On Saturday March 12th, 45 people crowded into the auditorium at Taree Baptist Church in Taree (a small coastal town north of Sydney) to hear how God could transform their marriages through Power to Change’s A Day Together marriage conference. (In Australia, FamilyLife is known as Power to Change.) Amongst the crowd were several unchurched couples who were experiencing some significant struggles in their marriages and were looking for help.
A Day Together is a one-day marriage enrichment conference hosted by Power to Change that focuses on creating oneness in marriage. Throughout the day, attendees engage in talks and couples’ projects that help them grow in the areas of communication, conflict resolution, and intimacy amongst several other topics. The day ends with a gospel presentation where the speaker couples share about the role that Jesus wants to play in our marriages and the legacy that He wants to create in our marriages.
As the speaker couples shared real stories of failure and success from their lives, God began to work in the hearts of those in attendance. One husband commented that he “needed to be a better man for [his] family” while another observed that the time together “awakened the love and respect that [he] had for [his] wife.” The focus though was not solely on the marital relationships of the participants but also on what role God wanted to play in the lives of those who were there. Talking about her spiritual journey, one unchurched wife commented, “It has made me think about what I want and where I am heading.” Others took a step of faith, like the husband who reflected, “It made some of the issues [in my marriage] crystallize, and they are bigger than I can deal with. I learned that God is bigger than these.”
Throughout the day, we were able to see two people make a decision to recommit their lives to Christ, and several more expressed an interest in joining an exploratory small group where they could learn more about what a relationship with Jesus really means. Our prayer is that the couples in attendance will spend much time reflecting on what they’ve heard. Please join us in praying for Taree and the work God is doing there and throughout Australia.
