silouette of couple at sunset

God is Moving to Save Children and Families in Arkansas

Ray Williams Updated on Events, Flourishing Families

My wife Carolyn and I have enjoyed countless Valentine’s Day dates over the years, each one memorable in its own way. However, this Valentine’s Day stood out to us. This year, we were together with friends at a community date night. We savored our desserts as laughter and music filled the air. But there was something else that contributed to the joy I felt.

This Valentine’s Day coincided with our participation in the Arkansas Marriage Challenge, a statewide initiative during National Marriage Week (February 7-14). Carolyn and I joined hundreds of couples who committed to strengthening marriages in Arkansas through community date nights, relationship skill education, and marriage checkups.

Ray Williams dancing with his wife, Carolyn

Praising God for His Work

We enjoyed the evening but it was more than a fun night out. It was a reminder of how much God values healthy marriages because they are vital for children’s well-being, adult happiness, and thriving communities.

When we invest in marriages, everyone wins.

A recent report from the Institute for Family Studies and the Wheatley Institute highlights four proven ways to invest in your relationship to have a happy and stable marriage: 

  1. Being fully committed to your spouse and marriage
  2. Protecting your spouse
  3. Participating in shared church attendance
  4. Going on regular date nights.

Driving home from the date night, I remembered the report. I thought, “That’s exactly what the Arkansas Marriage Challenge is doing—building a lasting love through commitment, faith, and moments like these. As Carolyn and I reflected on the evening, we couldn’t help but praise God for His presence in our marriage and how He is moving through His Church to strengthen children and families across Arkansas.

Would you join me in praising God for his work during the challenge? Through it, we saw:

  • More than 25 churches from cities across Arkansas worked together to offer opportunities for couples to strengthen their marriage.
  • Over 50 pastors, church leaders, marriage educators, and counselors participated in the Arkansas Marriage Summit on February 11th at Williams Baptist University.
  • Governor Sanders declared National Marriage Week as Marriage Week in Arkansas.

Renewed by the Gospel: One Church’s Story

As I write, we’re receiving stories from churches that joined the challenge. Michael and Heather Harrison were among the couples who participated in the Arkansas Marriage Challenge. They worked with a team of couples to host a date night titled “Renewed” at their church in Conway.

Here’s Heather’s story:

Grace. Hope. Support. 

Those were the words our small team of eight held close as we planned a night devoted to marriage. We didn’t want anyone to feel as if those on the stage for a panel discussion were untouchable experts or that a good marriage was attained by following a simple equation. We are real, live, complex people, not AI renditions of marriage.

We wanted them to be surprised by grace, encouraged to hope, and strengthened by support. We wanted the star of the night to be the Living God and His power and patience. So we prayed to this end. We asked God for His thoughts. We declared this to be His night, His people. “Do whatever you want,” we nervously declared. And He did. 

Since my husband is a pastor and I am a therapist, we knew most of the couples who attended and many of their stories. Several marriages in the crowd had dealt with infidelity, addiction, tragic loss, a recent diagnosis, and talk of divorce. And though knowing this made it more difficult, it also prevented us from pretense. These precious marriages needed more than platitudes. They were desperate. They needed more than we could give; they needed God Himself and the power of the gospel. So this, or rather, He, was our focus. We kept this question in mind as we prepared, and it became our focus as we spoke:

How does the gospel of Christ impact our marriages? 

Even the practical details, like beautiful decorations, a delicious dinner, and multiple giveaways, were ways we sought to display God’s extravagant love and care. My husband and I shared together after dinner, followed by a panel of four couples who humbly shared portions of their stories. We then had time to discuss with one another. We ended the night by singing and reading a marriage liturgy aloud.

The response to this night was even better than we expected, causing us to realize the great need and to ask for God’s guidance in how to continue to encourage the husbands and wives within our church and community. We titled the night “Renewed” because our ultimate goal was for each couple to know and experience the power and beauty that comes from the renewal of the gospel.

Michael and Heather Harrison with other sons

Special thanks to our Arkansas Marriage Challenge media partners—Salem Media, KVNE, and KLRC—for promoting the challenge in cities across the state.

Ray Williams
Ray Williams has served as the Founder and President of CityChurch Network since its beginning in 1999. Previously, he served in multiple pastor roles at Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock for 38 years. He and his wife Carolyn love to attend movies and travel together. They have two daughters and seven grandchildren who know him as “Papa Ray.” He graduated from Ouachita Baptist University in 1977 and earned an M.A. in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication from UA Little Rock in 1985. He is pursuing a Doctorate of Ministry through the Antioch School for Church Planting and Leadership Development. His training as an Army Airborne Ranger and active-duty service as an Infantry officer in the 82nd Airborne Division from 1977 to 1981 earned him the nickname “Ranger Ray” with some of his long-term friends.