The Baptist General Convention of Texas (Texas Baptists) and the national Christian marriage ministry Communio are teaming up for a new statewide partnership to equip churches in strengthening marriages, supporting families and sharing the Gospel across Texas.

Communio, a Virginia-based nonprofit founded by author J.P. De Gance, trains and equips churches across Evangelical, Protestant and other Christian contexts to evangelize and disciple by renewing healthy relationships, marriages and families.

The partnership provides Texas Baptists-affiliated churches — numbering about 5,300 congregations — with direct access to Communio’s experts, resources and training, helping pastors and leaders assess congregational relationship needs, host welcoming events for couples and singles, deliver faith-based classes and retreats on marriage and dating skills, and leverage relationship ministry for broader outreach, discipleship and growth.

While the initiative is still in its early stages, the urgency behind it is undeniable: according to a 2024 report from the Texas Public Policy Foundation, approximately 54% of Texas children are raised by their married, biological parents, meaning nearly half grow up outside such homes. Additionally, over 42% of children born in Texas are to unmarried parents, while the state records 5.8 marriages and 2.1 divorces per 1,000 residents, according to CDC data cited in the report.

Pastor Ronny Marriott, senior pastor of First Baptist Richardson and a former Texas Baptists president, highlighted the impact based on his experience partnering with Communio at two churches.

“We have utilized Communio to help us plan and advertise several on-campus block parties for our church. They helped us design the graphics for the promotions, which we used for social media, community magazines, door hangers and invitation cards,” Marriot told The Christian Post. “They also provided a database for us of potential prospects for our church. We told them the parameters of who we wanted to specifically invite to each of these events, and they sent direct mailers and emails to those houses.

Marriott says the app was also instrumental in conducting a relational survey of his church members. “They did an assessment of our congregation to help us understand the needs in our church related to church growth and engagement,” he added.

J.P. De Gance, founder and president of Communio, said in a statement shared with CP that the organization has “seen tremendous transformation coming from our partnering Baptist churches in Texas with double-digit increases in church attendance, hundreds of first-time guests and a number of marriages saved.”  

“I am thrilled that this new partnership with the Texas Baptists will give thousands of pastors easier access to our ministry support services,” De Gance added. “This means many more people meeting Jesus and many more thriving Christian marriages.” 

Communio also highlighted results from partner churches nationwide, including seeing an average 24% growth in Sunday attendance at churches participating in the program for one to two years. In 2025, over 56,000 people attended Communio outreach experiences, with nearly one-third from outside church membership, and over 82,000 participated in in-person relationship ministry events. 

Beyond planning events and coordinating church outreach, Marriott said Communio took his congregation to another level when it comes to communication. “The biggest challenge is communicating clearly the why behind the what. Our church is filled with engineers who like details,” he said. “Communio helped us to craft our language.” 

In addition to its partnership with Texas Baptists, Communio says it is currently working with a number of other ministry and policy partners, including the Arizona Mission Network, the Family Leader and the Center for Christian Virtue.

News Source : https://www.christianpost.com/news/texas-baptists-communio-team-up-for-thriving-christian-marriages.html