20th Anniversary Celebration Dinner

Our 20^th Anniversary Gala Celebration was held on March 23 at the historic Wentworth-by-the-Sea Hotel in New Castle, NH (near Portsmouth) with 167 guests present. During the evening we recognized how God has used Family Builders Ministries to save and strengthen marriages, giving hope and encouragement to thousands of families. Founder and President, Rev. Willie Batson, shared what God has put on his heart for the future as we move into our next season of ministry. Dr. Gary Chapman, author of the bestselling Five Love Languages, was our keynote speaker. He spoke on the the two essential ingredients of long-term relationships - expression of love and overcoming difficulties. Another feature of the evening was the giving of the first "Family Builders Back-from-the-Brink Award" to a couple whose marriage has been saved from the brink of divorce.

Read more...

Family Builders Ministries comes of age...

After being birthed almost 20 years ago and the last 12 years as a ministry affiliated with Vision New England, God is moving Family Builders Ministries into a new and revitalizing season of marriage and family ministry. Read more about it here...

Boomers Go Easy on Marriage

Baby boomers think more like their kids than their parents on love and marriage, says USA TODAY. According to a Gallup Poll, 35 percent of those 40-64 years old believe marriage is "very important" if a couple have a child together. Of adults 65 and older, 58 percent say it is "very important." Overall, 37 percent of respondents believe a child is a "very important" reason to marry.

When asked the question, "Should a couple marry if they plan to spend their lives together," overall 65 percent agreed that it is "very important."

Gallup trends show that, at the time of the survey, the percentage of American adults who were married has fallen from a high of 77 percent in the 1960s to an average of 53 percent since 2000. At the time of the survey, the percentage of divorced Americans had grown from 3 percent to 11 percent, and the percentage of single or living together has surged from 9 percent to 24 percent.

Researcher John Gottman says responses in Europe would be quite different. "People would say, if you're living together and planning on spending your life together, there's no need to get married, but if you're going to have a baby, get married," Gottman says.

What Makes Wives Happy - By Bridget Maher

In the New York Times, John Tierney writes about a new study on what makes wives happy. The study was conducted by Brad Wilcox and Steven Nock, two professors from the University of Virginia who studied more than 5,000 couples. Tierney states: "Having an affectionate and understanding husband was by far the most important predictor of a woman's satisfaction with her marriage. But it turns out that an equal division of labor didn't make husbands more affectionate or wives more fulfilled....more

National Marriage Survey Released

National Fatherhood Initiative¹s National Marriage Survey, With This Ring, was released on November 17. The survey asked a variety of questions about marriage and divorce, including attitudes toward cohabitation and raising children. Eighty-eight percent of respondents said marriage should be a lifelong commitment. Click here to read the full report.

Parents Accept Responsibility for Their Child’s Spiritual Development But Struggle With Effectiveness

George Barna reports that parents believe they are primarily responsible for the spiritual development of their children, but few parents spend time during a typical week interacting with their children on spiritual matters...more

MORE MEN THAN WOMEN SAY 'I DO' TO MARRIAGE, FAMILY

Men are more likely than women to prefer marriage over lifelong singlehood and in many ways are as interested in serious family relationships as women, according to a study that provides the government's first comprehensive glimpse into the male psyche....more