

Portmore New Testament Church of God

Quarterly Newsletter

ISSUE 01 September - December 2014

Married Couples Ministry

GOD’s Plan for Marriages.

Welcome to the grand launch of the

first Quarterly Newsletter for the Mar-

ried Couples Ministry of the PNTCOG!

As we embark on this exiting journey

for the Married Couples Ministry

(MCM) for the 2014—2015 church

year, we intend to use this medium to

convey all the happenings in the Minis-

try and its impact on you. This news-

letter will serve to keep you up-to-

date on upcoming events at our

church, as well as nationally, in addi-

tion to providing tips and biblically

sound advice for building and main-

taining healthy, God-centred marriag-

es.

It is not by chance that we have em-

braced the increased use of technology

in highlighting the work of the minis-

try, given its increased accessibility and

use in our society. The ability to con-

nect to our members using a variety

of tools is an exciting prospect, as it

provides you, our valued members

with multiple options for our interac-

tion.

What an exiting year ahead this prom-

ises to be! We stand ready, willing and

able, to serve you, our Married Cou-

ples, with the grace and humility that

our Lord and Savior expects of us. This

is indeed a partnership encompassing

the Church, the Executive Committee,

and our members, realizing that

through Biblical nourishment, we can

and will reduce the number of trou-

bled and failing relationships and repel

the attack of the enemy against our

marriages.

“For with God nothing shall be impos-

sible” Luke 1:37

The downfall of the family unit in society is

one of the most tragic things facing man-

kind. The destruction of the family unit all

begins with the destruction of what starts a

family - the marriage of a man and a woman.

Divorce is so commonplace now that it

would seem to be the rule rather than the

exception it was even fifteen years ago. Why

is this so? Because, the institution of mar-

riage and family in general is not held in the

esteem that God meant for it to be.

The family was God's first institution, but

today many seem to think it is the worst

institution. In the beginning, God created

man and woman and joined them together

for life. Genesis 2:24 declares: "Therefore

shall a man leave his father and his mother,

and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall

be one flesh." In these words, God instituted

the marriage relationship and ordained the

family unit.

Satan is busily attacking God's plan for the

family to the point that he has begun to in-

fluence certain segments of our society to

accept the idea that a "family" need not

consist of a husband and wife. It may be two

or more people of the same sex just "living

together." However, we as Bible believing

Christians will pay keen attention to what

Jesus said about marriage: "Have you not

read that He who made them at the begin-

ning made them male and female, and said,

'For this reason a man shall leave his father

and mother and be joined to his wife, and

the two shall become one flesh.' So then,

they are no longer two but one flesh. There-

fore what God has joined together, let not

man separate" (Matthew 19:4–6). Jesus

clearly puts God squarely in the picture and

we should follow suit.

Marriage is God’s provision to meet our

deep longing for a close and intimate rela-

tionship. He puts a man and woman togeth-

er and uses their respective strengths and

weaknesses to make them stronger as a

team. It is in marriage that God calls people

to put aside their selfishness, commit them-

selves to another person unconditionally,

and assume responsibility for others. We

are uniquely different and wonderfully so.

Her parts and his parts each have their own

order and function. Together and rightly

ordered, their united differences ignite the

power and glory of creation itself, which is

the consummate activity of God from the

beginning.

So God does a two stage creation of man.

First he makes the fully formed being (Adam,

which in the Hebrew means, mankind). Then

in phase two, God removes the rib from Ad-

am's side and makes Eve a separate being,

though of Adam's substance, designed to

ultimately reunite to her source through the

mystery of Holy Matrimony. Without a

doubt, the power of that union is meant to

gloriously reveal the very image of God to

heavenly beings as well as all mankind. That

is why Satan fights tooth and nail to pervert

and distort rightly ordered human sexuality,

holy matrimony, the family, and fatherhood

in particular. In fact, the amount of time and

effort that Satan expends to destroy the

image of God reflected in marriage, father-

hood and human sexuality, serves as a ba-

rometer of just how incredibly important it is

to God's plan and the expression of His

glory.

We, as married couples must realize that we

are the custodians of God’s original Institu-

tion. Some may argue based on the spiraling

divorce rates that the Institution of Marriage

is a dead or dying one, but we know that

only He that created Marriage, can declare it

as dead, and that day will never come.

Examining the importance of Marriages to GOD ‘s plan for Mankind

Editor’s Welcome

The ASHES Series The questions on our flyer asked: “What is

your ASHES”? Is it Communication, Lack of

Intimacy, Infertility, Sexual Dysfunction,

Abuse, Money…? The response we got was

nothing short of astounding!

The ASHES series was born out of an urgent

need to have some of the deep rooted and

extremely problematic aspects of some mar-

riages highlighted and addressed. One of the

misconceptions many persons in troubled

Marriages have is that they are alone with

no one to turn to; that their suffering is

unique to them and their situation; that they

somehow brought their suffering onto them-

selves.

Nothing however, could be further from the

truth. So to effectively address those mis-

conceptions, we endeavored to create the

kind of environment where persons would

feel comfortable and relaxed enough to

share their views and experiences during

the evening’s discussion.

The main topic of the series was ‘Abuse and

its effects on Marriages’. This was held at the

Family Life complex on May 16, 2014. The

turn out was encouraging and the discussion

was vibrant and enlightening. So much so

that topic had to be turned into a two-part

series which was concluded in June.

On both occasions, the presenter was Pastor

Baker-Thompson, who used a combination

of her personal experience of being both

abused and abuser, along with Scriptural

references and various counselling tech-

niques to engage the attendees and gave

practical advice. Many chains were broken.

Meet the Executive Members

Eaton & Christine Hendricks

President

Kevin & Julian Quelch

Secretary

Corey & Annmarie Senior

Public Relations Officer

Geoffery & Haroldene Shields

Vice President

Rexroy & Deidre Parchment

Public Relations Officer

Kenneth & Norma Williams

Resource Couple

Jethro & Cutie Dennis

Treasurer

Jerome & Veon Moodie

Treasurer

Did You Know ?

A marriage ceremony typically

ends with a kiss because in

ancient Rome, a kiss was a

legal bond that sealed con-

tracts, and marriage was seen

as a contract.

Marriage does more to pro-

mote life satisfaction than

money, sex, or even children,

say Wake Forest University

psychologists.

Eighty-one percent of happily

married couples said their

partner’s friends and family

rarely interfered with the rela-

tionship, compared to just 38%

of unhappy couples.

Married Couples Ministry

ISSUE 01 Sept. - Dec. 2014

EMAIL: portmorenewtestamentmcm@gmail.com

February 15, 2015: Love Serenade – Celebration of Love

January 30, 2015: There’s a Doctor in the House

(Talking Sex Medically)

January 18, 2015: Let’s Begin Again ... Pillars that support a

successful Marriage

Activities for next Quarter:

March 2015: Daniel Fast (NO Meeting)

February 28, 2015: Marriage Seminar – It’s A Love Affair