The stress of infertility, followed by the arrival of not one but two premature babies through in vitro fertilization, exposed the weaknesses in the Klein’s marriage. Re|engage helped Nick and Rachel go from being on opposite sides of the boxing ring to being on the same team.
Doug and Dyann Kierstead |
Ben and LK Ortiz |
Bobby and Shari Johns |
Monte and Marsha Dunn |
Julie and Mark Nicholson |
Jerry and Lori |
Steve and Amie Bradley |
Marcus and Carol Brown |
Nancy and Mark Rovenstine |
Kyle and Lucina Thompson |
David and Cait |
Mandy and Leonard Bagdanov |
Michelle and Nate Ball |
Nate and Megan Mickish |
Wes and Angie Talley |
Jen and Alex Lesko |
Alissa and Shane Mauldin |
Daniel and Cynthia Costa |
Sheri and Brett Johnston |
Robert and Linda Green |
John and Jeanie Cox |
Wade and Betsy Nowlin |
David and Tara Jensen |
Jim and Judy Wimberley |
Jimmy and Michelle Comeaux |
Kevin and Kelli Mainz |
David and Manuela Acosta |
Rob and Haley Thomas |
Robbie and Teri Vedrenne |
Rick and Michelle Howard |
Matt and Jenn Farlow |
David and Lauren Kinney |
Jared and Leigh Anne Sullivan |
Markus and Mary Kay Jabek |
Neil and Jody Curran |
Scot and Michelle Buchanan |
David and Cait |
Wes and Angie Talley |
Tobin and Christina Miller |
Michael and Melinda Parisi |
David and Denise Renken |
Bobby and Shari Johns |
John and Debbie Wingfield |
Mark and Nancy Rovenstine |
Todd and Julie Anders |
LaDale and Cynthia Buggs |
Chris and Katie Sherrod |
Kyle and Lucina Thompson |
Simon and Katrina Saugier |
Willie and Gigi Hornberger |
Mark and Julie Nicholson |
Nate and Michelle Ball |
Robbie and Teri Vedrenne |
Paul and Kelly Rutherford |
David and Tara Jensen |
John and Jeanie Cox |
Steve and Amie Bradley |
Chris and Michelle Dishman |
Kevin and Kelly Mainz |
Jim and Judy Wimberley |
Dean and Tawney Macfarlan |
Rob and Haley Thomas |
Shane and Alissa Mauldin |
David and Lauren Kinney |
Markus and Mary Kay Jabek |
Ryan and Callie Nixon |
Alex and Jen Lesko |
Jared and Leigh Anne Sullivan |
Selena and Michael Thompson |
Russ and Karen Fleig |
Phil and Beth Brinkmeyer |
Leonard and Mandy Bagdanov |
Glenn and Desiree Newblom |
Michael and Melinda Parisi |
Bobby and Shari Johns |
Brett and Jan Bruster |
Wes and Angie Talley |
Mac and Sophie Macfarlan |
John and Debbie Wingfield |
Brett and Chrisey Billman |
Nate and Michelle Ball |
Mark and Nancy Rovenstine |
Divorce Panel |
Trey and Shera O'Neal |
LaDale and Cynthia Buggs |
Shane and Alissa Mauldin |
David and Tara Jensen |
Jared and Leigh Anne Sullivan |
Jim and Judy Wimberley |
Steve and Amie Bradley |
Griffin and Kami Stroope |
David and Lauren Kinney |
Rick and Michelle Howard |
Glenn and Desiree Newblom |
Markus and Mary Kay Jabek |
David and Tara Jensen |
Brett and Jan Bruster |
Bobby and Shari Johns |
Ryan and Callie Nixon |
Steve and Amie Bradley |
Testimony- Brian and Morgan Buchek |
Testimony - David & Tara Jensen |
Blended Family Panel |
Testimony - Greg & Jennifer Sutherland |
Testimony - Jacob & April Neely |
Troy and Julia Bussmeir |
Nick and Rachel Klein |
Mike and Shelly Ahlemeier |
Matt and Andrea Walker |
Luis and Kaylee Caceres |
Graham and Stacey Robbins |
Andy and Jenny Marsh |
Jared and Leigh Anne Sullivan |
Griffin and Kami Stroope Testimony |
Testimony |
Divorce Panel |
Testimony |
Testimony |
Testimony- Glenn and Desiree Newblom |
Michael and Selena Thompson |
Testimony- Greg and Emily Goodin |
Re|Engage Large Group Testimony |
Re|Engage Large Group Testimony |
Brandon and Brittani Travelstead |
Re|Engage Large Group Testimony |
Re|Engage Large Group Testimony |
Re|Engage Large Group Testimony |
Martin and Lenore Gao |
Testimony - Shera and Trey O’Neal |
John and Debbie Wingfield |
Alex and Jen Lesko |
Tim and Kalyn Gereg |
Jimmy and Michelle Comeaux |
Jason and Mandy Castro |
David and Robin Howard |
Robert and Linda Green |
LaDale and Cynthia Buggs |
Markus and Mary Kay Jabek |
Brett and Jan Bruster |
Greg and Emily Goodin |
Charles and Karen Bundren |
Testimony |
Testimony - Jared and Leigh Anne Sullivan |
Bobby and Shari Johns |
Testimony - LaDale and Cynthia Buggs |
Re|Engage Spanish Night Testimony - Manuel & Elvia Lemus |
Testimony - Alex and Jen Lesko |
Simon and Katrina Saugier |
David and Denise Renken |
Testimony - Robert & Linda Green |
Testimony - Martin and Lenore Gao |
Shane and Alissa Mauldin |
Testimony - Markus and Mary Kay Jabek |
Testimony - Charles and Karen Bundren |
Testimony - Bobby & Shari Johns |
Testimony - Ivan & Martha |
Testimony - Tim & Kalyn Gereg |
Greg & Tonya Gilmer |
Testimony - Ryan & Callie Nixon |
Paul and Kelly Rutherford |
Nate and Michelle Ball |
Kevin and Kelli Mainz |
Testimony - Greg and Emily Goodin |
Testimony - John and Debbie Wingfield |
Testimony - Shane & Alissa Mauldin |
Brett and Chrisey Billman |
Todd and Alex Wagner |
Teaching - Community |
Teaching- Completion |
Testimony - Markus & Mary Kay Jabek |
Testimony - Dave & Denise Renken |
Robert and Liz White |
Testimony- John and Pam McGee |
Testimony- Charles and Karen Bundren |
Testimony - John & Debbie Wingfield |
Testimony - Greg & Tonya Gilmer |
Testimony - Ryan & Callie Nixon |
Kyle and Lucina Thompson |
Testimony - Jared & Leigh Anne Sullivan |
Testimony - Bobby & Shari Johns |
John Paul and Rena |
Testimony - Paul & Kelly Rutherford |
Trey and Shera O'Neal |
Testimony - Kevin & Kelli Mainz |
Erick and Gina Frank |
Martin & Lenore Gao Testimony |
Tyler and Jenny O'Neal |
Mark and Kathy Thomas |
Peter and Eleanor |
Testimony - Shane & Alissa Mauldin |
Eric and Catherine Couch |
Bill and Ann Daly |
Testimony - LaDale & Cynthia Buggs |
Testimony - Nate & Michelle Ball |
Michael and Stefanie Santiago |
Steve and Natalie Hamm |
Testimony - Brett & Chrisey Billman |
Chris and Charece Robbins |
Testimony - Charles & Karen Bundren |
Klein and Holly Swannie |
Dean and Tawney Macfarlan |
Mark and Nancy Rovenstine |
Testimony - Kevin and Kelli Mainz |
Testimony - Robert & Liz White |
Testimony - John & Debbie Wingfield |
Testimony - Mark & Kathy Thomas |
Testimony - Bobby and Shari Johns |
Testimony - Simon & Katrina Saugier |
Testimony - Shane & Alissa Mauldin |
Teaching - The Importance of Fun in Marriage |
Testimony |
Teaching - Sexual Intimacy |
Rick and Michele Howard |
Scott and Laura DeBow |
Zech and Kim Lumpkin |
Tyler and Jenny O'Neal Testimony |
Scott and Kristen Kedersha |
Bill and Ann Daly |
Bobby and Shari Johns |
Newly and Karen Spikes |
Jon and Kathy Flaming |
Brett and Jan Bruster |
Kyle and Lucina Thompson |
Chris and Charece Robbins |
Brett and Chrisey Billman |
Dee and Roddy Elliott |
Derek and Stacy Braziel |
Greg and Tonya Gilmer |
Adam and Brooke Fish |
Shane and Alissa Mauldin |
Everett and Emily Alexander |
Mark and Kathy Thomas |
Divorce Panel |
Matt and Amy Levy |
Robert and Liz White |
Bryce and Elizabeth Erickson |
Greg and Tonya Gilmer |
Chris and Charece Robbins |
Dru and Amanda Guillot |
Dee and Roddy Elliott |
Warren and Angie Wright |
Derek and Stacy Braziel |
Chris and Dana Adamson |
Jeremy and Mindi Patty |
Bobby and Shari Johns |
Jim and Judy Wimberley |
Kevin and Kelli Mainz |
Brett and Chrisey Billman |
Jason and Mandy Castro |
Kyle and Lucina Thompson |
Greg and Tonya Gilmer |
Dee and Roddy Elliott |
John and Meredith Hall |
Ryan and Callie Nixon |
Adam and Brooke Fish |
Shane and Alissa Mauldin |
Bobby and Shari Johns |
Bobby and Shari Johns |
Greg and Tonya Gilmer |
Robert and Liz White |
A.C. and Debi Ndindjock |
Mark and Nancy Rovenstine |
Bryce and Elizabeth Erickson |
Bill and Kathryn Buntyn |
Nate and Teresa Graybill |
Robert and Lou Ann McMillen |
Dee and Roddy Elliott |
Kirk and Cathy McJunkin |
Adam and Jackie Tarnow - Re|Engage Testimony |
Kyle and Lucina Thompson - Re|Engage Testimony |
Joey and Christian Rider - re|engage Testimony |
Jason and Mandy Castro - re|engage Testimony |
Jeff and Martha Sharrock - re|engage Testimony |
Scott and Kristen Kedersha - re|engage Testimony |
Zech and Kim Lumpkin - re|engage Testimony |
Chris and Charece Robbins - re|engage Testimony |
Robert and Linda Green |
Everett and Emily Alexander - re|engage Testimony |
Bobby and Shari Johns - re|engage Testimony |
Neal and Ann Holford - re|engage Testimony |
Les and Desi Brown - re|engage Testimony |
Simon and Katrina Saugier - re|engage Testimony |
Mark and Nancy Rovenstine - re|engage Testimony |
Chris and Dana Adamson - re|engage Testimony |
Rick and Michele Howard - re|engage Testimony |
Divorce Panel - re|engage Testimony |
Bryce and Elizabeth Erickson - re|engage Testimony |
Dee and Roddy Elliott - re|engage Testimony |
Mike and Laura Labunski |
Robert and Liz White - Re|Engage Testimony |
Eddy and Rachel Badrina - Re|Engage Testimony |
Shane and Alissa Mauldin - Re|Engage Testimony |
David and Denise Renken - Re|Engage Testimony |
A.C. and Debi Ndindjock - Re|Engage Testimony |
Joey and Christian Rider - Re|Engage Testimony |
Scott and Kristen Kedersha |
Jeff and Martha Sharrock |
Neal and Ann Holford - Re|Engage Testimony |
Wes and Brandy Butler - Re|Engage Testimony |
Andy and Jennifer Bailey - Re|Engage Testimony |
Lance and Mandy Sisco - Re|Engage Testimony |
Leonard and Mandy Bagdanov - Re|Engage Testimony |
Blake and Rebecca Holmes - Re|Engage Testimony |
Chris and Dana - Re|Engage Testimony |
Catherine and Tom - Re|Engage Testimony |
Angie and Warren Wright - Re|Engage Testimony |
Teri and Robbie Vedrenne - Re|Engage Testimony |
Tawney and Dean Macfarlan - Re|Engage Testimony |
Brooke and Adam Fish - Re|Engage Testimony |
Judy and Jim Wimberly - Re|Engage Testiomony |
Kim and Zech Lumpkin - Re|Engage Testimony |
Mary and Ted Randall - Re|Engage Testimony |
Katie and Brandon Lokey - Re|Engage Testimony |
Mindi and Jeremy - Re|Engage Testimony |
Lisbeth and Hil Bowman - Re|Engage Testimony |
Meredith and John Hall - Re|Engage Testimony |
Tanna and Rick - Re|Engage Testimony |
Cathy and Kirk McJunkin - Re|Engage Testimony |
Crystal and Anthony Obey - Re|Engage Testimony |
Rachel and Eddy |
Lucina and Kyle Thompson - Re|Engage Testimony |
Adam and Aleks Stewart - Re|Engage Testimony |
Linda and John Berry - Re|Engage Testimony |
Lora and Jeff Strese - Re|Engage Testimony |
Julie and Todd Anders - Re|Engage Testimony |
Cheryl and Jeff Scruggs - Re|Engage Testimony |
Jackie and Adam Tarnow - Re|Engage Testimony |
Ann and Matt Piper - Re|Engage Testimony |
Cindy and Mike Homsher - Re|Engage Testimony |
Julie and Scott Sedberry - Re|Engage Testimony |
Rebecca and Chip Dickens - Re|Engage Testimony |
Missy and David Leventhal - Re|Engage Testimony |
Carrie and Troy Patterson - Re|Engage Testimony |
Sheri and Brett Johnston - Re|Engage Testimony |
Tanna and Rick Wisner - Re|Engage Testimony |
Anna and Kavon Moradi - Re|Engage Testimony |
Describing a difficult time in their twenty-year marriage, Nick and Rachel Klein say their relationship was “like a bridge with cracks in it.”
“But until a big truck drives over it,” Rachel says, “you don’t always see the cracks.”
For the Kleins, the truck that exposed the fractures in their marriage was the stress of infertility, followed by the arrival of not one but two premature babies through in vitro fertilization (IVF).
When Nick and Rachel started dating in their late teens, God was already laying plans to bring them into a relationship with Him, in spite of some real struggles.
Having lost his mom when he was four, and his dad at age eighteen, Nick found himself with nowhere to live when, after his dad’s death, his stepmother asked him to leave the family’s home. Moving in with his girlfriend, Rachel, felt like his best option.
Rachel had grown up with some religious influence in her life and knew enough of the dos and don’ts of the Catholic Church to feel a little uneasy about the arrangement. “I had no real faith,” she says, but Christian friends were witnessing to her and regularly inviting her to church.
“Neither of us realized it at the time, but God was working on both of us,” Nick says, “but Rachel was struggling more than I was with the idea of living together.” Willing to help Rachel address her concerns, the couple decided to seek counsel from a priest, but the appointments never seemed to happen.
Meanwhile, Rachel’s friends continued to tell her about Jesus, one evening inviting her and Nick over to talk with their pastor and learn more of what Christianity was all about. They were interested in what he had to say and had a good conversation, but neither was ready to respond.
For Rachel, her relationship with Nick felt like an obstacle that was keeping her away from a relationship with God. So she began praying that God would take Nick out of her life.
But God was also working in Nick’s heart. One day he told Rachel, “I’ve been thinking a lot, and I have decided that if being with you for eternity means that I can’t be with you here and now, then that’s what it has to be.”
“That was the moment when we knew we had to be apart, physically apart. But Nick had nowhere to go. He ended up living in my parents’ basement,” Rachel says with a smile.
“A few months later—when we were both living for Christ and making Him our top priority—Nick proposed to me.”
With the help of a local church, and a pastor who wisely advised the young couple, Rachel and Nick built a good marriage and lived happily together for the next ten years.
Over time, however, a dark cloud—issues related to infertility—began to hang over their lives.
They had been trying to start a family for a number of years, but it wasn’t happening. Nick took that as a sign that maybe they weren’t supposed to have kids. They had a beautiful marriage, hobbies each of them enjoyed, the ability to travel, and successful careers to make it all possible. Maybe God didn’t want them to be parents.
But Rachel, longing to have children in their home, had a very different opinion.
So they waited, each dealing with the stresses and uncertainty of infertility for eight years. Eventually they agreed to try IVF, a process that produced additional strain in their once easy-going relationship.
Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Rachel was pregnant, and after fourteen years of marriage, Nick and Rachel, now both in their late thirties, were the parents of fraternal twins.
“We were blessed,” she says, “and obviously those two little kids—one boy and one girl—were very much wanted. But the first couple of years of their lives were probably the hardest of our marriage—one reason being the reality of going from zero to two kids just like that. We had also been very independent people, but now we had to work together and depend on each other.
“We were in a bad place, and we didn’t know how to get past that,” she adds. “I often say that we were like two boxers on opposite sides of a ring. When big decisions came up, we were battling each other over what we should do. Nick would feel really strongly one way, and I’d feel just as strongly another way. Somehow we needed to find a way to be on the same side.”
They were stuck, and no one seemed to know how to help. By that time, Nick and Rachel had leadership roles in their church, but the church was struggling as well and unable to help them with their relationship struggles.
“We had this big boulder right in the middle of our relationship, and I told one of the pastors, ‘We see the need for leadership help in our church, but we can’t see past the huge boulder in our own living room,’” Nick says. “We were about to fall apart.”
Then some friends who had faced serious relationship struggles in the past and had been helped by a Wheaton Bible Church pastor invited them to visit. So Nick and Rachel started attending on Sundays.
At that point, the couple who once would have rated their marriage a solid “9 out of 10” viewed their once-strong relationship as “maybe a 3 or a 4.”
“We had reached the point,” Rachel says, “where I didn’t know if we were going to make it.”
Then one Sunday they saw a flyer for re|engage, a program that is part of WBC’s marriage ministry, and decided they should try it. And while some couples attend for several weeks or longer before committing to joining a group for the sixteen-week curriculum, Nick and Rachel walked in the door ready to do whatever it took to bring healing to their marriage.
“We were completely ready,” Rachel says. “I mean, we were so spent—like people in a desert who are parched and needing water—and we said, ‘Bring it on! We don’t care what group we’re in. We’ve just got to get into this as soon as possible.’”
“What resonated with me right away,” Nick said, “was that you could tell there were people in the group who were hurting like we were, and they wanted to share right out of the gate: ‘Here’s what we’re dealing with.’ People were real, and they were truthful and honest.
“It was so refreshing, because we saw right away that we weren’t the only ones dealing with stuff. But sometimes it was raw. You don’t typically have conversations with other people you haven’t known for very long and say, ‘Hey, our marriage is not doing that great.’ People—even family—will avoid those types of conversations. And here, right from the start, people are saying, ‘It’s bad. But we want to fix it.’”
Nick is quick to add that some people don’t talk for a while. For a few of the couples, several months passed before they were ready to share anything specific.
“And you don’t have to talk in order for re|engage to help you,” he said. “But the fact is, when you’re ready to share, it’s a safe place.”
For Rachel, being part of re|engage was a whole new kind of experience.
“We’ve done a lot of marriage Bible studies over the years,” she says, “where you talk about theories and principles of good marriages, but this isn’t like that. This really is a place for healing—a place to be real and open—a lot more than just studying the principles of marriage.”
What Nick and Rachel learned at re|engage, they say, changed their conversation and their attitude about their marriage.
“One of the most valuable lessons for us was one that helps you draw a circle around yourself and focus on your own part of what’s happening in your marriage,” Rachel says. “So often in marriages—and definitely in ours—one person is constantly looking at the other person and saying, ‘Here’s how you don’t understand me’ and ‘Here’s what I need.’ It was huge for each of us to start by working on what was inside our own circle.”
“A big lesson for me,” Nick says, “was that ‘my wife is not my enemy.’ When I want to go on a bike ride and Rachel says, ‘Well, I thought you’d do this or that with the kids,’ it’s not because she’s my enemy and doesn’t want me to be healthy or to be able to do something I love.
“She has a good heart. She wants me to have these kinds of outlets. But we weren’t communicating as well as we needed to about things like that.
“You think you know your wife after twenty years of marriage, but to understand her the way I do now—how she thinks, what her thought process is, how she’s feeling—that resolves a lot of issues before they even start.
One of the biggest values Nick and Rachel see in re|engage is the way it has given them a foundation for how to have a good marriage.
“You don’t learn about it in high school or college,” Nick says, “but being a good husband or wife is probably one of the most important things you’ll do in your life. That training is what we got at re|engage. And it’s why our group kept meeting to go through it all again. You want to get better and better at it. That first time through, we just scratched the surface.”
Nick and Rachel are effusive when they talk about all the ways their marriage has changed and is changing. Since they first walked into re|engage seeking healing for their marriage, they have become zealous ambassadors for what the program has to offer. Many Monday evenings, you’ll find them hosting the newcomers group, introducing those who have come for the first time to what re|engage has to offer.
“I don’t think there’s any couple,” Nick says, “who wouldn’t benefit from re|engage. People like us come because they need significant help. They need someone to pull them out of whatever place they are in. But in my opinion, there’s nothing about what you learn through re|engage that is irrelevant to any married couple.”
“It makes you a team,” Rachel adds. “It allows you to be what I think God intended you to be—helpmates to each other and, really, a united front.
“We’re not on opposite sides of a boxing ring anymore,” she says.
That doesn’t mean they never disagree about important decisions, “but,” she explains, “we are going through it together. We are seeking God’s will together, and that has been my prayer from the start.”
This series contains teachings and testimonies of God's transforming power in marriages at re|engage. re|engage is designed specifically to address needs in marriage by helping couples move towards oneness in their marriage through stories of grace, teaching and small groups. Whether your marriage needs to be reignited, or is in need of a complete resurrection, re|engage is a safe place for couples to reconnect. It is a 16-week experience which includes a time of praise and worship, a teaching or a testimony by a couple who has experienced victory in the midst of hard times, and small group time which follows a specified curriculum. We meet every Wednesday night, 6:30-8:15 p.m. in The Loft (7540 LBJ Freeway @ Park Central, Dallas). Kids Ministry is available with advance registration.