Overlooking Singles in the Church

overlooked

“Given the fact that 46 percent of the United States population over the age of fifteen was single at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the neglect and distortion of the state of singleness by the Western church is anything but justified.  Although most will eventually marry, statistics indicate that a growing number will never do so, and many who do will find themselves single once again because of divorce or the death of a spouse.  For these reasons, and in light of the fact that many of the heroes of the Christian faith have been single (including Jesus) — not to mention the scriptural teaching that singleness can be a gracious gift of God (Matt. 19:11-12; 1 Cor. 7:7) — the contemporary church stands in urgent need of reappraising its stance on the issues of singleness.”

– Dr. Andreas Kostenberger (Professor of New Testament, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) in “Marriage and the Family: Biblical Essentials” (Crossway, 2012)

Why Don’t Churches Do More to Reach Single Adults?

Lonliest

If the number of single adults is increasing at such an alarming rate, why aren’t more churches intentionally reaching out to those who are legally divorced, widowed, or have never married?

From “On Mission” Magazine (Fall 2012) citing a report on “CBS Sunday Morning” (May 20, 2012).