Idea #6: Love on your pastor or church leader, no matter what he or she decides about this topic.
Pastors have much on their plate right now. According to recent Barna data, significantly more pastors are doubting their calling (55% in 2022 compared to 24% in 2015) and two in five thought of quitting in the last twelve months. Many church leaders would love to have a marriage ministry in their church but don’t have the bandwidth or the right systems in place yet. There may be lots of reasons they cannot share with you for why they need to wait.
So when broaching a topic like sexual intimacy in church, make it a point to come alongside your pastors and church staff – not only with specific ideas for this topic, but also with the encouragement that you appreciate them no matter what direction they decide to go. That will nourish their souls more than you can possibly know.
Ways Jeff and I can help
If your church is interested in helpful resources, here are specific ways we might be able to come alongside you:
- Consider proposing that small groups for married couples work through a marriage and intimacy curriculum. Our RightNow Media course, Unlocking an Intimate Marriage – based in part on our book Secrets of Sex & Marriage – will release in August 2023. Sign up here and we’ll notify you when its available. (Scroll to enter your name and email, then click “Notify Me!”)
- We would love to talk to your church about speaking as part of a marriage event or a sermon time. Please reach out to us to start that conversation; we can help you brainstorm options and share what we have seen work well. (Find info about our marriage events here.)
- If you have a premarital counseling process, a marriage ministry, or a lay counseling program, we hope our newest book Secrets of Sex & Marriage – co-authored by me and renowned sex therapist (and pastor) Dr. Michael Sytsma – will be a great resource for your people.
In the end, whether we come alongside your church to speak during a weekend, or your church taps one of the many other wonderful resources available out there, sexual intimacy is too important a topic to leave alone. The good news is, with some of the ideas above, anyone can get the ball rolling.
Maybe it’s you.
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