Have you grown frustrated flipping TV channels? It seems like no matter how many streaming services we subscribe to, it’s difficult to find something to watch that’s encouraging, much less portraying marriage in a positive light. Wouldn’t it be a breath of fresh air to tune in to a program that offers marriage building wisdom and positive role models? That’s just what you’ll find on “A Better Us,” hosted by Reverend Ron and Ann Mainse. The show airs on three networks in the Mainses’ native Canada and on their YouTube channel worldwide. The couple launched the 30-minute show in 2018 after hosting various programs at Crossroads Christian Communication Inc. for decades, the most famous being its flagship 100 Huntley Street. (Fun fact, the program takes its name from the studio’s original address in Toronto.)

Ron’s pastor father, David Mainse, was a pioneer in Canadian Christian media, starting Crossroads from the ground up in 1962 before Ron was even born. Ron grew up working behind the scenes at the station doing everything from running printers to stuffing envelopes before he started appearing in front of the camera at his father’s urging. After being home raising their three children, Ann was recruited in 2001 to write and share an on-screen daily Bible study, which led to hosting duties as well as a weekly women’s talk show. She and Ron began hosting 100 Huntley Street together in 2005.

As their children grew into adulthood and began to start families of their own, the Mainses’ desire to encourage marriages rose to the forefront. Heart to Heart Marriage & Family Ministries was created in the 1980s under the umbrella of Crossroads, but by the 1990s was established enough to sustain its own independent governance. In 2016, the Mainses were asked to take the helm of the non-profit, and it seemed like a perfect fit.

“We had a special place in our hearts for marriages,” Ann said. “So, it seemed natural for the Lord to use us.” They thought their television chapter had closed. The Mainses began creating marriage enrichment seminars and events to present at churches – content they still offer in a program called A Day to Become a Better Us. But they realized they could exponentiate their reach through media and decided to use the on-camera experience God had given them to maximize impact. They inked a production partnership with Crossroads, and “A Better Us” launched in 2018.

It was Ann’s idea to add interest by making the format interactive like a small group. They invited three other couples in various ages and stages of life – including a well-known Canadian Football player and their own newlywed son and daughter-in-law to join them. Each episode features a short teaching from one of the world’s top marriage experts — Gary Chapman, Gary Thomas, Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott and Deborah Fileta have all taped segments with them.

They’ll release their tenth 13-episode season in 2027. Their website describes “A Better Us” as having “a variety of program elements, including short teachings from marriage experts and lively discussions around our kitchen island with married couples of various ages. We also feature video testimony vignettes of married couples who, with God’s help, have weathered storms in their relationship.”  YouTube episode links can be found here: https://www.abetterus.tv/.

Through the years, the “kitchen couples,” as the Mainses fondly call them, have grown and lived through much, Ann said. One of the hallmarks of “A Better Us” is its transparency. The Mainses’ son and his wife had been married only three years when they started the program. The couple walked authentically through their difficulty becoming pregnant and child loss before eventually being blessed with four children.

In season four, Ann and Ron candidly shared her 2019-2020 breast cancer battle. (She’s been cancer-free for six years now.) “We’ve lived through lots of hard stuff,” Ann said. “We share where we struggle but show how inviting God into that situation makes a difference.” Every show reminds viewers that “With the Lord’s help, you can get through anything” and “With God there is always hope to become a Better Us.”

They’ve had positive feedback from couples around the world in – countries in Africa, New Zealand, the Philippines – who’ve told them how much “A Better Us” has meant to their marriage. “It doesn’t matter about geography, background or family history, all marriages struggle with the same things: differences between men and women, communication, parenting styles, anger management,” Ron said. “We are all the same. But when we bring those struggles to the Lord, his Holy Spirit also is the same and can give us strength, stamina and wisdom,” Ann added. “Whatever the season, don’t get stuck. Invite God’s Holy Spirit in to help you grow closer to each other and closer to God.”

They published couples’ devotional, Come Closer – Time with God for a Better Us in 2025 to help spouses grow together. Each of the 31 entries includes scripture, a personal anecdote and concludes with a reflection and prayer starter. One story details a snapshot of their July 7, 1984, wedding, at which the weather was so hot and humid that not one, but two, of the groomsmen fainted. Ron’s father, being well versed in videography from his television work, had installed a camera to record the bridal couple’s faces during the ceremony. Once the men went down, Ann was terrified they were going to stop the wedding. To buy time while the attendants were being revived, the minister began leading the congregation in the worship song, “I Love You Lord,” (which had not been part of the schedule.) While the video shows Ann wiping tears, Ron was relaxing into the music. “We discovered how very different we are right on our wedding day,” Ann said. 42 years later, they laugh at the scene. She reminds the devotional reader of the appropriateness of the song that redirects focus to the Lord who is the true anchor, no matter what perceived calamity may befall.

In addition to its God-honoring witness, one of the true treasures of the “A Better Us” show is the way the couples model comfort for each other in trials. Often, even long-married couples misstep during crisis when one needs care. Western culture’s model of “strong, silence” doesn’t serve couples well when they are hurting.

Ron admits he did not know how to support Ann as a husband when she was diagnosed with cancer. They’ll never forget driving to Ann’s first chemotherapy appointment. Ann was understandably trepidatious, knowing doctors were going to put a port in her heart. Ron tried to help by reminding her of God’s love and care, which was not landing on Ann in the kind way he intended. She was able to communicate that although she knew and agreed with everything he was saying, she didn’t need him to be her cheerleader that day. She just needed his presence. Ron understood and accompanied her to every appointment.

Like many women, losing her hair was particularly distressing to Ann. “Breast cancer robs a woman of so much,” she said. “I was completely bald – no eyebrows, no eyelashes. It was a season where everything hurt. Ron would take my favorite lotion and massage my scalp. Every single time he would kiss my head and say, ‘I love this beautiful bald head.’ It’s a little thing that meant so much to me. Even though I didn’t feel beautiful, he said I still was.” Seeing Ron’s example of tender service and care to Ann as they share that story on camera in Season Four models how husbands can step up for their wives in time of need (or vice versa).

“I was the little r rock, but I knew God was the big R Rock,” Ron said. “I could be there with her, attend appointments, pick up around the house, but I knew her real security was in God – which took pressure off. I didn’t have to be God to her.”

Ann said she, too, had to come to terms with keeping Ron’s and God’s places in their proper perspective. “It would have been easy to lean on him for everything, but I needed to know in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep, but he had to sleep, God would be my strength. I had to learn to press into God for the needs only He could meet.”

On those sleepless nights, Ann would tiptoe out of bed with her laptop and find solace in God’s Word. Her middle-of-the-night journal entries grew into the 31-day devotional, Coffee with Him: Mornings With God On an Unexpected Journey, published in 2020.“I would just type away,” Ann said. “He brought beauty from the ashes of breast cancer.” Coffee With Him Volume 2: More Daily Sips of God’s Peace and Presence, published in 2025, is less about her cancer journey, but continues to inspire women to grow in faith. Ann also speaks at women’s events, gives a daily devotional radio segment on Joy Radio, and tapes a daily podcast called “Sincerely Yours,” that’s featured on FaithStrongToday.com.

“The Lord has given me such a beautiful message for women,” she said.

On their A Better Us website, couples can sign up to receive a free Your Weekly Marriage Moment email, which includes a highlight video of marriage encouragement for the week.

The Maineses shine a beacon of light for marriage in Canada’s darkening culture as the country grows increasingly more progressive and secular. “We see ourselves as marriage missionaries as we try to bring the love of God to the airwaves,” Ann said. “Doing marriage God’s way is not old fashioned. It has been proven over millennia. If you are open to God and invite him in, he will make a difference in your marriage.”