Focus on Family spokesperson, Stanton, actually says reason people should marry is for ‘church growth’
Around the 17 or 18 minute mark of the Mefferd show (see link below), Stanton talks about how married people are more likely to attend church.
That is because churches fixate on married couples and marriage itself, which excludes, hurts, angers, and offends plenty of single adults past the age of 30, so we stop attending church.
Stanton seems to assume that going to church is what leads to an increase in marriage, or causes people to marry in the first place, but it has the reverse effect: church services make singles stop attending, who then have to resort to using e-Harmony to meet dates (when they should be able to meet mates at church).
If churches want to increase their numbers, they need to attract and keep never-married, widowed, and divorced adults over age 30, which means, churches need to stop being so obsessed with marriage and need to offer more sermons and services geared towards single adults.
Stanton then actually tells the host, Mefferd, that to increase church growth/ attendance, that Christians should encourage young people to marry and settle down as a “church growth strategy.”
The Bible alludes to the purpose of marriage being to get one’s sexual needs met as well as for companionship, but I cannot recall any passages that talk about God wanting people to get married to increase the members of local churches.
(The link to the show is below so you can hear it for yourself, his comment is around the 17 or 18 minute mark).
Where does the Bible teach that church growth should come from telling young people to get married? It does not.
The Bible actually says you are supposed to grow the church by telling Non Christians about the Gospel.
‘Church growth by marriage’ sounds like rank heresy to me, it’s at least NOT biblical teaching.
(Link): Janet Mefferd Show-9/23/2013 / Janet talks with Glenn Stanton from Focus on the Family
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