Roy and Sue Milam’s A New Beginning Intensives Help Couples Address Hurt, Move Toward Restored Marriages
Sometimes it seems like a struggling marriage is just so stuck, there’s no way back to a loving relationship. Is it even possible to overcome long standing habits and hurts? Can a couple battle back after the betrayal of infidelity?
Sue and Roy Milam, founders of Cornerstone Marriage & Family Ministries, have seen thousands of marriages healed over their almost three decades working with couples and leading A New Beginning intensive weekends.
“We seek to help couples restore and strengthen their marriages and build their marriages and families according to the timeless truths of Jesus Christ and the Bible, as well as the latest research on marital relationships today,” according to the website, https://marriageministry.org/.
“The intensive weekends are designed to get to the root of the problem to overcome hurt and pain and allow for a renewed, loving relationship.” Of the more than 3600 couples who have participated, many of whom were separated, had filed for divorce or were ready to give up, 87% of them recommitted to their marriage, according to their website.
When the Milams married in 1988 they realized if their relationship was going to succeed, they needed a firm foundation and skills. They read books on marriage and attended FamilyLife’s Weekend to Remember, after which they followed up with FamilyLife’s HomeBuilders Couples Series. Sue and Roy started leading the study, eventually becoming FamilyLife’s volunteer coordinators for the greater Houston area – not a small responsibility.
Roy went back to school to pursue a master’s degree in counseling with the intention of offering life and work planning, Sue said. As their experience as mentors grew, their church asked if they would start working with couples trying to get their marriage back on track who couldn’t afford professional help. In 1995 they felt God calling them to work with couples full time, and they launched Cornerstone Marriage & Family Ministries. Ironically, troubled couples were their least favorite group with which to work at that time, Sue admitted. However, that all changed when they discovered the effectiveness of the intensive model. In 2000, Roy wrote curriculum gleaned from their experiences, biblical teaching from HomeBuilders and principles learned through Austin-based Intimate Encounters. The Milams launched their first marriage intensive weekend in 2002.