Growing a Strong Marriage: Starting Strong DVD and Study Guide from Hendrickson Publishers

Are you looking for a new study series for your couple that you are pre-marital counseling, a small group or young married couples group? I recommend checking out the The Growing a Strong Marriage series from Hendrickson Publishers.

In the Starting Strong DVD with the study guide, viewers see strong Christian couples share both the fun things about their marriage, such as how they got together, and the challenges that they have faced and overcome in their marriage. The couples featured in the DVDs are couples that many of us have heard speaking or have read their books: John and Stasi Eldredge, Chip and Theresa Ingram, Gordon and Gail MacDonald, Les and Leslie Parrott, Art and Lysa TerKeurst, and Gary and Lisa Thomas. Their is something sort of comforting about seeing how well-known people have also struggled and worked out problems that is encouraging and reminds young couples that they can work things out too because marriage has some challenges at times.

The Starting Strong DVD is divided into four segments: How we met, Moving into Oneness, Identity in Christ, and Paths to Christ in Marriage. After watching each session, there are questions to answer in the study guide, some are directed towards the group and some are to use at home. There is also a place in the book for prayer requests and some helpful tips for leaders.

I thought the Starting Strong DVD was well done. I liked that the clips were short, but they were meaty with a lot to chew on after watching each session. I liked the way the study guide was set up and that it appeared each session was done for about the right amount of time for typical small group sessions and Sunday School lessons that I have been a part of. I feel like my taste for this series was just whetted and I would like to do all three dvd/study books in the series. At this time in this series there are these three volumes: Starting Strong, Working Together, and Staying Connected.Of course, this would be a powerful series to do for a newly married couple by themselves or a newly married couple's small group. At the same time, I think this series offers a lot of discussion for those of us who have been married several years. It offers good reminders and checks to make positive marriage changes so I think it would be good for older married couples either in groups or for just a couple to grow and talk. I highly recommend it.

If you visit the Hendrickson website, they have sample clips to watch to get a feel for the series:
http://www.hendrickson.com/content/growing-strong-marriage/

I received a copy of this study guide and DVD from Christian Women Affiliate and Hendrickson Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review.