July Newsletter
"They replied, 'Let us start rebuilding.' So they began this good work."
Nehemiah 2:18b
There is something special happening in Virginia!
It was such a joy to host Carl Caton at our last roundtable. His powerful personal story and the testimony of God’s work in San Antonio is inspiring. Carl shared three foundational pillars needed to mobilize the body of Christ and catalyze a move of God around marriage and family - Trust, Empowerment, and a Sense of Shared Purpose. Those are the pillars on which we desire to build TVMI. If you were not able to join us, take 30 minutes to hear Carl’s powerful personal story, the story of San Antonio, and why he believes God is doing something unique through all of us here in VA! Passcode to watch Carl's message: lg85J$5q
CAN A REVIVAL IN MARRIAGE SAVE OUR CULTURE?
That is the brand promise of Brad Wilcox’s recent book Get Married. Brad heads up the Institute of Family Studies and The National Marriage Project at UVA - one of the best research groups on marriage and family today. This book is a must read as you develop your why for marriage discipleship. Here are just a few of the stats from their research:
Married men with children are more than twice as likely to be very happy than single men without children! And the ratio for women is similar.
Married couples are 35% more likely to be intimately connected on a weekly basis than non-married partners!
Married couples who attend church regularly are 30 to 50% less likely to get divorced!
Boys from homes with their biological married parents are twice as likely to end up in college than in prison. Unique to this family structure!
Brad will be joining us for a future roundtable! To learn more, check out the data from The National Marriage Project, and the Institute of Family Studies. The every Friday email from IFS is one of my favorite reads each week.
FamilyLife podcast with Brad LISTEN NOW
WHAT'S NEXT?
As we look ahead, our hope is to move toward a PR and Advertising campaign around National Marriage Week, Feb 7-14, 2026, that drives the community to the opportunities each of you are providing early next year. As we lead up to that, our TVMI activities will be designed to help you develop proactive and sustainable marriage discipleship. Here is a rough outline of what is coming as we head toward National Marriage Week:
July: Presence at the RVA Wedding Show at Main Street Station
August-September: Supporting churches as Fall discipleship kicks off. Weekend To Remember (WTR) promo
October: Marriage Ministry Workshop and Mentor Training
November: Weekend to Remember in Williamsburg
January: Marriage PR & Advertising Campaign to support local activities during National Marriage Week, February 7-14 and Spring 2026
We are excited to support you as you take steps to sow into marriages in your space!
Let's Grow Together and Connect
You asked for connection to the people you're meeting who are doing the work of serving marriages. One of our TVMI objectives is to 'help dynamic marriage leaders work together toward ambitious goals!' We will do this through a regular rhythm of roundtables. We would also like to do this online - a place where you can serve and encourage one another. Please take this short survey to help us understand the platform that would best serve you!
We will be following up with each of you in July who expressed an interest in having a conversation or being more involved. We look forward to connecting and TOGETHER bringing a revival to marriages and families in Virginia.
Keith Tully (501)213-6207 Rebecca Blackwell (804)837-0423
