The Life of a Single Mom® Ministries hosts some of the largest Christian single moms’ events in the United States. We love partnering with churches and ministries that have a heart to serve single parent families in their community to ensure these families hear the Gospel, understand their identity in Christ, and thrive in critical life skills areas. We love the collective body of Christ coming together to make events ripe for the presence of the Lord to change lives and encourage single mothers who may be broken, hurting, or just need a little encouragement. That said, the following list is compiled from more than two decades of “trying it all” to see what works. We’re sharing a tips on how to ensure your team has a successful single moms’ event. Here are a few tips on hosting your next single parent’s event.
For everything you need to know about planning a single moms’ event, download our free eBook.
Don’t discount the prep work! There is a certain awkwardness present when you stumble into a new environment, unsure and nervous, and it seems to lack order and proper planning. Lack of planning and preparation in ministry creates a discomfort for attendees. Our God is a god of order, peace, and strategy. Take time in prayer to receive proper vision from the Lord, then write it down, and make it clear to all involved. (See Hab. 2:2).
Ministry is serious. It’s God’s work. It’s about bringing others into relationship with our Savior, teaching them their value, and offering hope through biblical wise counsel and instruction. It creates environments for prayer and worship and intimacy with the Lord. God works through people. He works through us – you and me. We are examples of His grace. We show others God’s love through how we treat them. Ministry is about Heaven or Hell. It’s not to be taken lightly. Taking time to plan and prepare for your ministry event is important.
Want to know how to start a single moms’ group or improve the one you have? Click!
Ensure a proper discipleship plan. Have a single moms’ support group, Bible study, or ministry established in your church, first, before planning a single moms’ outreach or event. Having a formal Bible study, Sunday School class, or single moms’ group of some sort will give you the infrastructure needed to build your event. First, the active participants in your group know other single moms they can invite for a larger outreach event, e.g. conference, Christmas party, night of worship, etc. They will be your voice in the community to assist in marketing efforts. They will be your planners, volunteers, and cheering squad. Next, one of the goals of any single moms’ outreach event is to draw the saved closer to God and to reach the unsaved through evangelistic efforts. Once you have someone fired up about the things of God at an event, you’ll want an effective Bible study to connect them to for long-term discipleship. Thus, having a single moms’ ministry in place and running smoothly will be even more important. Don’t assume they will naturally connect into a women’s ministry or another group within the church. Single moms’ ministries can be a great way for single moms to quickly and easily identify their peers, form organic mentorship relationships, and easily assimilate into church life.
Logistics matter. Be sure to think through the logistics. How will the event be paid for? Will fundraising be necessary? Will you have a speaker? If so, who? Will you have giveaways or door prizes? Will you have worship music? What can you do to make this event special, unique? What marketing efforts will be utilized, e.g. social media, print materials, calls, church-wide efforts, partnerships, etc.? Do you have someone to runs lights and sound for larger church events? Will childcare be available, and if so how will registration be handled? Keep those who are not part of your church in mind, not simply those who are already in active engagement in your ministry. What can you do to make it more outreach-focused to serve the lost, hurting, and unseen?
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance. Col. 3:23-24
Childcare is a must. Single parents don’t have the luxury of leaving the kids home with a spouse. They may not be able to afford a babysitter. Hosting an event for a single parent event without childcare is like hosting a Thanksgiving outreach without ham. You gotta have it! This removes a substantial barrier that could prevent single mothers from participating.
Consider your budget. Be certain to communicate clearly with church leadership or others involved in the process of planning such an event regarding what will be needed to make it successful. Consider food costs for all attendees, volunteers, and children. Think through childcare costs fro supplies and paid nursery workers, if applicable. Think through speakers’ costs and travel fees, worship band costs, print materials, attendee door prizes or gift bags, decor, desserts, and more. Fundraise, if necessary. Here is a great list of fundraising ideas. But serve these parents with excellence.
Advertise. Do it early and do it often. Since most single moms’ support groups are less than 20 attendees in local churches, most churches feel that single parent conferences, single parent nights of worship, or some similar program may not be an effective use of a limited budget. But what we have often found is that once a church really gets behind the idea of advertising the event (and once they realize two out of three single parents are not attending any church), we see the events grow.
Check out our full single moms’ event planning checklist HERE.
The Life of a Single Mom® is a national, faith-based, nonprofit that exists to see that no single mom walks alone. To date, the organization has worked with thousands of churches to start a single mom’s support group in cities throughout the U.S. and beyond, as well as having served more than one million single mothers with a variety of programs. Offering a large array of books, curriculum, training materials, online instructional videos, podcasts, newsletters, life skills education, and more, TLSM is one of the largest single mom organizations in the U.S. The robust selection of single mom programs focus on empowering single moms to grow spiritually, emotionally, financially, and parentally through Single Mom University®, Single Moms Across America, the National TLSM Single Moms Conference, boot camps, and a variety of other programs. For more information, visit thelifeofasinglemom.com.
