Many singles say that marriage and family would be nice to have if it happens. Unfortunately, family doesn't happen quite the way it used to. The cultural paths that once guided singles into marriage are all but gone.

Children of divorce fear repeating the mistakes of their parents. Skeptics of family are quick to point out the risks, sacrifices and responsibilities of marriage and children. Singles today may even have a greater sense for why they shouldn't pursue family than why they should. At a minimum they feel every reason to put those commitments off a little longer.

Some 90 percent of singles eventually marry and 70 percent of all marriages eventually include children. However, courtship expert Leon Kass observes "those who reach the altar seem to have stumbled upon it by accident." Furthermore, among couples that do marry, half of all pregnancies are still unplanned. Based on these observations, a large portion of today's families are forming with little vision or preparation.

Our goal is to help singles see marriage and family not as something that may just happen someday but as a worthy goal that requires intentionality and swimming upstream. Singles who seek out vision and preparation for family will begin to see their time, money, education and sexuality in a new light. Instead of seeing where they are as the "eternal now" they recognize how the decisions they are making now will have an effect on the family they may have in the future.

Often our culture implies that anything good that will ever happen in life will occur while we are single. While the single years can offer some great chapters, it's never too early to start preparing for the family chapters that may be soon to come.