

CONTACT
DOUG STEPHENS
850-668-3700 - doug@livethelife.org
2252 Killearn Center Blvd
STE 100
Tallahassee, FL 32309
Tallahassee, FL is where Live the Life started back in 1998 with a mission to strengthen marriages and families. From very humble beginnings our Board, staff and volunteers have witnessed firsthand the dramatic transformation of countless lives through our work.
PROGRAMS WE OFFER
Click on the program icon to learn more information about the program
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Navigating US is a fun, highly interactive relationship program designed to help couples build deeper connection, stronger communication, and practical skills that last a lifetime.
Whether your marriage is thriving or you simply feel stuck in old patterns, Navigating US gives you tools you can use immediately to create a happier, healthier relationship.
UPCOMING EVENTS

Navigating US - Midway, FL - June 12, 13, & 27Fri, Jun 12Fellowship at Midway Church
Start Smart - Live the Life Offices Tallahassee- July 9Thu, Jul 09Live the Life Offices- Tallahassee
Navigating US - Tallahassee, FL - July 10, 11, & 31Fri, Jul 10Live the Life Office (Conference Room)
Navigating US - Tallahassee, FL - July 17, 18 & 31Fri, Jul 17Live the Life Office (Conference Room)
Tallahassee - July Hope WeekendFri, Jul 24Live The Life Corporate Office
Navigating US - Tallahassee, FL - July 31, Aug. 1 & 21Fri, Jul 31Wildwood Church
Tallahassee - August Hope WeekendFri, Aug 14Live The Life Corporate Office
Navigating US - Blountstown, FL - Aug. 21, 22 & Sept. 4Fri, Aug 21First Baptist Church Blountstown
Navigating US - Crawfordville - August 28, 29 & September 12Fri, Aug 28Authentic Life Church
Tallahassee's 80's Prom NightFri, Sep 11Tallahassee Museum
Tallahassee - September Hope WeekendFri, Sep 25Live The Life Corporate Office
Tallahassee - October Hope WeekendFri, Oct 09Live The Life Corporate Office
Tallahassee - November Hope WeekendFri, Nov 13Live The Life Corporate Office
STUDENT PROGRAMMING

The True North Project works directly with middle & high schools, community groups, and summer programs empowering students to engage in healthy relationships and positive choices in order to succeed in and out the classroom. Our program offers a highly interactive and flexible 8-hour curriculum designed to equip youth, 10-19 years old, with healthy life skills. Our funding allows us to provide our program, all materials such as workbooks, facilitators, and incentives to each student all for FREE.
Everything changes for students as they approach their teenage years. These formative milestones can be overwhelming for both young people and their parents. Using the nation’s leading relationship education curriculum, the True North Project jump-starts the conversation and helps students develop foundational relationships and life skills.
4 KEY SKILLS
WE TEACH FOR YOUTH SUCCESS
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Healthy Relationships - Understanding boundaries, communication, and conflict resolution skills.
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Goal Setting & Success Sequence - Encouraging students to finish their education, find stable employment, and build strong relationships before starting a family.
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Decision-Making & Self-Regulation - Helping students think critically about choices, manage emotions, and avoid risky behaviors.
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Substance Use Avoidance - Equipping students with strategies to resist peer pressure and make healthy lifestyle choices.
CLICK THE BUTTON TO LEARN MORE
COUNSELING
Counseling as noted above is for couples and individuals who need more specialized help to address past trauma, infidelity, or other behaviors that are beyond coaching. Pastoral counseling helps individuals understand their past and create a healthier present through the lens of Christian principles. Renowned licensed psychologist and author of more than 20 books, Dr Steve Stephens, has said that 70% of his clients could benefit from coaching and do not need a licensed counselor. So there is a significant potential for overlap where coaching and counseling can help couples.
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With counseling, one benefit is the counselor-client relationship often assumes a model where the counselor helps the client or the couple find the answers that are otherwise difficult to address.
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Number of Sessions: Varies widely, can be for an extended period.
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Session Length: Typically one hour
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Christian Pastoral Counseling is provided at a suggested donation of $120 per hour
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Coaching runs $75/hour per session with one coach, $100/hour with husband/wife combo
COACHING
Coaching gives couples new tools and helps them apply those tools to achieve the marriage they want. Live the Life routinely makes referrals to a counselor or the marriage-intensive Hope Weekend (with a 85% success rate in saving marriages in crisis) if a situation is not “coachable.”
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Marriage Coaching creates a partnership between the coaches and the couples they coach. Coaches have extensive knowledge and proficiency in the process; couples are familiar with their relationship and ultimately create their own solutions.
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Number of Sessions: dependent on the couple
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Session Length: 1 hour, varies according to the couple.
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Cost: $75 per hour
MEET THE TALLAHASSEE STAFF

DOUG STEPHENS
Regional Director of Florida

SARAH ACKERMAN
Director of Marriage Programs

JIMMY CASH
Marriage Program Coordinator

TANK ACKERMAN
Business Development Director

ABDUAL HOWARD
Student Program Coordinator

CHELSEA FRANKLIN
Program Assistant

NATHAN STEPHENS
Student Programs coordinator
BECOME A PARTNER

YOUR PARTNERSHIP MATTERS
How north florida and south georgia can win the war on marriage
There has been a decades-long struggle for the soul of the family. While divorce rates have declined and marriage rates are modestly improving, these gains remain fragile. Research consistently shows that family disintegration undermines community health, educational outcomes, and economic mobility (Wilcox & Kline, 2023; Amato, 2014). Stable marriages are essential for emotional resilience, effective parenting, and intergenerational well-being (Waite & Gallagher, 2000).
Our organization delivers proven, research-based programs that strengthen marriages and restore families. Hope Weekend, a three-day intensive for couples in crisis, achieves an 85% success rate in saving marriages. Start Smart, our pre-marital education program, reduces the likelihood of divorce by 30%. Additionally, research has shown that 8–12 hours of structured marriage education, such as our Navigating US program, significantly increases marital satisfaction and sustains it for six to twelve months post-participation (Stanley et al., 2006; Hawkins et al., 2012).
We seek strategic partnerships with churches, community leaders, and organizations to expand these life-changing programs—lowering divorce rates, strengthening marriages, and increasing church attendance from Tallahassee through the rural counties of North Florida and South Georgia. Together, we can win the war on marriage, and create a better tomorrow for our children and our grandchildren.
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