Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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General Information
Church Advocacy
Marriage ROCKS
Managing the Marriage Money Me$$
Financial & Wealth Management Workshops
Q. Is DFI affiliated with a particular religious sect or denomination?
A. DFI is a faith-based organization espousing traditional Judeo-Christian values. However, DFI is not affiliated with any particular denomination. And, we welcome the opportunity to work with any groups that are open to our expressly Christian-based programming.
Q. Are DFI programs only for religious organizations?
A. DFI’s flagship programs, Marriage ROCKS™ and Managing the Marriage-Money Mess™ are programs developed on biblical principles. However, we welcome the opportunity to offer these programs to any interested organizations.
DFI’s other marriage and financial workshops are designed to be offered in secular and religious settings.
Q. How can DFI help our church?
A. DFI seeks to partner with local churches. While we are glad to conduct any of our programs for your church, we are particularly excited about the opportunity to work with a core group of your ministry leaders. Through our “train the trainer” workshops we can help establish marriage and family ministries, family life education curriculum, lay counseling programs, finance ministries, and academic resource centers. We are glad to tailor these programs to fit the demographics and unique needs of your congregation.
Contact us at info@discoverfamily.org or (215) 939-6866 to discuss how DFI programs can benefit your organization.
Q. How can DFI assist engaged and married couples in my church or other organization?
A. DFI offers several options to benefit engaged and married couples in your group. The Marriage ROCKS programs provide a starkly biblical perspective on how to transform your marital relationship. Given that one of the primary areas of difficulty in marriage is finances, DFI offers the novel program, Managing the Marriage Money Me$$, which teaches couples how to use basic financial, spiritual, and relational techniques to maximize the wealth of their marriages. This is particularly beneficial for pre-engaged couples to learn before making financial missteps in the marriage. In addition to these programs, DFI offers several relationship building, and wealth management workshops to be benefit couples. If there are specific needs that you have for engaged and married couples, we are able to work with you to tailor programs for your congregation.
Q. Is Marriage ROCKS only for Christian couples?
A. Marriage ROCKS is not only for Christian couples. It is for all heterosexual couples who are open to re-thinking their marriage according to biblical precepts.
Q. Is Marriage ROCKS only for married couples?
A. Marriage ROCKS is primarily designed for pre-engaged, engaged, and married couples. In other words if you have someone you think you want to marry, participating in the Marriage ROCKS programs can help you in that decision. And, if you are already married, we want to empower you move your marriage to the next level. Single individuals have attended Marriage ROCKS programs and found them helpful. So, if you’re single, you are welcome to attend.
Q. What makes the Marriage ROCKS program different than other marriage enrichment programs?
A. While Marriage ROCKS is similar to traditional marriage enrichment programs with its focus on elements such as communication strategies and shared goal setting, it extends beyond this into re-thinking the purpose of your marriage as it was designed from the foundation of the world. Five biblical vignettes are used to orient participants to a godly view of marriage. By visualizing your marriage from a God-centered perspective you are better able to see your marriage as a tool which enables you to fulfill your ultimate purposes in life. But, it does not end there. Marriage ROCKS aims to transform your marriage into a ministry that touches other families in your community.
Q. My marriage needs help. How can I participate in the Marriage ROCKS program?
A. Most of our marriages need help. That is why Marriage ROCKS exists. We at DFI are always looking for those individuals and organizations that are desperate for change. If you are a member of a church or other organization, we would love to bring Marriage ROCKS to your group. Just contact us at info@discoverfamily.org or call us at (215) 939-6866 to discuss the arrangements.
Q. Is it important to take the three Marriage ROCKS programs in order or is picking the most interesting one just as good?
A. The three Marriage ROCKS programs, Base Camp, Ascent, and Summit are designed to be done serially. However, they are each independent programs with specific educational objectives. The focus of Base Camp is the six stumbling stones of marriage. This seminar provides you the tools to diagnose the current spiritual and natural health of your marriage. The Ascent then focuses on the elements that are necessary to mobilize your marriage to become all that it is purposed to be. Finally, the Summit is specifically designed for couples interested in more personalized training on how to cultivate shared ministry in their marriage.
While maximum benefit is gained by participating in each unique program, we are glad to offer your organization any program that may be of more interest to you.
Q. How much time do you need to conduct the different Marriage ROCKS training programs?
A. Base Camp is offered as a one-day seminar typically requiring a six-hour time frame (including a lunch break). The Ascent is a ten-hour program usually a Friday evening (three hours) and Saturday (seven hours including lunch). Summit is designed as a weekend program typically spanning a Friday night through Sunday at noon (thirteen hours). If these suggested timeframes are not conducive, contact us at (215) 939-6866 to discuss other options that can be most beneficial to your organization.
Q. Does the Marriage ROCKS program address parenting issues?
A. Marriage ROCKS does not specifically deal with parenting issues. However, it does deal with strengthening the marriage partnership, which is one of the key elements in successful parenting. We hope to develop programs in the future that are tailored to parenting issues. So, keep asking that question.
Managing the Marriage Money Me$$
Q. Is the Managing the Marriage Money Me$$ program essentially the same material as taught in the financial and wealth management workshops?
A. Actually, the objectives of these programs are very different. While Managing the Marriage-Money Me$$ does use financial issues as a backdrop, its objective is to show participants how to understand the power of finances and wealth to redemptively transform marriages and communities from self-centered control centers to powerful agents of change. The objective of the DFI’s financial and wealth management workshops is to teach the participants skills simple tools for better understanding and handling finances.
Q. How much time do you need to conduct the Managing the Marriage-Money Me$$ program?
A. Managing the Marriage-Money Me$$ is offered as a one-day seminar. The in-depth and interactive nature of the financial assessment and the interactivity of the modules warrant a six-hour time frame (including a lunch break).
Q. Financial problems are crippling my marriage. And, I don’t know what else to do. How can DFI help?
A. Financial difficulties are one of the most consistent stressors on a marriage. DFI offers several programs that can benefit you. The Financial FUNdamentals workshop may be helpful to “correct” some faulty thinking about finances. Then, the Financial Discovery program is designed to help you put all of the broken pieces back together. We also recommend the Managing the Marriage-Money Mess workshop which can help restore the fragmented relationship that typically exists between spouses who are under financial duress.
Q. Does the Managing the Marriage-Money Me$$ program deal with gambling addictions?
A. Although the program emphasizes the importance of healthy financial stewardship, the program format does not allow for the intensity and time to help lead an individual out of this serious addiction. We are glad to talk with you about options that can be pursued. You may also go the to Gambler’s Anonymous website at http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/ to seek assistance as well as possibly arranging a time for you and your spouse to meet with a professional counselor.
Financial & Wealth Management Workshops
Q. What skills are taught in the financial management workshop?
A. There are actually two financial management workshops based on expertise level of the participants.
- The basic financial management program is a three hour workshop called Financial FUNdamentals which emphasizes the importance of budgeting, debt management; savings and investing; wealth management. Click here to see a more detailed view of this workshop.
- The other financial management, Financial DI$COVERY, is an in-depth and interactive six-hour workshop focusing on debt management; implementing a savings program; investing in equities and bonds; and wealth management. Click here to see a more detailed view of this workshop.
