LITTLE ROCK — Candlelight, crisp white tablecloths and live music - it’s not the typical decor at Chickfil-A. But for three Mondays in February, five locations in Northwest Arkansas will transform for date night.
The date nights are part of the “We Love Marriage Challenge” sponsored by Northwest Arkansas Healthy Marriages, Chick-fil-A and Christian radio station KLRC-FM, 101.1. NWA Healthy Marriages is an outreach of the Center for Relationship Enrichment at John Brown University in Siloam Springs. JBU is a private Christian school, but program director Greg Smalley said the healthy marriage initiative is a faith-neutral program funded by a $2.7 million grant from theU.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Their goal is to strengthen marriages.
“In Arkansas we hate admitting it but we’re usually the second highest in the country behind Nevada in the divorce rate,” Smalley said. “But we really want to be known for our great marriages.”
NWA Healthy Marriages offers workshops and resources for couples, including tips for nights out together. The month-long marriage challenge is the latest effort to encourage couples to be more intentional about spending time together. Smalley said couples are sometimes so busy that they neglect their relationship.
“The hope is you can put marriage on autopilot and hopefully it will go where it needs to go. But that’s such a myth. You have to be intentionally investing,” Smalley said. “There is no autopilot.”
The month-long emphasis on marriage starts with a “Love and Laughter” event with best-selling author and relationship expert Gary Smalley, Greg Smalley’s father, on Feb. 12 at the John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers. Cost is $99 per couple.
The event will include relationship tips from Gary Smalley, as well as an inspirational talk by Danny Cahill, the Season Eight winner of The Biggest Loser. The gathering will also include the comedy team Acts of Renewal and dinner and dessert, followed by a concert by Michael O’Brien, former lead singer of the Christian group New Song.
Participants will also receive a date night kit that will include a coupon for a free Chick-fil-A sandwich, a sample date night menu, information about other NWA Healthy Marriages events and a list of marriage classes from local churches.
“It will be a really fun event,” Greg Smalley said. “I think couples will really enjoy it.”
Couples are encouraged to follow up on the seminar by taking a free “couples checkup” to discover what’s going right in the relationship and what can be improved.
“Simply the act of taking a little assessment enriches their marriage,” Smalley said. “It gets them thinking about their relationship.”
They are also encouraged to attend the date nights at Chick-fil-A on Feb. 14, 21 and 28. Couples don’t have to attend the seminar to participate in the survey or the date nights.
Smalley said he hopes couples will take what they learn from the marriage seminar and put it to use.
“Take it to a deeper level and really make it a part of your relationship,” he said. “One of the things we’ve realized is simply because you go to an event and get inspired doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to make a lasting change.”
That’s why he’s encouraging couples to follow up with the survey and the date nights, which will include a date guide with a series of questions to ponder.
“Chick-fil-A is going all out,” he said. “They are making it a big deal for couples.”
Scott Clark, owner of the two Rogers locations, said the ambience will definitely be different for the date nights.
“We’ll put out white tablecloths like in a fine dining room, light candles and draw the lights down,” he said. “We’ll make it a special evening.”
Clark said the date nights are for everyone and date night on Valentine’s Day has been a Chick-fil-A tradition.
“We try to make it a very family-friendly thing so you don’t feel like you can only come if you’re on a date,” he said. “A mother might want to take her son or a father take his daughter. We want Chickfil-A to be a very friendly,available spot for folks to come and make memories.”
Clark said the restaurants will also offer some activities for children, so parents can have some time alone while they enjoy their food.
“So if mom and dad can’t get a sitter, they can have a few moments of time and a meal,” he said.
Five Northwest Arkansas Chick-fil-A restaurants are participating. Locations are in Bentonville, Fayetteville and Rogers.
Information about the “We Love Marriage Challenge” is available online at nwamar riages.com/challenge.
This article was published January 29, 2011 at 3:39 a.m.Religion, Pages 14 on 01/29/2011