Marriage Retreats Testimony: A Rich, Biblical Way to See God’s Story in Each Other
Here at Providence, we provide an annual weekend marriage retreat. Our goal is to encourage, refresh, and restore marriages all along the spectrum of years and relational health. We were looking for retreat content that would be intentionally gospel-centered, and Restore fit our desire. I was introduced to Restore through the Gospel Care Ministries Cohort led by Robert, so I knew it would be perfect for our church’s marriages.
The Restore framework is an excellent approach to marriage enrichment. What I love the most about Restore is its rootedness in story. There is a reason why God reveals Himself to us through the medium of story. Stories are powerful. We all have a story, and we know our stories shape us.
Restore helps us see that our stories (and our spouse’s) matter, and there is another story (Gospel) that has greater power and promise to reframe and redeem our own. To see our stories (both individually and as married couples) through the lens of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Consummation helps us to see God is always good, always present and always at work.
Restore is great at addressing the struggles in marriage and helps people see how they are rooted in the common struggles that are present in the Fall. It leads participants to see how union with Christ meets those struggles head-on and gives them hope for something greater. And it encourages relational growth with the Savior.
Restore is a rich, intentionally biblical way to engage marriages. It’s effective for every phase and stage of life and marriage, precisely because it is rooted in our stories, which are constantly unfolding, and God’s story, which is pertinent to any moment on our timeline. And it can be returned to again and again because our stories aren’t static.
I strongly encourage anyone looking for content and an experience that addresses marriages to invite Robert and Karen to join them with Restore.
Bryan Nelson
Pastor of Family Care
Providence Baptist Church, Raleigh NC
