Testimonials

Ron & Kathy Jones

"When one couple commits to loving each other enthusiastically "by faith", they will cause heaven to open up and pour out a blessing. The yoke is removed, the burden destroyed and the power of God can work in their lives. Truly, we thank God for such an anointed and life-changing twelve week course."

- Rev. Ronald and Kathy Jones

Rev. Ronald and Kathy Jones are at Schofield Gospels Church, SVC, Honolulu, Hawaii. Ron and Kathy have to be two of the most productive and creative people we have ever known. They started Two Becoming One groups several years ago, and regular celebrations at the end of the groups for those who were involved in the studies.

Ron and Kathy make certificates for all group participants and even made a special cake with the Christian Family Life logo!!

We were happy to have an opportunity to take part in one of their celebrations.

Below are pictures from one of their celebrations!

Chad & Christi Wilson

"We are extremely grateful that we were exposed to Don and Sally and the truths contained in Becoming One (now Two Becoming One) before we celebrated our 2 year anniversary. We know that the Lord used the material and His Word to spare us from a lot of extra heartache as we spent twelve weeks examining His view of marriage. Now that we are about to celebrate our 7 year anniversary and have a beautiful 14 month old son, we see some of the fruits manifested in our lives. It is most evident in our role as husband and wife and how we relate to one another. One principle that has many opportunities for daily application is that we must continually ask for forgiveness and break the cycles of insults that can occur so easily in our marriage. We are currently learning the importance of recognizing this as sin against our heavenly Father and not just to our spouse. We must repent and ask for restoration from both. Our flesh longs for situations to be 50/50 and to love when it seems deserved and convenient. The Lord is showing us that we must be broken and dependent upon Him to love each other unconditionally, and through this oneness, He is glorified.

It is a daily submittal of our will to God and our spouse in order to enrich and build a godly marriage."

Paul and Tara Dye

What Paul and I learned the most from our Two Becoming One classes was the concept of God's true purpose for marriage: for men and women to REFLECT His image, REPRODUCE to increase that reflection, and REIGN over His creation. I don't think either of us had looked at marriage in this light before. We knew we needed to love each other, put each other before ourselves, and have strong relationships with the Lord individually. But, these three main points caused us to think much more deeply about the marriage covenant under God...not only our commitment to one another but our responsibility to God.

We also enjoyed learning about how powerful a role the Holy Spirit plays within a marriage, and the application of such by the examples of the Insult Cycle and Blessing Cycle. We are still beginners with this and frequently fall into the insult cycle by nature. As our relationship has grown, just within one year of marriage, Paul and I have seen patterns evolve when conflict occurs and are both learning more about how the other naturally reacts. We consciously try to pray for one another to walk daily in the Holy Spirit so that when disagreement or frustration begins to arise we can be better prepared by allowing the Lord to work instead of our own selfish natures. It is a struggle, so we feel blessed to have this information to help us.

Mark & Pam Johnston

The impact the study has made on their marriage...
Mark had to say the following: "When we first took the study, I believed we already had a solid marriage, and we did. However, we learned so much more about God's plan and purposes for our marriage in those twelve weeks. The material literally transformed our marriage."

Their current role with CFL...
Mark currently sits on the CFL Board of Directors, and the couple continues to lead small group studies in their own church. Although they have been a part of numerous groups, they are "still excited and encouraged every time we see a couple understand and apply those faith principles to their marriage."

What their pastor has to say...
"This study has proven to be a vital part of our discipleship ministry here. We have had over 150 couples go through this study in the past six years. The results have been incredible in their lives and the life of our church."
- Dr. Mark Matheson

Background of Mark & Pam Johnston
Mark and Pam Johnston (now married) met their freshman year of college at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. Mark knew early on this was the girl he wanted to marry, but they did have many ups and downs in their dating relationship. They were married six years later in August of 1986, and moved to Orlando, Florida in 1989.

How they met Don & Sally Meredith...
The Johnstons first met Don and Sally Meredith when they came to speak at the couples' church (First Baptist of Windermere) in the Fall of 1991. This led to the couple getting involved in a small group twelve-week Bible study with the Merediths. "We both grew tremendously in our faith and marriage during those twelve weeks," says Pam.

Donald & Becky Zentmeyer

"I was asked...no, more like prodded or coerced...by my brother John to take the Two Becoming One study. One thing you must realize is that I have never been fond of marriage classes. Becky had asked me, many times, to go to various marriage seminars, so she was thrilled when I agreed to attend just the first five or six classes of the study. I have to say that once we started, we were in for the duration.

Becky and I made the one and a half hour trip from Tampa to Clermont every week and never minded the drive. (It gave us plenty of time to memorize the verse for the week!) In taking the study, we learned so much about the godly principles of marriage. We were challenged by the practical applications, answering questions that had not been a part of our thought process before we took the class. Last spring, we had the opportunity to lead a class in Tampa, Florida with a few couples in the church. Although we learned a tremendous amount while attending the class in Clermont, actually leading a class made such a difference in the implementation of those principles into our marriage. In September, we have three Two Becoming One classes starting in our church in Tampa. We are so excited about the impact this study will have on the ministry of our church. As we learned in the class, "God is faithful to His Word. If you will learn and make these faith commitments at a point in time, and then constantly renew your understanding of them by teaching others, you will experience God's blessings for a lifetime together."

Eric & Cindy Bowling

Eric and Cindy Bowling greatly benefited from participating in the study shortly after their marriage. "The first and most obvious blessing that stemmed from the Two Becoming One study was the friendships and fellowships that it nurtured. We feel as though God has placed these people in our lives as support, for accountability, and to be prayer partners with us.

The one subject in Two Becoming One that probably influenced us the most was the chapter on trials. It helped us in identifying and dealing with our current and future trials with a biblical perspective. The biblical truth that trials are a blessing from God helped us to face difficulties with a renewed vision for what He is teaching us.

Another revelation which helped form the foundation of our marriage was the fact that we are gifts from God to each other. My weaknesses and strengths are exactly what Cindy needs. Cindy's weaknesses and strengths are exactly what I need. This realization helps us both to be who God intended us to be without fear of rejection or criticism from each other. What an incredibly freeing feeling!!!"

Wes & Beth Gestring

Wes and Beth Gestring are missionaries in Lesotho, a country in southern Africa. They have discovered that one of the greatest needs throughout Africa is in Christian discipleship. We have been blessed to see how God is using Two Becoming One and its Biblical principles to fulfill this need within married couples. In 1995, over twenty married couples went through our previous study (Becoming One) in Lesoth representing the following countries: Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Sudan, Nigeria, Ghana, England, The Netherlands, and Canada.

Please pray for the Gestring family as they continue to minister to the people of Lesotho.

Danny & LaGena Greene

"Our Two Becoming One group study was tremendous. We had been married for 9 years before we even took the class and always felt like we had a wonderful marriage. But week by week, as the class went on, our relationship soared to new levels. Our communication is better, our love is deeper, our focus is now on God's marriage plan highlighted so clearly in the biblically-based Two Becoming One study. This class is for everyone, whether you're just engaged newlyweds or marriage veterans. It'll change your lives, like it did ours... Thank you, Don & Sally Meredith!!"

JD and Melissa Gibbs

"What did taking and subsequently leading the Two Becoming One marriage study do for JD and I? It forces us to devote more time to the maintenance of our relationship. Prior to our Two Becoming One experience, we had spent little time on marital issues, assuming that when you are a Christian couple, things just work out. But even as newlyweds, we had already developed some bad relational habits that were in need of some Biblical repair.

We have greatly benefited from Don and Sally's insights into God's plan for oneness, and we experienced the biggest impact in leading the study. Going through the material a second time reinforced the principles and further ingrained them into our lifestyle. We will continue to lead groups in order to share this blessing with other couples and to continually remind ourselves of the blessing as well."

- JD and Melissa Gibbs

Mark & Lisa Beale

"I responded to my sister's invitation to the Two Becoming One Bible study with that seemingly male aversion for "marriage classes". However, Lisa and I had just started attending a new church and Two Becoming One provided an opportunity to meet people. We had no idea how eye-opening the study would be, regarding God's purpose and plan for marriage. We are eagerly looking forward to leading a group. We feel that this will help us to more fully implement God's principles as we build our house of marital oneness.

As our lives and our marriages are changed by God's principles, applied through faith, we are beginning to experience supernatural faith relationships. These changes are being realized within families and extended families, friends, and even church congregations as a whole. Imagine the power we as Christians have to influence our neighbors as we begin to reflect God's image in our cities.

Don and Sally, thank you for your faithfulness. As Christians we sometimes miss or are even blinded to God's foundational Truth. Two Becoming One has erased preconceived faulty secular marriage views and replaced them with foundational Truth, God's Word. Our lives are changed!!"

John & Cindy Zentmeyer

"Cindy and I were introduced to the Two Becoming One Bible study by our wonderful spiritual friends, Rudy and Buffy Wimmer of Orlando, FL. A casual visit from Rudy turned into revelations of truth for our marriage. Rudy mentioned the Two Becoming One Bible study and Cindy got excited, but I was really hesitant about making the twelve week commitment. Without question, those twelve weeks were a time of incredible spiritual growth. God's Word and work became alive in our marriage, or shall we say our marriage became alive in His Word. The precious seeds of faith thrown on the path by Don and Sally, Mark and Pam, and Rudy and Buffy have reaped so much and impacted our family greatly. So convinced were we of the godly principles taught, we went on to lead a study in our city of Clermont, Florida. We invited my brother and his wife, Don and Becky Zentmeyer, to be a part of it. Their commitment challenged them to lead a study in Tampa, Florida in which Becky's brother and sister-in-law, Mark and Lisa Beale will participate in."

Kent & Michelle Sterchi

"We got married with the world's view of marriage - looking out for our own selfish interests. Two Becoming One has had a dramatically positive impact on our marriage and family. We are biblically grounded to face the many challenges that today's culture places upon a marriage. We are committed to helping equip other couples in our church and area to know God's truth as revealed in this study."