HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED COURTING RATHER THAN DATING??

  What is courting? To me and my family courting means a relationship with someone where the final goal is marriage. Things are conducted in a group format with parental supervision.  Dating just for the fun of it is not in my agenda. I want to live life full of fun, not with baggage that can come from unnecessary relationships. Here are some pros to courting, and cons to dating.

Pros to Courting:
*Marriage is the goal
*Family monitored with parental involvement which equals  less chance of temptation
*Group setting
*You get to see how the other person acts around their family and friends
*Purity is a standard
*You get to know each others families
*You get to know people in a nonthreatening environment
*Chances of getting your heart broken are lessened
*It is not an all consuming relationship
*You really get to know the person on a deeper level
*Your parents are aware of what is going on and you get to have their advice
*You are chaperoned which helps with temptation. If you wouldn't do it in front of your siblings, parents, or friends you probably shouldn't be doing it at all.
*There is not an "act" going on( ie. trying to impress), you get to know people "in real life"
*It is more fun to hang out in a group setting (ie. with a bunch of friends watching a movie or playing games)
*If you are not interested you have an easy way out of any deep relationship, thus not hurting others or yourself
*You are less emotionally involved.

Cons to Dating:
* You are more emotionally involved, which makes it more likely for deeper disappointments and hurt
*Because dating is usually a one-on-one thing it can lead to temptation
*Typical dating standards do not make purity a high priority
*Expectations are shifted from getting to know one another to a premature love relationship
*You don't necessarily get to know the other persons family and friends
*Parental supervision is not as prominent
*You may not be getting to know the person for who they really are because of the "status quo" of dating expectations
*A protective buffer exists when family and friends are involved. However, with dating you are  more likely to give away too much too soon.  If you don't end up getting married, you then have baggage that you take into the next relationship.
    God designed marriage, and it is a great thing. We are not saying that dating is necessarily wrong, but the way that our current culture does it is not always honoring to God. You can make dating "ok", but you both have to be willing to do the work and stay pure. Or you can take the easier purity route by courting others, which usually yields a more productive ending. Over all courting begins with the  express purpose of heading towards marriage.    We do not have the desire to give away our hearts and purity solely for the enjoyment or normality of dating. We want to save ourselves for the person that we marry, and we feel that for us, courting the is best option for that.
Written by Kathryn and Emily