Afterwards, Davis said not only are couples stronger, but the risk of divorce is lessened by as much as 50 percent. Some couples even decide to call the wedding off, realizing they are not as well suited to each other as they originally thought. James Haynes, counselor at First Baptist Church of Biloxi, said his church requires counseling for couples wanting to be married there. This counseling covers finances, relationships, religious convictions, communication skills, trust and more. With counseling, we hope to avoid problems that can come later.
Counseling lasts at least three sessions, sometimes more.
While the ministers at this church never recommend that a couple not marry, they sometimes ask couples to postpone the wedding. The church does not charge for the counseling. Haynes said he sees much fewer marriage difficulties in the couples who receive premarital counseling than those who do not. If their relationship is not strong now, there's no reason to believe it will be strong after marriage. Recommendations on this web site do not endorse any commercial products or trade names.