The ENGAGE Network 3rd National Symposium of leading Christian organisations, churches and conference ministries took place in October, with a range of talks looking at how the church must meet trans-generational challenges.
It was explained that church presents two key barriers to Christian marriage: firstly, the huge gender imbalance, and secondly, the lack of teaching around healthy Christian single-ness, dating/relationships and marriage.
Katharine Hill (UK Director, Care for the Family) gave the keynote address, highlighting the powerful distinctive features of Christian marriage as God intends.
Missing mess
On the gender imbalance: ‘Either the gospel’s not true, or God loves women more than men, or we’re doing something wrong somewhere’, commented Carl Beech (International Director, Christian Vision for Men), who chaired the event. He went on to outline how the church can be involved in much more effective evangelism and disci-pleship among men.
Jason Royce (Director, Romance Academy) emphasised ways to meet the massive need for relationships education among young people, so that teenagers are able to form positive relationships from a place of wholeness, despite issues caused by increasing family breakdown and fatherlessness.
Dating
Since one third of adults are single, both in the church and in wider society, David Pullinger (independent researcher and writer) explained how churches can do much more to support those who are unmarried. He also showed how even among adults actively seeking a marriage partner, dating frequency is very low: 54% of UK single Christians haven’t been on a date in the last year.
