You know you love each other, but will you be able to sustain that love?
Contemplating marriage is a mix of real excitement and some real anxiety.
You want a lasting marriage, but how can you make sure yours makes it when others don’t?
When you see and hear so much marital destruction in the media or maybe even in your own past, it’s natural to ask…
I’ve always dreamed of having a lasting marriage, but can that dream ever come true for me?
“Happily-ever After” doesn’t happen by accident. It happens on purpose.
It happens when two people don’t just have the feelings of love for each other, but learn how to intentionally cultivate, feed, and grow that love.
It happens when couples equip themselves with the skills and insights to overcome differences in their personalities, perspectives and backgrounds on their way to becoming one.
It happens when a couple surrounds themselves with other couples with the same goals and values, and when couples look for wise mentors to help them along the way.
Sounds difficult, doesn’t it?
It doesn't have to be!
Imagine going into marriage FEARLESS!
It can be discouraging when you share your engagement news or express thoughts about getting married, and all you receive is negativity and warnings that your life is about to drastically change.
NO!! It doesn’t have to be that way! When done on purpose and with the right tools and right heart, marriage can be AMAZING!!
But you know what's equally disheartening? Seeking help or premarital counseling, only to be handed a list of mistakes, subjected to a lecture, a sermon, or a couple sharing their struggles, cautioning you against repeating their errors.
Envision entering into marriage with CONFIDENCE!
Picture preparing for marriage not just feeling informed but genuinely INSPIRED!
Imagine having the assurance that you can turn to EXPERTS for guidance!
Release the burden of feeling compelled to love flawlessly for the endurance of a lifelong marriage.
Instead, acquire the skills to let the ONE who loves perfectly express love through you, ensuring that HE sustains your marriage.
INTRODUCING
Prepare to Last
You’ve been putting everything into planning for your wedding…
now it's time to prepare for your marriage!
Prepare to Last is more than a course that tells you what to do and then wishes you good luck. It’s more than just information. It is the premier resource for providing proven, Biblical, inspiring content provided by national experts, in a community of trusted mentors.
Here's what's inside Prepare to Last:
The expectations and the reality of marriage aren't always the same until they're talked about together.
The goal in marriage is learning how to talk to each other, not at each other.
The process of two becoming one naturally involves conflict. The goal is learning how to become closer on the other side of it.
Rather than being obstacles to success, differences can create great opportunities to becoming a winning team that more completely reflects God's image.
The amount of money doesn't determine marital success. The amount of respect and regard for each other around it does.
Husbands & wives really want the same thing in marriage - to feel connected and known. The fact that we have different ways of going about that can be a beautiful way of adding dimension to our oneness.
When life hits hard and we meet at the same well of faith, we can find ourselves closer to the Lord and each other.
The primary cause of divorce is drift. Having a clear understanding of God's purpose for marriage and creating goals to fulfill His vision provide purpose and promise.
Don’t get us wrong, there are great books out there… if you like to read. There are even some good online resources… if you want to just receive information.
However, there is nothing even close to Prepare to Last!
ENTERTAINING
No other book or program provides entertaining videos that are meant to inspire you while also equipping you. Most are created with a more “informational” goal.
INTERACTIVE
No other resource provides teaching by experts in an interactive format, with additional input from actual couples of different ages and cultures who have gone through the course, and are now applying it to their own marriage.
MENTORS & EXPERTS
No book or other online resource gives you ACCESS TO MENTORS AND EXPERTS who will guide you through the first FIVE YEARS OF MARRIAGE!
Dr. Gary Chapman
I don’t know of a better way to prepare a couple for marriage than this engaging resource.
It is a unique experience for couples who want to have a life-long healthy marriage.
If you are a nearly or newlywed couple, or someone who wants to help couples get their marriage started strong, Prepare To Last is the place to go!
We’re Jeff and Debby McElroy.
Years ago, we devoted our lives to ministering to students and kids. We led camps every week of the summer for 19 years around the country, and spoke to tens of thousands of kids at stadium events and music festivals. As we talked to more students, though, we realized they weren’t the problem. Most of them would be ok if we could improve their home life! So we switched our focus to marriage and family ministry about 30 years ago to continue to help kids through the back door of their home.
While we speak to thousands at our marriage and family conferences around the country each year, the thing we’ve become most passionate about is helping nearly/newlywed couples start their marriage off right! WE LOVE BEING MARRIED and we want other couples to experience lasting, fulfilling marriage, too.
We first released Prepare to Last as a retreat for Chick-fil-A’s WinShape Retreat back in 2005.
Eventually, as more and more churches, seminaries, and universities heard about what we were teaching, they started asking for us to make the content available to them. Then, others who couldn’t get to a retreat or go through it at a church started asking us to take it all online so it can be accessible to every couple directly.
Now this updated, refreshed version is available to you!
THOUSANDS of couples have gone through Prepare to Last, and we have followed many of them through their entire marriage.
Now that the first attending couples have been married for over 18 years, we’re proud to say most of them report being happily married, saying they still refer back to the lessons they learned and insights they gained way back at Prepare to Last!
TAUGHT BY EXPERTS
Jeff & Debby McElroy are one of the most sought-after couples in the national marriage & family field, with over 30 years experience.
PROVEN ASSESSMENT
Includes the highly-respected Couple Checkup assessment (a $35 value) in partnership with Prepare-Enrich and Dr. David Olson.
GLOBALLY TRUSTED
Used by Chick-fil-A's WinShape Marriage Foundation, thousands of couples and hundreds of churches around the world.
INTERACTIVE TEACHING
Entertaining, interactive teaching style, with two groups of couples of varied backgrounds who process the content with Jeff & Debby.
GUIDED DATE NIGHTS
Fun guided date nights are included as a part of the experience to help you apply the skills you learn in the teaching.
8 CORE TOPICS
Expectations, Communication, Conflict, Personalities, Finances, Intimacy, Spiritual Unity, and Goals & Dreams.
MARRIAGE MENTORS
Access to marriage mentors of all ages and backgrounds through the first five years of marriage.
PROFESSIONAL
Professionally-produced, proven, Biblically-based, on-demand content.
COMMUNITY OF COUPLES
A community of couples with similar values also beginning the marriage journey.
Dr. Matt Turvey
They've poured their lives into thousands of couples...
David & Kristi
After Prepare to Last, we felt a lot more peace because God created this, and it’s meant to work. We feel empowered to tackle life together!
This was so much fun!
We thought we had discussed all the important stuff, but there was so much more you helped us learn about how to do marriage right.
We’re even more excited about getting married now!
- Caleb & Courtney Collins
Prepare to Last was life-changing for us.
Prepare to Last was life-changing for us. I proposed to Chelsea when we finished it! We’re happily married with a beautiful family and still refer back to what we learned all those years ago!
- Mark Ingram Jr and wife, Chelsea
Former NFL Pro-Bowl running back and Heisman Trophy winner
The most innovative premarital resource out there.
Jeff & Debby, I’m so proud of what we’ve put together!
Your experience speaking to couples and your creativity and passion have made what I think is the most innovative premarital resource out there! Let’s do more together!
- Dr. David Olson
Founder, Prepare-Enrich, Former Director of longitudinal studies of marriage and family development at the National Institutes of Mental Health, Professor Emeritus, Family Social Science, University of Minnesota
Don't just prepare for your wedding.
Prepare to Last!
You get access to Prepare to Last, Jeff & Debby, the couples community AND the marriage mentors for THE FIRST FIVE YEARS of your marriage for only $129!!! That’s it!
Jeff & Debby have devoted their lives to helping the next generation do better at marriage than theirs did. They know from their 30+ years of experience in the field that the habits and relational dynamics established during the first five years will set the tone for the rest of the marriage.
"Consider this our wedding gift to you. Instead of giving you something on your registry, we want to invest in your happily-ever-after!" - Jeff & Debby
Money Back Guarantee
We’ve developed this material over many years and tested it on thousands of couples, so we feel comfortable saying that, if you go through the entire course and don’t feel like it offered excellent content, we will refund your money!
❤️ CLICK HERE TO GIVE THE GIFT OF 'PREPARE TO LAST' TO A COUPLE
- Proven Assessment
- Globally Trusted by 1000's of couples, churches and leaders
- Covers the 8 core relationship foundations for marital success
- Access to Marriage Mentors and Community FOR THE FIRST 5 YEARS OF YOUR MARRIAGE
Meet Some of Our Marriage Mentors
Frequently Asked Questions
But how do you know what you have now is going to be enough for what you need down the road in three, thirteen, thirty years?
The problem is, at this stage, you don’t know what you don’t know.
Maybe you saw in your parents’ marriage everything you don’t want in your own. Just saying you want something different isn’t enough if you don’t have the tools and skills you need to build it. Maybe your parents had a great marriage, so you know from their example how to have one, too. However, your parents’ marriage was between two different people than yours.
Marital success doesn’t happen by osmosis or inheritance. They’ve shown you how to run the race, but now it’s your responsibility to learn how to run your own race tied to your own partner.
The biggest mistake engaged couples make is to put the relationship on hold while they focus on all of the wedding planning.
Wedding planning is stressful, as you already know too well! That stress can take a toll on the relationship, and can negatively impact the wedding and honeymoon.
Even if you don’t have enough time to finish the course now, at least going through the first several sessions will give you some time to just focus on the two of you, and help you stay a team as you tackle all the planning and stress leading up to the big day. And you’ve still got access to the course, so you can keep working on it after you come back from the honeymoon and return the wedding gifts people clearly re-gifted to you!
Lol. Yes! It’s crazy, right?
But here’s the deal. That money you’re spending on the wedding could be the biggest waste of money of your life if the marriage isn’t invested in, too.
The wedding is… One. Day.
One day. Yes, it’s a big day. But it’s over in 24 hours and you’ll be in such a fog that day you won’t remember most of it! (That’s why you want to film it - so you can see all you already forgot!)
But the marriage is Every. Other. Day.
If you wait until you get back from the honeymoon, the chances of you getting started are greatly decreased. You’ll have to focus on getting back to work, setting up the new place, moving, unpacking gifts, writing thank you cards, etc.
See what we mean?
Then before you know it, it’s been a year and you’ve already started some bad habits. By the time you think about coming back to get the course, you’re two years in and you’ve just had another squabble. Now you’re going through the course to fix the relationship instead of just getting to prepare it.
Which is more fun, building a new house or repairing one you already lived in and scuffed up a few times?
Commit to starting now. If you can’t afford it, ask a family member or friend to give it to you for an early wedding gift! We have the site set up for people to do that for a couple they love!
You get:
- Free access to the Couple Checkup, which is delivered by one of the world’s most respected leaders in relationship assessments, Prepare-Enrich. The assessment will give you a thorough report that you’ll refer to throughout the experience.
- Teaching delivered online, on-demand in 8 core sessions (Marriage Expectations, Communication, Conflict Resolution, Personalities, Financial Unity, Sex & Intimacy, Spiritual Unity, and Goals & Dreams
Each session has:
- Engaging video teaching by national speakers Jeff & Debby McElroy
- Video sessions of small groups of couples of various demographics discussing with Jeff & Debby the various teachings from their diverse perspectives.
- Discussion questions to help the two of you share your own thoughts and perspectives on the subjects.
- Guided Date Nights with mp3 teaching you’ll listen to as you’re instructed where you’ll go and what you’ll do and discuss on each week’s date night to further develop skills and insights.
- Prepare for Greatness section for optional, additional discussions and exercises.
- A certificate of completion to take to your county clerk if you’re in a state that offers discounts on marriage licenses for those who’ve completed premarital preparation.
- Access to the Prepare to Last community where you can interact with other couples who are starting their journey at the same time. (We’ve seen some friendships form out of these communities that have lasted more than ten years!)
- MOST IMPORTANTLY, you’ll get something no other premarital resource like this offers - access through the online community to marriage mentors you’ll meet in the videos, as well as access to national marriage experts, Jeff & Debby, for the first five years of marriage!!
Nope! You’ll share your membership and login. (We know you’re spending a lot of money in the wedding planning process, or you’re watching your money if you’re newlyweds!)
You can log in together and watch the content, or log in at different times if you need. You can each enter your thoughts and notes in the Discussion Guide, and they’ll be saved so you can talk about things together later.
Super easy!
- Click here to go to the checkout.
- If you’re going through Prepare to Last through a church or university, be sure to get the special discount code from them.
- If you have your church/organization’s discount code, you’ll enter that on the Checkout Page (only one account is needed per couple - you’ll use the same login info).
- You’ll then be taken to a page to enter your first and last names for your profile so you show as a couple in the community.
- You will then receive a Welcome email. It will instruct you on where and how to take the Couple Checkup assessment and will include a voucher code so the $35 fee is waived.
That’s it! From there, you can jump right in and get started!
Yes! Click here to purchase a gift certificate.
Prepare to Last is for you if:
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You’re a seriously-dating couple considering marriage, but want to know if this is the relationship on which to build a future.
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You’re engaged and wanting top-notch premarital counseling content for a successful, lasting marriage.
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You’re newly-married and want more marriage preparation than you got during your engagement, and something more inspiring!
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You’ve been married before and realize now how important it is to work on the relationship from the very beginning!
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You’re smart enough to know that “being in love with each other” is not enough for marital success. You also need the tools and insights to know how to STAY in love with each other!
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You like entertaining, engaging delivery of content, rather than just reading information.
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You want to feel like somebody’s with you as you build your foundation for your marital future.
The best time to work on your marriage is now!
This season of your relationship is not only the most critical, it’s also when you’re the most motivated and open to learning and growing as a couple. Better to learn now what the marital potholes are so you can know how to drive around them, instead of falling into them like so many couples do!