{"id":31840,"date":"2022-09-10T15:46:06","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:46:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/what-the-single-adults-in-your-church-might-be-wondering\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:46:06","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:46:06","slug":"what-the-single-adults-in-your-church-might-be-wondering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/what-the-single-adults-in-your-church-might-be-wondering\/","title":{"rendered":"What the Single Adults in Your Church Might Be Wondering"},"content":{"rendered":"
Eric Ward photo – Unsplash <\/p>\n

By Susan M. Clabaugh<\/em><\/p>\n

There are many people throughout your church and communities who find themselves in my position\u2014single, alone, and with no family.<\/p>\n

I never dreamed I would end up alone. I do dream of the day Jesus returns for me to be His bride as He is the One I depend on for everything.<\/p>\n

However, that doesn\u2019t take away the loneliness and pain of being alone on earth. God created us for relationships\u2014ultimately for a relationship with Him, but to be in relationships with others as well.<\/p>\n

One of the places I would hope to find these relationships would be at church. However, I\u2019ve found this to be a challenge. I wonder if there are many other single people who\u2019ve had the same challenge, contributing to their absence in the local church.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s because they never married, got divorced, or became widowed, there\u2019s a gap of ministry to singles in the church. I truly believe families are important and it is crucial for the church to minister to them.<\/p>\n

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But speaking from my experience as a single adult, it\u2019s hard to fit in\u2014even in church. And sometimes, especially<\/em> in church. There\u2019s a large, unreached population of single adults in our communities. Both Christian and non-Christian.<\/p>\n

What goes through the mind of a single adult, or any church member when there seems to be no ministry for them? For me, it\u2019s been some form of this:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the church doesn\u2019t value me or have time for me, then why would God?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

What can you do to address this question\u2014and begin to reach singles in your church?<\/p>\n

Make ministry to singles a priority. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Most churches are likely not large enough and with adequate resources (single adults) to hire a staff member to lead a singles\u2019 ministry.<\/p>\n

But if you lead a medium-sized or smaller church with fewer resources (and fewer single adults), consider recruiting some people in your congregation to facilitate community among singles. This could be in the context of a singles-only group or gathering\u2014or it could be encouraging the families in your congregation to incorporate a rhythm of including the single adults in family activities.<\/p>\n

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See also  What Churches Must Do to Reach Gen Z<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Consider holding retreats, workshops, and events for singles just as you hold retreats, workshops, and events for couples, families and senior adults. Include all populations of people as you work to reach others for Christ.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not already doing this, consider offering connection points like specialized Sunday School, small groups, and social events for your singles. This gives them the option to connect with others who have similar life experiences.<\/p>\n

Single adults face many of the same challenges that married couples, yet we face them alone. These are a few ways the church can help us make connections to build the relationships we need.<\/p>\n

Acknowledge painful reminders. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Holidays (including Mother\u2019s Day and Father\u2019s Day) can be painful reminders for hurting singles in your church who longed to have had children and weren\u2019t given the chance.<\/p>\n

Be sensitive to this as you recognize others on these man-made holidays. It\u2019s important for leaders to affirm that our identity lies in Christ, not our marital or parental status.<\/p>\n

Our foremost mission as Christians is sharing with everyone\u2014single, married, young, or old, \u201cFor God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life\u201d (John 3:16).<\/p>\n

May the single, married, young and old alike who come to your church encounter God and His love and grace as you welcome them with open arms and a ministry waiting for them.<\/p>\n

SUSAN M. CLABAUGH (@susanmclabaugh)<\/strong> is a writer living in Missouri. Read more from her at her website: SusanMClabaugh.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Dig Deeper at Lifeway.com<\/div>\n
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7 Myths About Singleness<\/h2>\n

Sam Allberry<\/p>\n

FIND OUT MORE <\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Related posts:<\/h3>\n
What Do Pastors Believe About the End Times? What Do Pastors Believe About the Book of Revelation? 3 Ways to Reach Non-Religious People in Your Community <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eric Ward photo – Unsplash By Susan M. Clabaugh There are many people throughout your church and communities who find themselves in my position\u2014single, alone, and with no family. I never dreamed I would end up alone. I do dream of the day Jesus returns for me to be His bride as He is the … Continue reading “What the Single Adults in Your Church Might Be Wondering”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31840"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31840\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}