Marriage Ministry
Why we started

Our story is one of choosing each other—again and again—through seasons both beautiful and broken.

We have been together for ten years. We are a blended family with seven children and now two grandchildren, living a life that is full, layered, and deeply human. Our days are shared with two dogs, three cats, and a love for wandering toward the outdoors and waterfalls...places where time slows and God’s presence feels close.

Justin is a lifelong West Virginian, rooted in these hills and valleys. Maria came here for love, never knowing this land would one day hold so much of her story. Together, we have learned that home is not just a place but it’s a promise kept.

We do not speak about marriage from a distance. We speak from lived experience. We know the ache of previous divorce, the weight of financial hardship, the devastation of infidelity, and the deep wounds left by physical abuse. We understand the complexity of blending families, co-parenting stepchildren, and walking tenderly with sick and dying parents. These chapters were not easy, but they shaped us. They taught us empathy, patience, and the kind of love that has depth because it has known pain.

There was a time we quietly asked, Who are we to start a marriage ministry? And in that stillness, God answered...not with condemnation, but with grace. He reminded us that He is a Redeemer and a Restorer. Our calling was never about perfection. It was about surrender.

What once felt lost through previous divorce was restored when we chose to put God first, when we stopped striving in our own strength and invited Him into the center of our marriage. Healing didn’t happen overnight, but it happened faithfully. Broken places softened. Hope returned. Love deepened.

Purchasing this chapel became a living reflection of our story. What was worn and waiting was restored with intention and prayer. As the walls were renewed, so was our understanding: this place was never meant to be only a wedding venue. It was meant to be a sanctuary. A place where promises are spoken, where hearts are steadied, and where marriages are nurtured long after the wedding day ends.

Our heart is to create space for couples to slow down, breathe deeply, and remember why they chose each other. To offer encouragement before crisis, community before isolation, and faith before fear. To remind couples that love can be rebuilt, vows can be strengthened, and redemption is always within reach.

This chapel stands as a testament—to restoration, to second chances, and to the beautiful truth that when God is placed at the center, what was once broken can become something sacred again.