Pre-Marital Care

Marriage was created by God to display the relationship between Christ and his church and for the flourishing of his creation.

As such, our marriages have a heavenly purpose and significance, so how we live them out is not just a personal matter. It takes effort and intentionality to foster healthy marriages. We encourage couples to surround themselves with people who can help them to live out the messiness of marriage in a God-glorifying way.

Three environments in which our earthly marriages can flourish

1. Community Group

The best way to live out gospel-centred relationships is to do so within the community. People who are involved in your everyday life will be able to speak words of wisdom and grace into your marriage.

Join a CG

2. Pre-marital Counselling

PMC is focused discipleship for marriage within the context of the local church. We feel that this goal is best achieved when the couple has decided to make RHC their home as members. Please refer to FAQs below prior to filling out the form.

Request for PMC

3. Pastoral counselling

When special circumstances require additional counselling, we will pair you with a pastor or trusted biblical counsellor to provide help as needed. Reach out to us to get support.

Speak to a pastor

Values that shape how we think about PMC and solemnisation*:

  • We are committed to care for those who have entrusted their souls to us by means of becoming members of our church.

  • We are committed to a high view of marriage, and desire for people not to enter into this lifelong covenant lightly, but to have carefully considered what it means to prepare themselves to fulfil these vows to the glory of God.

  • We will not be offering PMC nor solemnisation for those non-members at RHC. For more details, please refer to our FAQ section below.

*Marriage solemnisation is the process whereby a couple is legally married by a state-appointed licensed solemniser, who can either be a Justice of peace or a religious leader.

FAQs

  • The material used is not exhaustive, but provides a biblical framework to begin to discuss the deeper workings of your relationship in light of God’s design. Our PMC course starts with a group workshop, followed by five 2-2 sessions with a more experienced married couple.

    • PMC Group Workshop: The Gospel and Marriage

    • Session One: Understanding Ourselves

    • Session Two: Communication

    • Session Three: Conflict and Forgiveness

    • Session Four: Work, Money and Children

    • Session Five: Sex

  • Typically, sessions are done in the home either over a meal or a good cup of tea and last around 2 hours depending on the depth and pace of conversation.

  • The ideal timeline for PMC begins no earlier than 1.5 years, but at least 9 months prior to the wedding date.

  • No, PMC is for members of RHC. In the case of a member marrying a non-member, you will be asked to first meet with an elder before being assigned to PMC counsellors. PMC is currently not open for those who are not yet members of RHC.

  • The primary goal of PMC is focused discipleship for marriage within the context of the local church. We feel that this goal is best achieved when the couple has already decided to make RHC their home as members. In order to steward our resources well, and to properly love those who have entrusted their souls under our care by becoming members, PMC is reserved for couples who are members, or are made up of a member and non-member.

  • Because we have a high view of marriage, we want our processes to reflect that. For this reason, we want to solemnise couples with whom we have walked together on the PMC journey.


  • We understand how difficult it can be to secure a date and venue that is ideal. Our solemnisers will try to be as flexible as possible from Monday - Saturday to accommodate requests; however, we will not be able to assist on Sundays and we kindly request you find alternative days for the ceremony.

  • No, PMC is not the best way to determine if you and your partner should get married. PMC is designed for those who already desire to commit to marriage and to work out biblical truths in the context of that commitment. We recommend meeting with a leader who can help you process this in order to determine whether or not to make that commitment.

  • Please complete the PMC Request Form and we will be in touch with you soon.

  • Simon (all congres), Dan (1st), Jacob (2nd), Geoff (2nd), Aik Keong (3rd), Caleb (4th) and Edward (En Ling) are all licensed to solemnise weddings in Singapore.

  • If you reach out to one of the above pastors they can guide you through the necessary steps. You will need to follow the steps outlined at OMJ and ensure you submit your marriage application at OMJ at least 22 days before your wedding date.

  • ROM means to register your marriage. It is to officially and legally become married. This is your wedding ceremony through which you enter the legally binding union and covenant of marriage. 

    A number of our pastors are licensed to solemnise marriages in Singapore. As marriage is not only a legally-binding union but a covenant before God, we strongly encourage our members to be married by an RHC solemniser so that we can pastor you through this journey.

  • To "ROM" is to get married. This means that whether your ROM is a five minute process with two witnesses or a 45 minute service in a church with hundreds of friends and family, this is your wedding ceremony. Because marriage is a picture of Christ and the church, Christians have a very high view of marriage. Our wedding is an opportunity to have the gospel shared with loved ones and to ask our friends and family to hold us to our vows, so we recommend actually being married at the point we intend to celebrate with loved ones (i.e., to have your ROM take place during the actual wedding ceremony).

    While there can sometimes be exceptional circumstances, we encourage all of our members to hold marriage in high regard and not let housing or immigration be the driving force for when we enter marriage. For many people, this will mean not applying for an HDB many years before a wedding date is in sight, because marriage is not a means to housing but a witness to our union with Christ, and our love for him as his people.

Should you have other queries about PMC, please email us at admin@rhc.org.sg.