The local church is the most important institution in America for strengthening marriages, passing faith to the next generation, and reversing the cultural trends pulling families apart. But knowing that and knowing what to do about it are two different things.

In a recent conversation on the Faithly podcast, Communio founder and president J.P. De Gance sat down with Rev. Adam Durso to discuss exactly that: what it looks like for a local church to build a marriage and family ministry that is not just well-intentioned, but sustainable, legacy-minded, and genuinely transformative for the families it serves.

What Is the Difference Between a Marriage Program and a Marriage Culture?

This is one of the most important distinctions a church leader can make.

A marriage program is an event, a series, or a retreat. It can be valuable. But it tends to fade when the momentum fades, when a key staff member moves on, or when the calendar gets crowded.

A marriage culture is something different. It is a conviction, built into the DNA of a congregation, that strengthening marriages and families is not a side ministry. It is the mission. It shows up in how the church welcomes singles, prepares couples for marriage, supports newlyweds, walks alongside couples in crisis, and serves blended families navigating hard seasons.

Communio works with church partners to build that culture. Not to add more to an already full ministry calendar, but to help church leaders see family ministry as the connective tissue running through everything the church already does.

What Does the Research Say About Faith and Family?

Communio’s new report, Passing the Torch: How Faith Moves Across Generations, is the most comprehensive study to date of how parents successfully pass faith to their children. It draws on data from more than 60,000 Americans raised in Christian households.

The findings are clear:

• Children whose parents attended church weekly were more than twice as likely to attend church regularly as adults.

• When both parents attended together, that likelihood climbed to 41 percent.

• Families that regularly said grace before meals raised children three times more likely to attend church weekly as adults.

• Young adults with close bonds to their parents were 97 percent more likely to believe in God than those with weaker family ties.

• A strong relationship with their father gave children 73 percent higher odds of believing in God and 58 percent higher odds of weekly church attendance as adults.

• Regular faith conversations at home made children twice as likely to attend church, pray daily, and consider religion highly important in adulthood.

The conclusion is straightforward: the family home is the primary place where faith is formed or lost. And the local church is the institution best positioned to strengthen what happens inside that home.

Why Does the Church Have a Unique Role in Strengthening Families?

No government program, counseling service, or cultural institution has what the local church has: a relational infrastructure built around people at every stage of life, and a mandate rooted in something eternal.

The church does not just offer resources. It offers community. It offers accountability. It offers a vision of marriage and family grounded in covenant rather than convenience.

That is why Communio’s model is built around the local church rather than around individual families in isolation. When a church takes marriage and family seriously, the ripple effect reaches every household in its congregation and every generation that follows.

Where Should a Church Start?

Pastors and church leaders often know these things intuitively. The harder question is where to begin.

A practical starting point is an honest assessment. Does your church have intentional touchpoints for couples at different life stages? Is marriage preparation a priority, or an afterthought? Are families receiving support before they reach a point of crisis?

From there, Communio helps churches build a clear path forward: training, tools, data, and a framework proven to work across congregations of different sizes, denominations, and contexts.

The Faithly podcast conversation with Rev. Adam Durso is a good introduction to what that process looks like in practice. J.P. De Gance walks through the philosophy behind Communio’s approach and what a genuine partnership with a local church looks like from the ground up.

Resources for Church Leaders

If you lead a church and want to build a ministry that strengthens marriages and families for generations, start here.

Download the Passing the Torch Report The research behind why family ministry matters and what the data says about how faith moves across generations. communio.org/passing-the-torch-report

Access the Pastor’s Guide Practical tools and a proven framework for building lasting marriage and family ministry in your church. https://communio.org/pastors-guide/

Listen to the Faithly Podcast Episode J.P. De Gance and Rev. Adam Durso on faith, family, and what the local church can do about both. podcast.faithly.co/faith-family-ministry-strengthening-churches

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most important factor in passing faith to the next generation? Research from Communio and the Institute for Family Studies found that parental faith practice is the single most critical factor. Children whose parents attended church weekly were more than twice as likely to attend church as adults. When both parents attended together, that likelihood climbed to 41 percent.

What is the difference between a marriage program and a marriage culture? A marriage program is a single event or series that can fade when momentum does. A marriage culture is a long-term conviction built into the identity of a congregation, one that serves people at every stage of life and treats family ministry as central to the church’s mission rather than supplemental to it.

How can a local church build a sustainable marriage and family ministry? The most effective approach starts with an honest assessment of where the church currently stands, identifying gaps in how it serves couples at different life stages. From there, Communio works with church leaders to build a framework that is trained, resourced, and sustainable over the long term.

What does Communio offer churches? Communio partners with local churches to design and sustain marriage and family ministry. Resources include a Pastor’s Guide, research reports, a Marriage Ministry Assessment tool, and direct coaching for church leaders. Learn more at communio.org.

Why does strong marriage ministry matter for the health of a church? The data is consistent: strong marriages produce stronger families, stronger families produce children more likely to remain in the faith, and congregations built around healthy families grow in depth and reach. Marriage ministry is not a niche program. It is one of the highest-leverage investments a church can make.

How do I get started with Communio? Visit communio.org to learn about church partnership, download the Passing the Torch report, and access the Pastor’s Guide. You can also take the Marriage Ministry Assessment to see where your church currently stands.