Wedding Guidelines
We want couples to have the best possible start in the most important earthly relationship they will ever enter into. God created man and woman, and from the beginning He intended that they be joined in marriage so that each might give to one another what the other lacked. Since God designed the marriage relationship, it makes sense that He knows best how to build a happy marriage. His Word contains basic principles that should be applied when building a fulfilling marriage. The following guidelines are offered as our sincere attempt to comply with God’s principles for marriage.
Pre-Marital Counseling
Couples who want to be married at Grace Fellowship by a Grace Fellowship wedding minister are required to participate in our pre-marital counseling class.
Celibacy
Couples must remain celibate and not live together at any time prior to the wedding ceremony. The wedding minister will not perform the ceremony if the couple is living at the same address. If you are currently living together but move to separate addresses and remain celibate, you will then be eligible to be married at Grace Fellowship by one of our wedding ministers.
Unequally Yoked
A minister of Grace Fellowship will not marry a couple if one person is a believer and one is not.
Concerning Divorce
A minister of Grace Fellowship will not marry a couple if either person has been divorced for less than one year.
Persons divorced for longer than one year may be considered for marriage at Grace Fellowship church if they meet one of these biblical criteria:
- The divorce occurred because of sexual unfaithfulness by former spouse. (Matt. 19:3-9)
- The divorce occurred prior to conversion. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
- The former spouse is deceased. (Romans 7:2, 1 Corinthians 7:39)
- The divorce occured because of desertion by an unbelieving former spouse. (1 Corinthians 7:15)
- The divorce was initiated by an unbelieving former spouse. (Corinthians 7:12-15)
- The former spouse has remarried.
- This is a remarriage to a former spouse who has not been married to another person since your divorce of that spouse. (Deut. 24:1-4)
- There are extenuating circumstances that have been reviewed and acknowledged by the Senior Pastor, Executive Staff, or Elder Board.
