Carl and Susie Barnes are excited to be part of Marriage Ministry at College Church of the Nazarene. Carl spent many years as an Executive with Kansas City Life Insurance Company. Susie spent her career in sales and public relations with Braniff International, Amoco Corporation and most recently in management and training with Growing Family (the newborn photo company). The Barnes have been married seven years and live in Overland Park. Together, they have five grown children (two sons and three daughters) and seven grandchildren. They have been the Kansas State Coordinators for the National Day of Prayer Task Force the past four years.

Carl and Susie are dedicated to helping couples in the area of marriage. They have been involved with Family Life in marriage conferences and leading Home Builders and have participated in many other opportunities for relationship building. Since they have experienced the pain of divorce and resulting consequences, they have a strong desire to help couples achieve a strong relationship and happy marriage and family. They feel that involvement in marriage ministry and small group studies continually helps to strengthen their own relationship, which has been a great blessing. They have learned the importance of healthy communication, conflict resolution, gratefulness for the gift of each other and especially the Lordship of Jesus Christ. They hope to impart these principles to other couples.

Tim and Dena Baird are excited to be a part of Marriage Ministries at College Church of the Nazarene. Tim and Dena met at Central Ohio Nazarene District Camp meeting in 1994, attended Mt. Vernon Nazarene University and were married in June of 2001. Currently they do not have any children but have a very spoiled Shih Tzu dog named Lucky.

Tim has worked at Nazarene Publishing House for 7 years and just received his Masters of Divinity at Nazarene Theological Seminary. Tim holds church services at Homestead Assisted Living in Olathe on Sunday afternoons, and is the prayer coordinator for the Means of Grace Bible Study Fellow class.

Dena is the Administrative Assistant to the Director at City Union Mission's Family Center in Kansas City, MO. Ministries that she oversees are signing up and sending over 300 inner city kids to summer camp, adopting families during Christmas so they have food and gifts, and teaching discipleship for women in the shelter.

Tim and Dena both have a passion for helping and strengthening marriages. They believe that it is a vital ministry to help married couples grow closer to God and to each other. They were privileged to be under the leadership of Larry and Cindy Hooker and attend one of their marriage retreats. Through this retreat and several of the marriage topical groups, they have learned the importance of communication and conflict resolution through their teaching.

Dr. Jim Pettitt and Jeanette Downs Pettitt reside in Olathe, KS. Jim was the former Coordinator of Family and Marriage Ministries for the International Church of the Nazarene and now is a full-time Assistant Professor of Psychology at Johnson County Community College. Jeanette teaches at MidAmerica Nazarene University adult degree completion program. Jim has taught courses for Pastoral Care and Counseling at Nazarene Theological Seminary, was director of the Christian Counseling Center of Wichita, and pastored Nazarene churches in Texas and Kansas for seventeen years. He speaks at marriage retreats and family seminars.

Jeanette has taught English at the high school level and at Olivet Nazarene University, and has been a professional counselor for many years in the Kansas City area. She has spoken for women's ministry retreats, business seminars and inspirational gatherings throughout the U.S. They maintain a part-time marriage and family counseling practice together in Olathe, and for the past eleven years have traveled across the country doing district and local Marriage Enrichment seminars and retreats. When they married in 1995, they blended together two families with Jim's two daughters and Jeanette's two sons. Today, three of the four grown children are married, and they have two granddaughters and one grandson.