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Missions

Native American Marriage Enhancement

If you haven't heard about Native American Marriage Enhancement, you probably aren't alone. John Knoles, missionary to Native Americans, calls this "virgin territory." "No one has ever specifically targeted the strengthening of Native American marriages until now."

John and his wife, Doris, have ministered to Native Americans for 20 years, witnessing first-hand the heartbreak of broken homes. They admire and appreciate Native America's rich heritage of respect for elders and Native family values. However, John notes, "The sins of the dominant Anglo culture have crept into Native American homes. Alcoholism and drug abuse combined with extreme poverty, depression and demonic oppression place a tremendous strain on marriages. We are beginning to see the decline of marriages with divorce becoming more prevalent." A national survey found that 15.5 percent of Indian couples reported violence in their marriages.

A new Web site, www.nativemarriage.com, is dedicated to enhancing Native American marriages. Whereas a couple experiencing marital problems may hesitate to seek a counselor, they would be comfortable going online in the privacy of their home.

The Knoles' vision is to empower Native couples to enjoy victorious Christian marriages. Ultimately, hundreds of biblical marital and pre-marital studies will go online to give Native Americans consistent spiritual teaching for strengthening their marriages and equipping them to be godly examples at home and on the reservation. These teachings will be made available totally free of charge.

The new Web site is just one phase of Native American Marriage Enhancement. In addition, John and Doris are scheduling weekend marriage workshops across the United States to give young Indian couples a point of contact. John and Doris have made themselves totally available to couples throughout the Western Hemisphere . One recent testimony concerns a young Native wife who worked in an environment with morally loose coworkers. She became involved in harmful Internet activities. Due to extensive counseling, she gave up her online chat rooms. The couple is back together, solidly involved in their church and their marriage is healed by the power of God.

John's compassion is evident as he describes the pressures Native American ministerial couples also face. "It seems there is a focused effort from the enemy to strip the Native Pentecostal leader of his or her power. Leaders find themselves under tremendous pressure, which can lead to moral failure. Abraham Lincoln said, 'In vain do we train men in ministry and not in morals.' The need to prepare mature Christian Indian leaders who understand the covenant of marriage and responsibility to their family is vital to the fulfillment of the Great Commission."

As this new mission moves forward, John and Doris are seeking the prayers of our Assemblies of God women's prayer groups. U.S. Missions has established the Anna Knoles Memorial Fund to help assist Native women with postpartum depression and psychosis. For more information, contact John and Doris at their NAME office at 602-993-0225 or e-mail them at jknoles@juno.com.