7 Practical Ways Your Church Helps Lower the Divorce Rate

Last updated on: December 5, 2016 at 6:05 am by Josh Daffern

7 Practical Ways Your Church Helps Lower the Divorce Rate 2016-12-05T06:05:54-06:00 Josh Daffern

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A recent study by a Harvard University professor linked regular church attendance with a lower divorce rate, concluding that couples who attend church together have a 47% less chance of divorcing. Obviously Christians would attribute this to the transformative power of Jesus, who deserves the full credit. But there are also practical ways that a church helps lower the divorce rate of attending couples. Here are seven ways in particular:

1. A church removes the ‘easy’ options of adultery and divorce from the table. Churches have been historically anti-adultery and anti-divorce, and reasonably so since Scripture comes out strongly against both. When a couple attends church and goes through difficulties, they will be more likely to do the hard task of working through them rather than take the ‘easy’ option of divorce because divorce goes against church teaching.

2. A church provides a community of other couples working through similar issues. One of the greatest tools a church has to reduce the divorce rate is a thriving small group ministry, where couples can get together and do life with other couples. It is incredibly encouraging to discover that other couples are going through what you’re going through, that you’re not alone and that you’re not crazy.

3. A church provides an outside perspective on a marriage. Marriages can become incredibly insular and inward focused. As a church teaches through the Bible, a couple will hear an outside (God’s) perspective on their marriage. That new perspective is incredibly important to a couple, giving them the insight needed to work through small problems before they become big problems.

4. A church provides childcare for meaningful adult interaction. Something as simple as childcare can prevent divorce. Once kids come into the picture, it is increasingly difficult for spouses to interact with each other on an adult level and have the kind of meaningful interaction that becomes a preventative defense against divorce. With childcare provided on Sunday programs, churches allow kid-free adult interaction which goes a long way to strengthening a marriage.

5. A church provides opportunities for personal development. A growing church builds growing Christians. A healthy church grows healthy Christians. Whether it’s mental, emotional, spiritual or interpersonal, a church provides numerous opportunities for personal development, all of which naturally spills over into a marriage relationship. As a spouse becomes stronger and more mature personally, their marriage becomes stronger.

6. A church provides a support structure during a crisis. When times are tough in a marriage, it’s incredibly easy for a couple to lose hope and see divorce as the only feasible option. Whether it’s a pastor, a marriage counselor or a small group leader, a church provides a support option during a crisis, a lifeline that can save a marriage when hope seems lost.

7. A church provides hope for change and a better future. Hope is the most powerful commodity in the world. A couple can work through any difficulty as long as they have hope for a better future. The church provides hope in spades. Through the transforming power of Jesus, the church rightly preaches that people can change, that wrongs can be forgiven and that marriages can thrive through the power of Jesus. That hope, in and of itself, is transformative.

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