Experts continue to observe major headwinds facing the institution of marriage, and new survey data show that churchgoing Christians are not immune to them.

by John-Paul De Gance, October 20, 2019 12:00 AM: Marriage season is in full swing. Early autumn has become the most popular season to marry, as more and more couples choose an October wedding. In fact, October lays claim to three of America’s most popular wedding dates.

By Leonardo Blair, Christian Post Reporter: A faith-based nonprofit in Virginia that uses data tools to help churches build more effective relationship ministries could have already helped drive down divorce rates in Florida’s most populous city.

A faith-based marriage enrichment program developed in Jacksonville appears to have driven divorce rates down. Can the model be replicated? In 2017, something unprecedented took place in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jacksonville Baptist Association and local Catholic Diocese joined forces to co-sponsor a large marriage education and enrichment program for the Duval County area. What inspired local Catholics and evangelicals to come together was a privately funded community campaign to strengthen marriage. Over a three-year period, an organization called the Culture of Freedom Initiative (COFI) worked with about 50 Protestant and Catholic churches and over 40 local nonprofits to reach about 50,000 adults in Jacksonville…

NEWSWEEK – Anyone who's experienced divorce knows the tragic consequences. It's hard on the adults, the kids and anyone else connected to it. In an age where common ground is hard to find, there's been widespread agreement in academic and political circles about the importance of family stability in the lives of children and communities across the country. Yet there's also been a real sense of fatalism about our ability to do anything about it. Changing something as important as divorce rates has seemed about as possible as changing the weather to many experts and social scientists.

WASHINGTON EXAMINER – To understand the vast gap in efficacy between government work to promote healthy marriages and the work of civil society, one privately funded project, now called Communio, worked with local organizers and churches to produce a sharp decline in divorce in Jacksonville, Fla., by 24% over three years. The program cost just 0.8% of the cost per person of the federal program, which was created during the Bush administration.

Communio President JP De Gance joins Traci DeVette Griggs on Family Policy Matters, a weekly radio show from the North Carolina Family Policy Council, to discuss how Communio operates and what it is doing differently to strengthen marriages and limit divorces.

Communio President JP De Gance continues his conversation with Traci DeVette Griggs on Family Policy Matters, a weekly radio show from the North Carolina Family Policy Council. He discusses how Communio equips churches with Big Data tools and relationship ministry best practices to strengthen marriages in a community.

Do Millennials Believe in God? Communio’s President JP De Gance sits down with Blanquita Cullum on The Hard Question – a local Chicago-based show broadcast locally on WCGO and on Soundcloud – to share our key findings on the direct relationship between the strength of married life and active faith practice. They also discuss the launch of Communio’s first City Platform in Billings, Montana as well as our plans to scale into new cities in 2019.

Faith is Falling Because the Family is in Freefall Communio’s President JP De Gance sits down with Bill Martinez on Bill Martinez Live – a nationally syndicated conservative talk show – to share our key findings on the direct relationship between the strength of married life and active faith practice. They also discussed the launch of Communio’s first City Platform in Billings, Montana as well as our plans to scale into new cities 2019.

NATIONAL AFFAIRS – Communio…used the latest marketing techniques to "microtarget" outreach, engaged local churches to maximize its reach and influence, and deployed skills training to better prepare individuals and couples for the challenges they might face. [Communio] highlights how employing systems thinking and leveraging the latest in technology and data sciences can lead to significant progress in addressing our urgent marriage crisis.

JP DeGance, president and CEO of Communio, discusses the proven, data-informed strategies that strengthen families, marriages, and faith.