First Presbyterian Church in Boulder Colorado hosts event they had launched to help improve marriages in Boulder. Held on a Friday evening in January, open to the public, and centered on the topic of healthy marriages and relationships, they called their event “WEDx.” Brilliant! Following the TED model, over the course of the evening they had five WEDx talks—lasting from 12-15 minutes each. The five topics were:
- Communication & Gender: Rethinking Mars & Venus
- Three Money Conversations That Will Transform your Marriage
- Rediscovering In-law Relationships
- Bringing Sensuality Back
- Staying in Love When You Are Crazy Busy
No pastors spoke…some speakers were believers others were just local relationship experts
who had a passion for helping couples. 450 people showed up for the event—a large percentage (35%) from the community…and they loved it. This is the kind of event I’d love to bring my neighbors to, just as we attend TEDx or Ignite talks together.
What about you?
What if you could help improve marriages and relationships in your city by hosting regular WEDx events? Your city is filled with passionate relationship champions and your church could be a venue and platform big enough to host such an event, connecting people who want to help with people who need help. Maybe start with a Happy Hour before the event (please translate that phrase within your faith tradition) and follow the event with a brief reception. What if every city had a WEDx evening a couple times a year—not churchy…not stuffy; but a great evening that made people think, “This was great and has really been helpful to us.” Give it a try and email me to let me know how it went. Let’s get the word out.
