Towards Marriage

"A Christian marriage is a total commitment of two people to God and to one another"

If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes 4: 10-12

If you are thinking and praying seriously about getting engaged - congratulations! This is an exciting stage of your lives. We want it to be a positive and rewarding experience for you. As a church we are committed to assisting you in discovering more of God's exciting plan for your lives.

One of the ways in which we can serve you is to help you prepare thoroughly for marriage. It is possible to invest much time and energy into the 'big day' but neglect getting ready for the rest of your lives together.

We recommend the following steps:

Contact your Zone Leader for a copy of 'Should we get married? - five pre-engagement questions to ask yourselves.'
Meet with an elder to review the above and discuss your plans.
Announce your engagement!
Start completing some marriage preparation material with another couple. We will link you with a carefully chosen couple who will meet with you on a few occasions to steer you through some very helpful and practical preparation material. (See marriage Preparation Section for more detail). There may be a cost for the materials.
Obtain a copy of ‘Planning your Wedding’ from the church office. This contains lots of helpful practical advice, especially if you are wanting to marry in the Clarendon Centre.

The Bottom Line

Couples wanting to marry at Church of Christ the King are asked to meet the following criteria:

The parents or guardians of both parties are aware of the marriage
Each person is a believer in Christ and that belief is reflected in their lifestyles.
The couple have known each other for an appropriate length of time.
If either have been married before, the previous marriage has been ended because of the following:
a) Adultery on the part of the ex-spouse (Matt 5:32)
b) The previous marriage and divorce occurred before they came to Christ.
c) The death of a spouse.

As an expression of our love, support and spiritual oversight, we would want one of our Elders to marry you. This assumes that the pre-marriage preparation is completed satisfactorily.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word

Ephesians 5: 25-26