Our Story Begins with a Simple Truth:
Young Men and Women Are Struggling to Find Each Other.
Across America, something has shifted.
Young adults who want marriage, family, and stability are finding it harder than ever to meet someone, build a connection, and take steps toward a lifelong relationship. The pathways that once brought people together — friends, school, church, neighbors, community — have weakened dramatically. Meanwhile, online dating has replaced genuine human connection with an exhausting cycle of pressure, ghosting, superficiality, and emotional burnout.
For many, the result isn’t freedom.
It’s discouragement.
Loneliness.
And delayed or abandoned hopes for marriage and family.
This reality became personal for me.
A Personal Journey
My name is Matthew Pohl.
I’ve been married for 38 years. My wife and I have four adult children and ten grandchildren, and our family remains the greatest blessing of my life.
But as our children grew up, I began noticing something:
For one of my sons — a wonderful man with strong values and a good heart — finding a spouse was far harder than it ever was for my generation. His experience stood in sharp contrast to mine, and it caused me to ask an important question:
What changed?
Why is dating harder today?
Why are marriages happening later?
Why are fewer children being born?
And what can we do about it?
I spent years digging into these questions.
What I Discovered
In a single generation, the average age of first marriage has risen more than three years for both men and women, according to data from national trendlines included in our research materials.
Women now have their first child almost three years later.
And the national fertility rate has fallen nearly 40%, placing our population well below the level needed to sustain a healthy society.
Why?
Because the natural environments where friendships once formed — and where many marriages naturally began — have collapsed. Schools are more fragmented, churches are less attended, workplaces are more cautious, and neighborhoods are more disconnected. Meanwhile, more than 60% of relationships now begin online, a dramatic reversal from thirty years ago.
But online dating, despite its promise, too often leads to disconnection rather than connection. Young adults face rejection fatigue, ghosting, unrealistic expectations, and a steady erosion of confidence.
The result is not simply fewer dates —
it’s fewer friendships between men and women.
And without friendship, marriage has no starting point.
The Birth of Connect 12
I realized something important:
Marriage is not broken. The path to marriage is broken.
And if we want to restore marriage and family, we must first restore the environments where natural, healthy, low‑pressure friendships can form.
That insight became the foundation for Connect 12.
Connect 12 brings together six men and six women for twelve weeks in structured, real‑life, group‑based environments designed to build genuine friendships — not dating situations.
There are:
No one‑on‑one scenarios
No pairing off
Minimum group size of three
And participants agree not to date inside the group during the twelve‑week experience
This removes the pressure, awkwardness, and emotional strain so common in modern dating.
Instead, participants cook meals together… play games… hike… volunteer… learn practical relationship and life principles… and interact in ways that let their real selves emerge over time.
What grows is something deeper and more durable than quick judgments or curated profiles:
character, trust, confidence, and community.
Our Mission
Rebuilding the natural pathways to marriage by fostering healthy friendships, personal growth, and timeless relationship principles.
We believe marriage matters.
We believe strong families are the backbone of a flourishing society.
And we believe young men and women deserve a better, safer, more human way to meet each other.
Connect 12 is not “just a program.”
It is a movement to restore something society has lost.
The Future We’re Building
We envision a world where:
Young adults meet in healthy, real-life environments
Friendships form naturally
Communities support relationships
Marriage is attainable, hopeful, and common
Children grow up in loving, stable families
And the long-term health of society is strengthened from the ground up
Connect 12 seeks to spark that restoration — one group, one friendship, one future marriage at a time.
Join Us
Whether you are a young adult looking for a better way to meet people, a parent who wants something healthier for your child, or an organization committed to strengthening families, we invite you to be part of this mission.
Together, we can rebuild the connections that build strong families — and help a generation rediscover the path to lifelong love.