Thousands "Count the Ways" This Valentine's With Couple Checkups, The Marriage Course

BANNOCKBURN, IL, February 14, 2011

Thousands of couples nationwide recently participated in a new pilot program from Alpha USA—going beyond chocolates and flowers during "the season of love" and assessing their relationships in-depth using the Couple Checkup.

The Couple Checkup (www.couplecheckup.com) is an online assessment tool from Life Innovations designed to identify a couple's unique relationship strengths and growth opportunities in a personalized, 20-page report. The test normally costs $29.95. However, in partnership with Alpha USA, churches across the country purchased Couple Checkups in bulk at a discount to give away for free in the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day, as a way of engaging couples who normally avoid God and the church.

Participating churches then invited these couples to a free dinner preview of The Marriage Course from Alpha USA, which provides opportunities to work through the issues identified in the Checkup in a "date night" environment.

Thousands of churches worldwide are now using The Marriage Course to strengthen their communities by strengthening marriages and are finding it to be an effective evangelistic tool, as well.

"A lot of churches have tapped into this as felt-need evangelism," explains Derek Rust, director of The Marriage Course for Alpha USA. "People are looking for help in their everyday lives, and as Christians, we know that the Bible has a lot to say about that."

The Marriage Course is held over seven evenings in a romantic atmosphere that includes a candlelit dinner for two, practical talks that are informative and fun, and private discussion times for couples. There is never any group work, and couples are never asked to share anything about their relationships with anyone other than their partners.

The Course is held not only in churches but in all sorts of venues—homes, restaurants, community halls, even on cruise ships. Participants discover how to communicate more effectively, grow closer through resolving conflict, improve relationships with parents and in-laws, develop greater sexual intimacy, discover one another's love languages and much more.

As people discover these relational tools, many also discover the Source of those relationships, Rust says.

In fact, many who attend The Marriage Course eventually go on to take the Alpha course, where people from all walks of life can consider the claims of Christ for themselves and no question is off limits—from "Why am I here?" to "Is God a delusion?" More than 2 million people across the U.S. have taken the Alpha course, which is held at 4,300 churches nationwide.

Rust recently ran The Marriage Course at an Irish Pub in Upperville, VA, with 20 couples—three of whom were staunch atheists. In the end, everyone wanted to learn more about the Alpha course that was running locally.

He concludes, "Ultimately, our goal is to lead people into a spiritual relationship that transcends any human relationship. Our partners can only meet our needs to a certain extend. Our deepest needs are met by God. The Marriage Course gives people a taste of that and creates a thirst to learn more."

For additional information about The Marriage Course or the Alpha course, visit http://www.alphausa.org. For interviews, contact Janine Longoria at press@alphausa.org or 407-923-4440.