We first used the phrase “Marriage Mentoring” in 1990 when we started a local effort to link engaged couples on the campus of Seattle Pacific University with more experienced couples within the community. Little did we know how effective and far reaching this effort would be. This timeline notes some of our highlights.
Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott begin their careers at Seattle Pacific University and soon start a skills-based course in marriage.
Marriage Mentor Club is launched, linking university faculty and staff couples with engaged student couples. It soon spreads to local churches.
Les and Leslie found The Center for Relationship Development on the campus of Seattle Pacific University, creating a hub for research, mentoring and groundbreaking courses.
The Marriage Mentor Manual (Zondervan) released as the first book ever published on the subject.
Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts</em> is published and wins the ECPA Gold Medallion award for marriage book of the year.
Parrotts publish Mentoring Engaged and Newlywed Couples (Zondervan), a video-based training kit for churches.
Les and Leslie invited by government officials in Singapore to start Marriage Mentoring effort in Asia.
Drs. Les and Leslie appear on the Oprah Winfrey Show, garnering national exposure for the Marriage Mentoring effort.
Tom Brokaw features Les and Leslie’s Marriage Mentoring program on the NBC Nightly News, as does CNN, Good Morning America and Fox News.
The Governor of Oklahoma invites Les and Leslie to serve as marriage ambassadors because of the state’s high divorce rate – planting marriage mentor seeds in every county.
Les and Leslie speak to Marines returning from Iraq at Camp Pendleton and launch Marriage Mentoring movement in the military.
Les and Leslie write first column on Marriage Mentoring for HomeLife magazine reaching 500,000 families each month.
Focus on the Family broadcasts an interview with Les and Leslie igniting a renewed groundswell of momentum for Marriage Mentoring.
In response to requests from churches, the Parrotts publish The Complete Guide to Marriage Mentoring Kit (Zondervan) as a turnkey kit.
The Parrotts put a stake in the ground with the initiative of training a million marriage mentors through the Marriage Mentoring Initiative.
Marriage Mentor Academy launched online, making it possible for couples to be trained anywhere anytime.
Having published numerous best-selling books, Les and Leslie reach #1 on the New York Times bestseller list with The Hour That Matters Most (Tyndale).