Compass Marriage & Relationship Services

14/06/2023

Did you know Compass Marriage & Relationship Services teaches solid relationship education in schools, non-profits, and youth groups around Central Virginia! Go to Compass-Marriage.org to learn more!

08/06/2023

If you would like to learn more about us, then go to compass-marriage.org

18/08/2021

Friends - our Fall marriage retreat (Oct. 15-16) is now open for registration! The theme is "Best of Lovers, Best of Friends: Keys to an Intimate Marriage." It's a Friday-Saturday overnight event at the beautiful Hammersley Center in Brookneal. For more information and to register, go to https://events.eventzilla.net/e/best-of-lovers-best-of-friends--fall-marriage-retreat-2138802154?preview=1629138713965. We'd love to see you there!

17/04/2021

I am a glutton for research on marriage and families. A recent article from the Institute for Family Studies really stood out. Titled "The Immigrant Paradox: Why Are Children of Immigrants Doing Better," it discusses the fact that today, children of immigrants are outperforming native-born American children in almost every arena. The author, Dr. Leonard Sax, suggests three important factors that account for this seeming anomaly. Here is a quote from the article:

Stronger Families
Immigrant families are more likely than nonimmigrant families to be led by a married couple. The children of immigrants are also more likely to live with extended family, which may include grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We now have compelling evidence that the closer family ties characteristic of immigrant families account for roughly half of the advantage reflected in the immigrant paradox.

The Culture of Disrespect
Over the past 30 years, American culture has increasingly become a culture of disrespect. For example: The Disney Channel, as well as some of the most popular videos on YouTube, along with some of the most popular songs, make it appear funny and entertaining for young people to be disrespectful not only to their parents, but to one another. Even T-shirts broadcast this attitude, with messages like “Spoiler Alert: I Don’t Care,” communicated to all passersby. As I showed in my book The Collapse of Parenting, the culture of disrespect explodes any possibility of strong bonds across generations. The end result of the culture of disrespect is young people who view their parents with “ingratitude seasoned with contempt.”

Permissive Parenting
Researchers who have studied parenting have identified three basic parenting styles, which we might call Too Soft, Too Hard, and Just Right. Permissive parents are Too Soft: they let kids call the shots, they fail to enforce their own rules. Authoritarian parents are Too Hard: they are punitive and unloving. The Just Right parent, however, sets rules and sticks by them but always communicates love and respect along the way.

The whole article is well worth reading, and you can see it here:
https://ifstudies.org/blog/the-immigrant-paradox-why-are-children-of-immigrants-doing-better
By the way, if you're interested in good information about marriage and family, the IFS site is excellent.

On many parameters, the children of immigrants now outperform the children of parents who were born and raised in the United States. Across the board, the children of immigrants have better academic outcomes compared with the children of nonimmigrants, despite the fact that the children of immigrant...

28/12/2020

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN for our "Sweet Retreat" on February 12-13 at the Hammersley Conference Center in Brookneal. What a great Valentine's Day gift for your sweetie! Go here to register: https://www.patrickhenry.org/events/
Hope to see you there!

20/07/2020

Marriage 101: Tips for a Fun & Vibrant Marriage with Amanda-Kirk

The Hugkissily™

Today's tip comes courtesy of a special guest! He introduced this concept to Jonathan and me over a decade ago - and we've never forgotten it! It's memorable, it's simple, AND it's effective - no matter how you pronounce it!

I'm super excited to introduce my guest and his tip to you - let me know what you think!

Compass Marriage & Relationship Services

31/12/2019

I have some very exciting news! As of November 1, 2019, Compass Marriage & Relationship Services has become an Associate Ministry of Patrick Henry Family Services. We believe this partnership will be beneficial to both parties and even more so to the families we serve.
Patrick Henry Family Services (PHFS), is a Christian non-profit agency that has been serving vulnerable and hurting children since 1961 through residential care, counseling, family support, and other interconnected programs. PHFS began with a single home for six children in Brookneal. In the years that followed the organization continued to expand. They opened Hope for Tomorrow Counseling in 2007; these community-based counseling centers offer various therapeutic services for children and families in Lynchburg, South Boston, Bedford, Farmville, Danville, and Brookneal. In 2012, PHFS added Hat Creek Camps, which includes The Hammersley Conference Center. The summer camp program provides high-quality camping experiences for children from hard places, and the conference center offers training opportunities year-round for foster and adoptive parents, as well as child welfare workers. Recently PHFS introduced its Safe Families For Children, Homes Of Hope, and the Expanded Families programs.
I have worked with PHFS over the years, doing marriage retreats at the Hammersley Center and other cooperative efforts with them. Given the concern that they have for serving the entire family, and because family disintegration often begins with a breakdown in marriage, the addition of a ministry that works with couples to build and sustain healthy, lifelong marriages and relationships seemed like a natural fit. Robert Day, the CEO of PHFS, and I have been talking about a possible partnership for some time, and have been working out the details of this merger for several months. I am honored and delighted that PHFS considers Compass a worthy partner for their cause.
The benefit for Compass is that with the expanded reach and resources of PHFS behind us, we hope to be able to impact many more couples with our mentor training and marriage services, and further advance our relationship skills training with young people. We will also be able to help more churches develop and grow their marriage ministries than ever before.
Please be assured that we will continue to need your support. Compass will continue to be a distinct entity within the PHFS organization, with our own budget and operating funds. Any amount you donate will be dedicated strictly to Compass activities, unless you direct otherwise.
Thank you for your support and encouragement over the last fifteen years, and I pray for continued blessing for you and your family in the years to come. God bless you.

Lawrence M. Compter, M.A.
Executive Director

02/02/2019

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04/01/2019

https://ifstudies.org/blog/five-research-based-ways-to-build-resilient-families-in-2019

As we begin 2019, we thought it would be helpful to summarize a few of the lessons we’ve learned about marriage and family life from the research we covered in 2018—findings that we can take with us into the new year to help us create a healthier family culture. While we certainly could have inc...

03/01/2019

PREPARE-ENRICH Training: February 2, 2019, 9am-4pm. Learn how to help engaged couples prepare for marriage, using this well-researched, biblically-based tool. As a P-E facilitator, you will administer and interpret a relationship assessment that pinpoints both strengths and areas for growth in romantic relationships. You will also learn how to teach couples the critical communication and conflict management skills they will need to successfully handle the normal newlywed challenges. For more information, call our office at 434-455-2117. Deadline for registration is January 26, 2019.

16/11/2018

Looking to do some holiday shopping? Use this link https://smile.amazon.com/ch/06-1670159 and amazon will donate a portion of your purchase to Compass!

09/08/2018

It's not too late to get in on the "Money Matters" Workshop this Saturday, 9:30 - noon, at Forest Community Church! Learn Biblical principles for good stewardship and financial health. Go to our Events page and sign up!

19/05/2018

Great article on the importance of presence in our lives, and especially in the lives of children. See it here: https://ifstudies.org/blog/the-importance-of-being-truly-present-with-our-families

Constitutive of a happy and satisfied life is living in the presence of those we love. Consistently. Perhaps this is most obvious in younger children. They simply want to be together with a small number of people—most of all their family. Yes, they can get used to absence, and so can we all. But i...

11/03/2018

3x your impact! From March 12-31, Amazon is tripling the donation rate on your first smile.amazon.com purchase! Go to smile.amazon.com/ch/06-1670159 and Amazon donates to Compass Marriage & Relationship Services.

20/02/2018

Turning out to be a busy first quarter, and probably a busy year! Had a great marriage retreat at Hammersley Center on Feb. 9-10. Ten couples had a wonderful time revitalizing their marriages! Another retreat (for a church) is coming up in March, plus a 3-month series of monthly Date Nights for another church in Appomattox. Sprinkled in are some other speaking engagements at LU and Lynchburg College, Insight (a community group), and Brookville High School, PLUS our annual St. Patrick's Day couples event and the usual stream of couples' sessions for premarital or marriage coaching. BUT - the big news is that the National Association of Relationship and Marriage Educators (NARME) has selected me to deliver a workshop on "Presenting with Passion" at the annual convention in Orlando this July. Please pray for me - with opportunity comes responsibility, and I will need God's help and the support of our friends to successfully manage all this!

28/12/2017

There is still time to help marriages in 2017 - donate online at https://betterlove.org/donations/. And - if you donate by Dec. 31, PayPal will actually ADD 1% to your gift! Thank you for your support, and please continue to help us build and sustain healthy marriages in 2018.

We truly appreciate your generosity! Your gift could mean the difference between a difficult, unhappy marriage and a stable, healthy one for a couple in Virginia. It might even help prevent a divor…

19/12/2017

Hope everyone is looking forward to a very Merry Christmas! Don't forget our Holiday Match challenge - every donation to Compass received between Thanksgiving and Christmas will be matched 100% by a generous donor. Help us strengthen marriages and families, and give young people the guidance they need to build a healthy, lifelong marriage!

11/12/2017

Wrap-up your holiday shopping at smile.amazon.com/ch/06-1670159 and Amazon donates to Compass Marriage & Relationship Services.

When you shop at AmazonSmile, Amazon will donate to Compass Marriage & Relationship Services. Support us every time you shop.