Cohabiting Young Adults and the Church (07/10/25)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

Plain Bible Teaching Podcast

This week we’re talking about cohabiting young adults and the church. A study found that nearly 3 in 5 adults aged 18 to 44 have lived with an unmarried partner at some point. What happens when a couple in this type of living arrangement comes to the church where we attend? How should we handle that? We’re going to consider some points about that in this episode.

STORY – How Do You Deal With Cohabiting Young Adults in Your Ministry?

Our church culture often differs from that of the surrounding community. We can “feel” a certain way about how people live, work, and play, but it’s only when data gets a seat at the table that we can truly understand the scope of an issue in America.

Nearly 3 in 5 (59%) adults ages 18-44 have lived with an unmarried partner at some point. That’s more than the share of those who’ve ever been married (50%).

Just over half of cohabiting adults ages 18-44 have children at home.

More than 1 in 4 (27%) single parents live below the poverty line, compared to 16% who cohabitate and just 8% of those who are married.

The average age for first-time marriage is 28 for women and 30 for men.

Three-quarters of recent marriages (2015-2019) were preceded by cohabitation.

This means most young adults walking through your doors will have cohabited or are currently cohabiting. This is drastically different than in 1965, when 1 in 10 marriages were preceded by cohabitation. (Lifeway Research)