As part of the National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage, in January 2007,  seven experts met with the USCCB Committee on Marriage and Family Life to discuss the current approaches to ministry aimed at sustaining and enriching marriages. The consultation was organized around five “models” of ministry that currently operate in parishes and dioceses. The models represent different assumptions, methods, audiences, and goals. All of them have a distinct place and contribution.

The five models:

1. The Marriage Conference model
2. The Encounter model
3. The Skills-Based model
4. The Parish model
5. The Hispanic Ministry model

The presentations:

• Introduction to the Consultation
  H. Richard McCord, Executive Director, USCCB Committee on Marriage and Family Life
• The Marriage Conference Model
  Handout on Marriage Conference Model
  James Healy, Ph.D., Director of Family Ministry, Diocese of Joliet
• The Encounter Model
  Bob and Joy Hernandez, U.S. Secretariat Ecclesial Team, Worldwide Marriage Encounter
• The Skills-Based Model
  Bill Coffin, Special Assistant for Marriage Education, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services
• The Parish Model
  Butch and Linda Moses, Family Ministers, Holy Family of Nazareth Parish, Irving, TX
• The Hispanic Ministry Model
  Alicia Perez, Associate Director of Family Ministry, Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston