Chris Schultz divides his time between serving as the Life Events Pastor at Foothills Bible Church in Littleton, Colorado, (weekly attendance 1000 and growing) and representing Watermark Church’s well-known Re|Engage, Merge marriage programs.

He values the flexible schedule that allows him to practice the life/work balance he now preaches to couples as an ambassador for marriage. The dual roles also allow him to actively engage with his wife of 25 years, Jen, and their four daughters ages 15 to 22. But this wasn’t always the case. Overcoming a spirit of self-sufficiency to value family and marriage were lessons hard learned on his journey.

Devin Tharp serves as the Family Pastor at Good Shepherd Church in Charlotte, N.C. Prior to this position, he spent six years running the church’s student ministry until he realized he was being called toward marriages and families. He and his wife had spent eight years running a non-profit using horses to mentor children dealing with trauma and crisis. Their work at Brightside Ranch helped him recognize how often kids are broken when their families break. “Every family is founded on the marriage,” he said. “If the marriage is centered on Christ, we can change anything. Somebody has to lead the charge.” 

Like many in ministry, Brett Hurst wears more than one hat. He’s served as the associate pastor responsible for all things pertaining to relationships at Memorial Drive ECO Presbyterian Church (MDPC) for the past 26 years. Men’s groups, women’s studies, weddings, parenting and marriage ministry fall under his purview. Sixteen years ago, he and his wife, Kellie, began thinking about how to broaden their reach to the community and not limit serving marriage and couples to their own congregation. In 2007 they founded Home Encouragement Ministries, which Kellie runs as Director.

Brady and Melissa Vandeberg experienced God’s redemptive power in their lives and marriage first-hand, as he took them from a place of brokenness to full-time service in marriage ministry. Their story serves a shining contradiction to anyone’s fear that their background or decisions make them ineligible for God’s kingdom work.

A Community Marriage Initiative like SAMI engages local leaders in key roles to encourage, promote, and support community-wide implementation of marriage ministries in local churches with the purpose of strengthening marriages and families and reducing local divorce rates. In 2021 SAMI leadership decided to formalize the system of mentorship and support they’d been sharing with others wishing to follow their example. They named the new entity City Project, which created a pathway of steps through which those with a passion for marriage could focus their efforts most effectively.