Over the past two decades, we’ve had the privilege of helping thousands of individuals revive their marriages and enjoy love, peace, and harmony. Here are several stories and videos from couples we’ve counseled.
Tony & Kayla: Back on the Same Team
We are Tony and Kayla Meyer. We have been married for eight years, and this is our story. Tony and I met and began dating and got engaged and were married within one year. So we went from this emotional high of dating to the realities of marriage and realizing just how different we were in almost every area of our life.
We just really struggled with how to deal with conflict. A lot of things, we just felt like we had to keep in a closet—our struggles and the difficulties that we had. And after years and years and years of this, and hurt building upon hurt and compounding and compounding, we got to a place where we were ready to throw in the towel.
Someone had told us about Karl Elkins, down in Texas. We looked into one of his three-day intensive marriage retreats. With skepticism in our hearts, and not sure of what would happen, we decided to go.
I was really leery in going down to Texas, but what we learned, and what we experienced with Karl was like nothing that we ever experienced before. One of the first things that Karl asked us was, “Do you want to be more like Christ?” He walked us through teaching after teaching of what that really looks like, and how to really do that within our marriage. And that readied our hearts to get to a place where we could even breach the topic of our hurts and our pains.
I would say that for the first time in our marriage, I left that weekend feeling like the guilt and condemnation had been lifted off my shoulders. I always felt like I wasn’t enough. I always felt like I was letting her down—that I was a disappointment to her. And I just felt so empowered to be the man that God had called me to be, and I felt that she was on my side one hundred percent.
Prior to going to Texas, Tony would always say, “We’re on the same team.” And I just really struggled to feel like we were. And now I feel like we are on the same team—now we have a space where we can feel free and where we can feel safe to just share our hearts and that each other will hear it and will respond lovingly and tenderly.
So you might be sitting and thinking to yourself—having the same thoughts that I had—our marriage is going to always be like this, I’m kind of content in it, there are so many hurts, it’s going to be impossible to get through this. I’m telling you that this is the conference you that need to go to. This is the time—this is your time—and this is the time where God wants to bring restoration to your marriage and set you on a path forward to a healthy, healthy marriage.
Star & Hans: Now More in Love than Ever
Star
Hans and I had been married for about two years and we were not experiencing a good marriage. I felt none of that “in love” feeling that we as women desire to feel. Hans and I fought all of the time and I felt that none of my needs were being met. In the beginning I pleaded with Hans to go to counseling with me, but he refused. We tried time and time again to repair the marriage on our own but it always ended up much worse. In the end there was verbal abuse, physical abuse, and an affair. I felt there would never be love in our home again and I ended up leaving the marriage.
Hans began counseling with Karl and he asked if I would come. I first refused, and then after some time I went only to be able to tell others that I had tried. I began to see drastic changes in Hans and his entire character and I was a little curious. Karl began to teach Hans and I what God’s Word had to say about marriage and the roles of a husband and wife. He also showed me that marriage was God’s design from the very beginning and that God wanted our marriage to be full of love and desire for one another.
I am honored to say Hans and I have been happily married now for nine and a half years and I love my husband more than my words could ever express. God has blessed us with three beautiful children and a forth on the way. Our life is a beautiful picture of God’s power and what he can do if we will only let Him. Hans and I tried to do it on our own and failed. God’s Word says: Plans fail for lack of counsel (Proverbs 15:22). God used Karl in a mighty way in a way where it seemed all hope was gone. Remember God raised a dead man to life, that same God has the power to resurrect any dead marriage and make it a beautiful one.
Hans
Marriage takes continual work!
When Star and I first met we were “In Love”—at least we thought we were. Very quickly after we got married and after the “Honeymoon Stage” of marriage Star and I started to have some problems. Star and I both had church backgrounds but were struggling with actually living out what we knew was right. We went to Church on Sunday, but usually with a hangover! Needless to say, we were straddling the fence. God didn’t let us stay in that condition. He allowed our marriage to get worse and worse. I had a control and an anger problem. Not a good combination!! When things got out of control, I became angry and abused Star verbally and sometimes even physically.
I knew my anger was a problem, and I always admitted it to Star. After abusing her, I would sincerely beg for her forgiveness and tell her I would never do it again. That cycle repeated several times. I would do good for a couple weeks, or maybe even months, but my anger would always eventually boil out of control. I tried hard to change. Real hard. I even prayed that God would help me change. Our entire family and church family was praying for us. But the problem wasn’t going away, and eventually Star asked me to leave. Before I knew it, she was filing for a divorce.
I moved in with my parents and life was not good. To date, I have yet to experience a struggle like I did during our separation. My parents told me that I could stay at their house only if I went to see a counselor. I didn’t like that too much. But now I did not have much of a choice. I didn’t have any other place to stay. Star had begged me to go to counseling before, but I thought I could fix our marriage by myself. Since I didn’t want to be homeless, I made an appointment with Karl Elkins.
From the very first session, God used Karl to show me my fault in my marriage. I knew I had an anger and control problem, but I didn’t realize how learning God’s principles for living could help me overcome those problems. Karl quickly showed me biblical principles that led me to a closer relationship with God, and to winning my wife back! In a matter of weeks, Star started to come to counseling with me and we began to work together to repair our marriage.
It has been six years since we got back together, and we are more in love now than ever. We have three beautiful children and Star is pregnant with our fourth. We have to continually work at our marriage, and we both know that with God’s help we can get through anything. Like every sports team needs a coach to motivate, to encourage, and to steer in the right direction, my team (my family) needed a counselor. I thank God for placing Karl in our lives to be that person.
Cilicia & Marc: Finally a Real Solution
We have searched for answers for years about some of the issues and troubles that we had in our marriage. We’ve gone to church after church, we’ve sat down with the counsel of friends and close family members, we’ve attended secular counseling sessions, both individually and as a couple, and was still met with disappointment and no answers to the struggles in our marriage.
It was very much appreciated the level of transparency that was shared over the course of these three days. You both definitely brought light and life to the Scriptures. This definitely gave us hope to know that mistakes are made and no one is perfect, but through confession in love, your story can help to heal another—ashamed to admit that they are struggling or faced with a trouble for fear of being judged or misunderstood, but not here!
The three days with you, Terry and Karl, were more impactful, more transparent, more spirit-filled, and more practical, than the 10,000 plus hours of counseling and sermons we have sat in. We have DEFINITELY grown much closer in the past three days then we have been in years!
My wife’s experience led to ultimately a complete loss of faith and belief in Christ. Let me first start by saying, it is very emotional for me to begin to discuss and openly say, “I do not believe in Jesus anymore.” The first time the thought came into my head, I was terrified, I was ashamed, I was disappointed, and I was scared. I was scared to tell my husband, my friends, my family, and I definitely could not say this to the church. So therefore, I kept it to myself and suffered for quite some time.
I slipped further and further away, contemplated suicide a few times, contemplated running away, asking whatever power that was higher than me to just take me away. I just wanted to go away. And no one understood. But I have to say this, I wasn’t always this way. In fact it was the complete opposite. I LOVED GOD. Everything church, oh my God, I couldn't get enough. I loved gospel music, I loved to read the Bible I loved to pray, I loved to be amongst other believers fellowshipping, I mean I just couldn't get enough.
We’ve traveled to see some of the greatest ministers, I can sit for hours and listen to the Scripture be taught, YouTube after YouTube sermon after sermon, I was that woman. Serving on any and every committee I was there!
So what happened? Troubles came up. My mother had just died and Marc and I were newly married, this is my second marriage, I came with two other children, Marc had no other children or marriage and then we had a baby together.
Physical fights, yelling, cursing, disrespect, broken items, lock outs, police, child protective custody cases, arrests, lawyers, court dates, other women, other men, many sexless nights, much aloneness—a total nightmare. But guess what we were in church!!!!! I had become the pastor’s assistant at one point, and was opening up the service with a “word.”
But how is it that we were in church praising, clapping, and rooting for God, but the house was in shambles and my spouse and I did not like each other? Our marriage did not reflect the goodness of God, at least in my eyes it didn’t. So we opened up with the leaders several times about our struggles but it only got worse. I was told to go pray, go fast, read my Word, oh and this was the greatest one: Cilicia, you need to just be a quiet wife like Sarah! I cant even begin to count how many times that was told to me.
Disappointment after disappointment, hours of unproductive counseling, eventually lead to me moving out of our home, filing for divorce, and slipping into an affair, and the biggest part, I had completely thrown Jesus and God off the table and began to explore other ritualistic practices: tarot, voodoo, spells, etc.
November 13, 2020, is the date set for final hearing. Child support was filed, mediation date set, and that’s it: I was done. Moving on!!!
When Marc said I want to go to this counseling, but I agreed to go. Because I love my husband, and I ultimately didn't want a divorce I wanted CHANGE! Our first session with Karl, I must admit, I was ready to tear him to shreds. LOL. No sir, I don’t believe in Jesus, don’t talk about these Scriptures, I want to be a witch and that’s that.
I must say that I was thoroughly impressed almost to the point of tears that I said these things to Karl, and he took a breath and said “Okay.” There was no judgment, no Bible thumping, no condemnation. I just knew he was going to end the call. But no. In fact at one point he said, “Cilicia, I actually understand.” This was when I confessed and said that the church doesn't help with anything.
Karl’s demeanor, faith, patience, and under, but through, these sessions, hope was restored. And light was brought to a very dark situation. Marc and I have been able to talk more than we ever had. And he is actually listening. LOL. We are learning to communicate using the tools given. I am looking at the 49 Characteristics of Christ and seeing where I can improve, and we are learning to meet the need of the moment, because we were missing it!
We are no longer getting a divorce on November 13, and we have been spending much more time together as a family. This program has changed our life. We want to become better spouses, parents, friends, and better people because of it. This program and education, knowledge, and tools is what many churches are missing.
Christway Counseling is the definition of true healing and curing the issue at the root!!! You all have brought practicality to the Scripture. Showing us what Scriptures mean and how to apply them in our lives, and very importantly in our marriage. Saving us from another broken home, broken hearts, and damage to our life.
We would recommend Christway Counseling Center to everyone in need. There is truly a working of God in this ministry, and through the words and transparent testimony of Karl and Terry Elkins. We thank you.
Suzan & Joe: Humility and Responsibility Are Key
Suzan & Joe Preview
Having been to many marriage conferences, Joe and Suzan were each convinced that 90 percent of their marriage problems were the other’s fault.
Joe thought that by attending the Christway marriage clinic, Suzan would finally realize the steps that she needed to take in order to improve their marriage. But he was shocked when Karl, through the log-and-speck principle found in the Bible, helped him realize that in reality 90 percent of their marriage problems were his responsibility.
Joe perceived himself as the “good guy,” and as a professor of Biblical counseling, he had a Bible verse for everything Suzan did wrong. However, the counseling he received through Karl helped him realize that he was neglecting a critical aspect of any good marriage—meeting Suzan’s needs. Since work was more rewarding than home life, Joe started spending more time at the office and work quickly became a higher priority than Suzan. In fact, Joe realized Suzan had fallen to the number five priority in his life.
Suzan’s anger and mean words weren’t out of spite—they were a cry for help to her husband. Because Joe wasn’t meeting his wife’s needs, Suzan became very frustrated and felt like she was in a hopeless situation that she was powerless to change.
With the help of Christway, Suzan realized that God offered her true hope. While it would always be a struggle to not act according to the flesh, she could take hold of this hope by looking into God’s word and allow it dwell in and cleanse her life through Christ’s righteousness.
Suzan and Joe both realized the importance of humility in any good marriage and are learning to focus on their own responsibilities rather than those of their spouse.
Two Additional Video Testimonials
Cheryl & Glenn Preview
After years of marriage, reality started to hit Cheryl and Glenn, leading to arguments, divorce threats, devastating affairs, and eventually separation.
They recognized their need for counseling, but only experienced negative results from the “in-and-out” counseling approach: 50 minutes spent bringing up hurts during the weekly session followed by seven days of arguments and fights.
Then one evening Cheryl came across the Christway web site while searching for solutions to save their marriage. After much prayer, Cheryl and Glenn made the long trip from their home in Canada to meet with Karl and Terry in Houston, Texas.
During the three solid days of counseling, Cheryl realized that it was her responsibility to be obedient to Christ and to pray for her husband—rather than trying to continually throw Scripture verses and commands at Glenn.
As Cheryl and Glenn worked through steps of forgiveness learned during their counseling sessions, the wall between them began to crumble, opening up new paths of communication and relieving the tension that plagued their relationship for so many years.
Cheryl and Glenn are now thoroughly enjoying their renewed life together and encourage others to never lose hope or faith in God’s plan.
Sherri & Todd Preview
Sherri and Todd share how their marriage was essentially dead after 13 years of communication struggles, fights over even the smallest issues, and increased frustration with one another.
Despite the fact that Sherri and Todd had received counseling from various sources and had attended multiple marriage seminars, they were ready to throw in the towel on their marriage. As a result, they separated and began initial divorce proceedings.
But God hadn’t given up on them. God touched Todd and Sherri’s hearts and they decided to try Christway Counseling as a last-ditch effort.
Sherri and Todd quickly gained new eye-opening tools to help them communicate with each other—and realized how much they actually loved each other. Ultimately they both acknowledged how important it is to put your hope in Christ and that He is indeed faithful to bring about restoration and renewal.
Other Testimonials
It is Sunday morning at 2:00am after our Three-Day Marriage Clinic. I am awake and I wanted to take time to write you both.
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your teaching, sacrifice and encouragement. We were in serious trouble and without an intervention our 15-year marriage was headed in a downward spiral even though we were both born again Christians. Our disagreements have been so circular. He demanded to hear words that I did not feel and my apologies could rarely hit the target and neither of us knew a thing about what the other needed. My gift of mercy had worn thin and I was bound by bitter feelings of anger and resentment. My husband, the organizer, had been a workaholic like Nehemiah. I joined him after growing weary in my profession (following a divorce) and became a property manager. I can identify that he, like Nehemiah, was a wall builder. I joined in the building. After years of his project I grew weary without comfort, attention, and appreciation and I began to build the wall between us. The more he delegated, showed favoritism, and overlooked serious character flaws in our workers, the more I felt the need to work and empathize with our loyal hard working employees. After several serious health issues, I became too weary to continue my husbands projects and could not longer respond to insensitive pressure to perform.
Tonight, after our last day of the Marriage Clinic, we have renewed hope that God can resurrect our marriage. In Proverbs 20:5 it states “a person’s thoughts are like water in a deep well, but someone with insight can draw them out.” In 20:18 it states “get good advice and you will succeed; don’t go charging into battle without a plan.” Your teaching has given us the tools to use our spiritual gifts and process our needs and hurts and get to the bottom of the real problem. The enemy was surely trying to keep us so bound up with unmet needs that we gave up in pain.
Again, I want to thank you for your preparation . . . . You have modeled a safe way to explore how we must battle our problems and not each other.
Thank you, Karl and Terry, for helping us continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You have both helped point us back to Him who is able to keep us from stumbling and to bring us faultless and joyful before His throne.
I’m so glad we attended your Marriage Clinic. The teaching is solidly grounded in biblical truth, and your ability to express such a complex process in only three days is remarkable. The results for us have already been amazing, and I look forward to growing in Christ through application of the “empty kettle” teaching.
The Marriage Clinic has refreshed our relationship and given us a plan and tools to battle the enemy instead of each other.
We enjoyed hearing Karl’s insight and hope to use his advice to make our marriage stronger. We would love to hear him again once we’ve had time to build our skills.
The Marriage Seminar was great! Life changing! Bringing hope! Bringing solutions for “tricky” situations!
Karl had tips that are simple and easy to follow, yet accomplish so much. The principle of unmet needs and identifying those needs was the most beneficial lesson learned—why aren’t we taught these needs at a young age so we can apply them in life?
Now I have confidence in the success of my marriage. I knew God wanted us to “make it” but now we have the biblical tools to do it. Thanks.
I learned basic knowledge that will help me address issues in my marriage. Karl is so well-spoken and bottom line—to the point and biblical.
Dynamite stuff!
So eye-opening and practical to use. Thank you for the instruction.
Thank you. Opened our eyes to the truth that God wants to and will meet our emotional needs, not just our physical needs (food, clothing, shelter). I will gain my life as I lose it in serving my wife.
I’m in a second marriage and I realize the delicateness of relationships and life. But with God’s plan we can have peace in the process. You guys are incredible. Life changing.
Thank you. I am so encouraged to have a starting point in building an environment of comfort. I think (know) I can apply these principles immediately and start mending hurts and knowing those I’ve hurt on a much deeper level.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I feel this will give me the process to communicate with my husband. I wish we had this information 20 years ago.
We’re married 50 years this year and this event was a blessing that we wish would have taken place 49 years ago. It was training that will equip us for life.
The conference was really incredible. Karl’s teaching was so practical and scripturally-based. I am single and was thus a bit leery of attending a marriage seminar, but I found the principles being taught applicable to the relationships in my life and a good foundation should I ever be married in the future.
The information will be greatly helpful not only with my spouse but my children will benefit from these tools too. Please pray for me to continue to use these helpful tools.
This has been life changing. I truly appreciate the opportunity to go through this training.
This has been very informative and helpful, yet offering a challenge that will demand a lot of prayer. Thank you very, very much! I truly appreciate that you are willing to share what God has blessed you with.
Best thing I’ve experienced for my marriage in the last 30 years. Started at 55 percent, ended up 98 percent.
Such an excellent framework for dealing with the lumps in our relationship. I look forward to see how God will use this experience for His glory.