In February 2023, churches throughout the Southern Asia-Pacific region observed Christian Home and Marriage Week with a variety of events aimed at fostering healthy families and churches. Many churches hosted family seminars and workshops, while others planned marital enrichment programs and vow renewal ceremonies.

A young mom led an engaging lecture on "Nurturing Emotional Well-being in the Family" in Silang, Cavite, Philippines. In the Pakistan Union Section (PKU), a marriage seminar experience and training were conducted for 23 ministerial couples in the Southern Section. Arranged by Ruth Ashir, PKU Family Ministries director, with her husband, Pastor IIlyas Asher Khan, executive secretary of PKU, as one of the presenters, the seminar was held at the Karachi Adventist Hospital School of Nursing conference hall. It was a first for most of the attendees.
Forty-two pastoral couples attended a similar event at the Adventist Church headquarters in Davao, Southern Philippines. They, too, were encouraged to share the seminar ideas and workshops with others so more families may be blessed with healthy, enriched marriages.

“There is always room for improvement, even for the best of marriages. But since no marriage is perfect because we all fall short of God’s glorious standard [see Romans 3:23], couples need all the help to strengthen their relationship skills and have a fulfilling marriage,” said Virginia Baloyo, Family Ministries director for the Southern Asia-Pacific Division. “Good marriages benefit both partners, create a solid foundation for children to achieve their true potential, and positively impact the church, workplace, and community.” 

This year’s Family Ministries (FM) resource is about families and mental health, printed and made widely available for the first time in the SSD. A version in Bahasa Malaysia is now accessible on the GC FM website; the Chinese translation was recently submitted. Both projects were initiated by the Malaysia Union Mission.

The original version of this story was posted on the Southern Asia-Pacific Division website.