"Family Matters"
By Paul Kendall

Going To Church

What if I told you there was a statistically proven program that can:

  - increase the average life expectancy of your children by 8 years 
  - significantly reduce their use of Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs 
  - dramatically lower their risk of suicide 
  - help them rebound from depression 70% faster 
  - dramatically reduce their risk for committing a crime 
  - improve their attitude at school

Would you be interested? What if it also…

  - reduce their risk for rebelliousness 
  - and even got them to wear their seatbelts more often.

And it’s supported by research from universities like Duke & Indiana University as well as The Center for Disease Control and the National Institute for Healthcare Research. How much would a program like this be worth to you?

What if I told you it was free, and only took about two hours a week? Well, there is such a program. It’s called “Taking Your Children to Church.”

In study after study, children who actively engage in a faith community on a regular basis are rewarded with significantly reduced likelihood of problems and risks and significantly improved odds of a happier, healthier, longer life. These studies show the same results for adults as well.

To increase the odds of receiving these results, you can't wait. According to a Barna Research Group study; adults who attended church regularly as children are nearly three times as likely to be attending a church today as their peers who avoided church during childhood (61% to 22%, respectively). In other words, parents who truly want the best for their children should get them involved in church NOW and attend with them - consistently.

Now, we all know that church attendance will not guarantee a good child. But I think we also know that the long-term affect is overwhelmingly positive. God’s Word tells us in Hebrews 10:24 that we should ”not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

I have a friend who says that when he was young he had a “drug” problem… his mother drug him to Sunday school and drug him to church service every week!” I actually loved going to church. I never wanted to miss a service. Some of my greatest childhood memories are of being in church; winning prizes for good attendance; singing in the kid’s choir; playing in the youth-group band and all kinds of special events.  I wouldn’t trade those days for anything. 

Parents, isn’t it worth two hours a week to give your children the chance to become a GOOD statistic?  You can start by taking them to church this week.

Oh, by the way, my friend who had the childhood “drug problem”? That free, two-hour a week program served him well; today, he’s a minister.

That's Family Matters... I'm Paul Kendall.

Paul Kendall is the host of the popular syndicated radio program "Family Matters" and author of a new book by the same name. Radio programs, family resources and much more are available at www.KendallFamilyNetwork.com.