Your marriage has a great purpose for the Kingdom. It holds the power to reflect the love of Christ and be an example of humility and grace. And while I hope your marriage brings you happiness, laughter, and lots of fun, I pray you’ll accept this invitation to evaluate if it’s truly a marriage on mission! This 4-day plan is written by Tiffany Miller.
Awesome Marriage
Day 1
Scriptures: Proverbs 27:17, Romans 12:2, Romans 1:12
Mission field: Your Mindset
Are you settling for a selfish vision of marriage, or are you living on mission, pursuing God’s purpose in and through it? Are you conforming to the ideas of this world that Paul warns us against in Romans 12:2 when he tells us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing, and perfect will?”
When I think about the marriage messages that our world tells us, I think about the message that “our spouse should make us happy,” bring us validation and acceptance, and agree with us. But God’s truth is that marriage is about much more than how your spouse makes you feel. God has an incredible purpose for marriage.
Some of God’s purposes for marriage are:
- A safe relationship (covenant); a foundation for a healthy family and community.
- Our sanctification — growing us to be more like Him. “Iron sharpens Iron.” Proverbs 27:17 shows us that.
- To mutually encourage each other’s faith. You and your spouse can encourage one another as you grow in godliness, as marriage offers you opportunities to confront your own selfishness and lay your preferences down.
One of my good friends uses Romans 1:12, “That is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith,” as a marriage verse to inspire them to keep faith at the center of their marriage.
How can you stay inspired to have a Kingdom mindset about your marriage?
How do you view your spouse? Are you looking for someone to make you feel happy and loved?
Are you proactively looking for ways to uplift and encourage your spouse? Do you seek to point them toward Jesus?
Today, I challenge you to pray that God would help you have a mindset of Kingdom mission within your marriage. Pray that God would use your marriage to sanctify you and that he would guide you to mutually encourage each other’s faith.
Day 2
Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, John 10:10, Matthew 10:8
Mission field: Your Home
Does your marriage feel like a duty or obligation that weighs you down? Is it a place for banter and frustration to rule your conversations? Or is it a safe place to celebrate victories and work through struggles? The atmosphere of your marriage will absolutely affect the atmosphere of your home and, consequently, the success of your mission.
Your marriage can be more than just a relationship. The way you love your spouse with patience, kindness, and selflessness, as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13, reflects Christ’s love for His church. It’s the greatest defense against the devil’s aim to steal, kill, and destroy, which we can read about in John 10:10.
When you serve your spouse without seeking anything in return, you model the sacrificial love of Jesus, teaching your children and others who enter your home what it means to live a life centered on grace and humility. You demonstrate that relationships shouldn’t be transactional, as Jesus teaches the disciples in Matthew 10:8: “Because we have freely received, we in turn freely give.”
If you have children, your home atmosphere has great implications for how they will view marriage and the attitude with which they will approach it. For marriages without children, your family and close friends get a front row seat to see how you truly love, serve, and honor one another — an incredible opportunity to bear witness to the God we serve.
What is the atmosphere of your home like? Is it full of peace or tension? Do you model reconciliation or resentment? Are the relationships transactional or sacrificial?
Today, I challenge you to pray and ask God to show you the state of your home. Sit in silence and listen to what he has to say to you today. Pray for wisdom, asking God next steps in building a home that is centered around him.
Day 3
Scriptures: Romans 12:1, Joshua 4:7
Mission field: Your Church
Serving in your church as a couple is a powerful way for your marriage to be on mission. When you step outside your home to serve together, you not only strengthen your own bond but also allow your marriage to be a ministry that encourages and blesses other believers. Your partnership in serving reflects Christ’s love, His desire for unity, and His call to sacrificial living.
As Paul writes in Romans 12, offering ourselves (and our marriage) as sacrifices to Christ is an act of worship we return to the Lord. Our marriage becomes a testimony of faith, pointing others to the transforming power of the gospel.
Serving as a couple also allows your marriage to reflect God’s faithfulness, reminding other believers, especially those walking through difficult seasons, that He is present and at work. Your marriage becomes a living testimony of His grace and evidence of His power to sustain, restore, and strengthen. When you call to mind all that God has done for you and your marriage, and you share that with others, it becomes like the pile of stones in Joshua 4:7: a place to remember God’s faithfulness, a place to renew your hope, and a place to offer worship and honor to the Lord.
As you serve together, your faithfulness to one another and to God can be a source of encouragement and hope for other believing marriages, inspiring them to trust in His goodness, His faithful hand, and His steadfast love.
There are lots of ways to serve together in most local churches. You can:
- Greet together at the front door.
- Teach children together in the kids’ ministry.
- Lead a Bible Study or Community Group together.
- Help set up or tear down at a portable church or on the events team.
- And lots more! Just ask your Pastor or church staff member where you can both serve together.
Today, I challenge you to pray and ask God how you can serve your local church with your spouse. Then take a real step and sign up to serve in that way today.
Day 4
Scriptures: Matthew 5:14, Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 28:18-20
Mission field: Your Community
This world desperately needs Jesus, and it also needs to see God-honoring marriages and families as a reflection of His love and truth. Our marriage and our family unit are commissioned to go and tell in Matthew 28. When we live according to His order, it becomes a powerful testimony to a hurting and lost world. In a culture filled with brokenness, a Christ-centered marriage and family stand as a beacon of hope, showing the beauty of God’s design and the redemption found in Him.
When we extend generosity and kindness to strangers like the good Samaritan in Luke 10, we are actively living out the gospel message, reflecting the love of Christ and His abundant mercy. Our selfless actions point others to the only true source of hope and salvation — Jesus. We become the city on the hill, the light in the darkness, and an image of hope that Matthew cites in 5:14. In a world longing for compassion and truth, our willingness to serve and give mirrors God’s grace, opening hearts to the transforming power of His love.
As we go into our communities, it’s important to remember that our time there may be brief, but our impact can be eternal.
Most churches are begging their members to leave the four walls of the Church and get out into the community. If your church doesn’t have any outreach programs in place, you can start with one of these:
- Donating to a shower ministry.
- Volunteering to mentor through a local community organization.
- Helping at the local food bank.
- Coaching a sport for youth.
- Do a Google search for ministries for veterans in your area and get plugged in there.
- Give a financial gift to a local ministry in your area that you care about.
- Make bags of nonperishable food and water to give out to the homeless in your area.