“Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Matthew 18:20
God designed us to have a relationship with Him and social science research illustrates the benefits that come from spending time with Him.
• Fathers who attend church are more likely to affectionate with their children.
• Fathers who attend church are more likely to spend more time with their children.
• Adults who have spiritual conversations with one another are more likely to resolve family conflict with collaboration.
• Mothers with committed religious beliefs are more responsive to their children.
• Mothers who engage in private prayer tend to be more responsive and involved with their children.
• Men who frequently go to church are less likely to be violent and angry with their spouses.
Having a relationship with God is part of His design. What steps can you take to strengthen your relationship with Him? How much time will you give Him?
The accompanying graph illustrates the significant benefit of religious worship and family intactness on the quality of parent-child relationships. When we examine the picture as a whole, we see that worship improves parent involvement in a child’s life, visible at the national level in this graph.
For links to the research behind these statements, please visit www.marri.us/one-pagers/
*It bears emphasizing that these patterns hold for the groups involved, not for all the individuals who make up each group. There is naturally a wide variation among individuals.
http://marri.us/wp-content/uploads/Family-Benefits-of-Church-Attendance.pdf