Before a man and woman choose to get married, they must first decide what kind of marriage they desire to have.  I think it is safe to say that almost every bride and groom enter their marriage covenant with the joyous hope and expectation that their marital relationship with one another will last forever.  Yet, unfortunately, many marriages do end up with deep heartache and undergo the unplanned trauma of divorce.  It is not enough to have a beautiful wedding day.  What matters the most is the lifetime of commitment that follows those sacred wedding vows.

At Lifehouse, we are committed to doing all that we can to set you and your marriage up for success. We believe that one of the best ways to ensure that your marriage will be healthy and successful is making sure it is God-centered, rooted in the local church, and connected to life-giving community. With this said, we have designed the premarital process to be one that helps you in each of these areas and believe that your willingness to prioritize these steps will result in the best outcome. For this reason, we ask you to make every effort to participate in each step of the premarital process as recommended by Lifehouse.

A legal marriage is one that is recognized by the government.  All that is required for a man and woman to enter into a legal marriage relationship is an appropriate license and an exchange of vows before an authorized witness.  This relationship can be terminated almost as easily through the legal process of divorce.

Many legal marriages begin with civil ceremonies, before a judge or other official, or with some kind of religious ceremony before a minister, priest, rabbi, or other clergy.  Although many couples want to have their legal marriages begin with a “church” ceremony, often their reasons are more practical than spiritual.  It might be a family tradition to have the wedding ceremony held in that certain chapel on Main Street.

Lifehouse Church is an evangelical Christian church committed to the authority of the Bible and the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  Therefore, instead of just performing a wedding ceremony, we offer couples the opportunity to begin their marriage partnership with a Godly foundation.  We want to equip each couple to build a marriage relationship that can withstand the test of time.  We provide God-centered, pre-marital mentoring and additional counseling sessions (if necessary) after the wedding day.

A Christian marriage, while also recognized as “legal” by the government, is the union of a man and woman who have come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior in a personal way and have decided to seek a marriage partner who shares the same spiritual commitment.

“Do not be miss mated with unbelievers.  For what partnership have righteousness and iniquity? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?  What accord has Christ with (the Devil)?  Or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?”  (II Corinthians 6: 14-15, RSV)

A Christian marriage is the spiritual union created by God in the book of Genesis in which a man and woman become “one flesh” in the image of the union of Christ and His church.  As a result, a Christian marriage begins with a Christian wedding ceremony during which the couple enters

into a sacred covenant with each other and with the Lord.  This is in addition to becoming legally married.

As a Christian church, Lifehouse Church is committed to helping couples build Christ-centered marriages that will stand the test of time and leave a Godly legacy to future generations.  The institution of marriage is ordained by God and is not to be entered into lightly or ill-advisedly.  A marriage covenant is created by Him and the wedding vows made before Him are not to be broken.

“But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’  ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’  So they are no longer two, but one.  Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”  (Mark 10:6-9, NIV)

“When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.  It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.”  (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5, NIV)

As you can see, entering into a truly Christian marriage partnership is a commitment which has implications that run far deeper than whether or not the couple had a “religious wedding ceremony.”  For this reason, our desire is that both you and your intended will have made a serious decision to submit your lives and your marriage to Jesus Christ before entering into a marriage covenant.  We invite you to contact one of the pastors at Lifehouse Church if you would like to learn more about what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Or, you can visit Jesus.net on the web.

To be committed to Christ means being committed to living a Christian lifestyle guided by the principles taught in the Bible.  For this reason, all who desire to be married at Lifehouse Church will be expected to sign an agreement committing to sexual purity (abstinence) and a willingness to live in a separate residence from their future spouse prior to marriage.

“Run away from sexual sin!  No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does.  For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.  Or don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?  You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price.  So you must honor God with your body.”  (I Corinthians 6: 18-20, NLT)

“God wants you to be holy, so you should keep clear of all sexual sin.  Then each of you will control your body and live in holiness and honor - not in lustful passion as the pagans do, in their ignorance of God and his ways.”  (I Thessalonians 4: 3-5, NLT)

If you are already involved in sexual activity or living arrangements which are inappropriate for a
follower of Jesus, the good news is that it is never too late to make changes and to begin doing things God’s way.  We will be glad to help you discuss options that honor God and build a foundation for a marriage that will last a lifetime.

The date and time of the wedding cannot be confirmed until the initial intake interview is completed with a Staff Pastor. Furthermore, if the Staff Pastor determines that there are issues which need to be resolved that cannot be adequately dealt with during this initial meeting, they may require additional sessions before the wedding date is confirmed.

Due to the requirements of Lifehouse’s premarital process, we require that there be a timespan of at least 3 months in between the intake meeting and the wedding date. Unfortunately, if there is less than a 3-month timeframe, a Lifehouse pastor will be unable to officiate your wedding.

Once the date and time of the wedding has been confirmed, you will be expected to participate in 6-8 private pre-marital mentoring sessions with a Pre-Marital Mentor.  These pre-marital mentoring sessions must be completed at least four weeks prior to the wedding date.  At the conclusion of your pre-marital mentoring, you will need to meet with the officiating pastor one last time prior to your wedding day to finalize the wedding ceremony details.  Couples may be asked to participate in additional mentoring/counseling at the pastor’s discretion.

Once a date is set, you will be sent a list of available Lifehouse pastors to choose from. The assigned pastor will perform the wedding ceremony or be permitted to delegate this authority to another qualified clergy after notifying the bride and groom.  Other Christian clergy may be included in the ceremony with the approval of the lead pastor.

Please remember that a wedding is a worship celebration, thus all music should glorify God and set an atmosphere of thanksgiving and praise.  The order of service, the vows, and the musical selections must meet the approval of the pastor. Please consult with the officiating pastor regarding flash photography and videography.

We realize that each couple is unique and special circumstances may arise which have not been directly addressed in this document.  Any exceptions to this policy will be determined at the sole discretion of the pastoral team of Lifehouse Church.