Island ECC

• How to become a Christian
• Care Groups
• The City
• Classes
  • 2:7 Discipleship Course
• Share Your Story
• Couples / Marriage
  • Pre-Marriage Counselling
  • Weddings
• Baby Dedication
• Baptism
• Membership
• Spiritual Gifts Assessment

Pre-Marriage Counselling

What you need to know about premarital counselling at Island ECC

We encourage all engaged couples at Island ECC to give good attention and time to preparing for your marriage well, and to participate in the premarital counselling programme. Our pastors are qualified as premarital counsellors and it is their joy to meet with couples at this exciting and important juncture in their lives.

To apply, at least one of the participants must be a member of Island ECC or have been attending regularly for minimum six months.

Step 1: Complete the Couples Introduction Form

In preparation for premarital counselling, couples are required to complete an introductory form to provide some basic information about themselves. Use the CONTACT form here and send an email to WEDDINGS to request a COUPLES INTRODUCTION FORM. 

Step 2: Confirmation and Payment

Once the introduction/application form has been processed, the couple will be advised if a place can be confirmed on the premarriage programme, and if so, payment will be requested.

The premarital counselling package includes:

• PREPARE assessment
• Individual Counselling sessions with one of our pastors
• Premarriage group workshop
• Two books for couple use.

The total fee for the premarital package is HK$2,500 per couple, to be paid prior to taking the Prepare assessment (cheque payable to Island ECC Ltd.). Please note that this does not include wedding officiation (see 'Weddings' for more information).

Step 3: Take the 'Prepare' Online Assessment

Our pastors use the 'Prepare-Enrich' assessment tool by Life Innovations in the US as a base for the pre-marriage counselling sessions. This programme is used by churches around the world and provides excellent materials and feedback for premarital counselling, marriage preparation, marriage counselling and marriage enrichment.

'Prepare' is designed to help couples learn more about themselves and their relationship. It is an invaluable resource for the premarital counsellor, and will save many hours of talking.
Once the Introductory Form has been completed, we will arrange for couples to take the Prepare assessment online. The test takes about one hour to complete. The results, which will remain confidential, will be held by the premarital counsellor.

Step 4: Commence Premarital Counselling

Couples are assigned to one of our pastors to be their pre-marriage counsellor, and we will contact you to make an appointment for your first session. Generally 2-3 sessions are required and these are available from Monday to Friday between 8.00am and 6.30pm, subject to the pastor’s availability.

In addition, we are running some group workshops as part of the programme, where several couples will meet together to cover some of the material.

Note: All our pastors reserve final approval until meeting with the couple to confirm that there are no unexpected reasons why they would not, in good conscience, be able to conduct marriage counselling and/or officiate at the wedding service. This is not anticipated, but it is important to understand that their commitment is in some measure tentative until they have met with the couple.

To apply for premarital counselling, use the contact form in the navigation bar above. If you would like your counselling pastor to officiate at your wedding, or to use Island ECC facilities, please read more on our Weddings page.