Debra and Jabari Steward
Marriage Formation Architects
Debra and Jabari Steward help pastors disciple marriages
before marital crisis lands on the calendar.
As the founders of Keeping It Lit Media™, they serve pastors and church leadership teams with biblical language, strategic clarity, and discipleship pathways that reach couples before crisis becomes the first point of contact.
Their work is built on a conviction pastors feel every time another couple sits across from them in pain: marriage is not just a private relationship. It is one of the Church’s most important discipleship environments. Inside marriage, couples practice forgiveness, humility, communication, spiritual discipline, covenant, responsibility, grace, and endurance under the pressure of daily life.
That conviction is the focus of their forthcoming article,
“Marriage as a Primary Site of Christian Formation:
A Practice-Based Case Study,”
approved for publication in
The Journal of Contemporary Christian Practice.
The article documents their live discipleship work with Christian couples and reports measurable growth across the cohort, including an average overall increase of 46% across measured categories.
Their approach has been shaped through trusted ministry relationships with Saddleback South Bay and Bishop J.L. Sorrells, pastor of Greater Holy Saint John Missionary Baptist Church, keeping their work grounded in the real needs of pastors, couples, and church leadership teams.
Through The Keeping It Lit Signature Framework™ and We Are Marriage Culture™, Debra and Jabari help pastors move from reactive marriage care to proactive discipleship, giving The Body of Christ a shared discipleship language for singles, dating couples, engaged couples, and married couples.
Their mission is to strengthen families from the home outward by helping pastors disciple marriages before crisis reaches the calendar.
Bring Debra & Jabari To Your Event
Trusted Voices of Lasting Change
Their story resonates because it’s real. Like many couples, they once found themselves caught in the busyness of life, showing up more for their schedules than they were for their own marriage. They weren’t struggling because of a lack of love; they were simply drifting apart without even realizing it. That realization changed everything. Determined to rebuild the bond they once had, they created The Keeping It Lit Signature Framework for Marriage Transformation, a proven approach that empowers couples with intentional tools to deepen connection at every level.
