With an estimated 20 million children being raised by single parents in the U.S. today, many churches are beginning to see the necessity and significance of hosting launching single parent ministries and outreach efforts. Whether it be single parent support groups, Sunday School classes, life groups, or outreach events (or some combination thereof), many churches are developing evangelism and discipleship plans to minister to the single parent family. With almost 80% of domiciliary custody being housed by mothers, we recommend starting with a single moms’ support group first, then offering single dads’ ministry, and co-ed fellowship opportunities.

Having a single moms ministry and outreach program in your church is vital to enhance ongoing efforts in the body of Christ to share the Gospel with single parents (who are greatly unchurches, statistically-speaking). Single parent families have more than doubled since 1950 and continue to be a fast-growing sect of the population, so churches must be strategic with our ministry efforts in order to be effective. This is why The Life of a Single Mom® exists. Having worked with over 2,000 churches and more than 1,000,000 single mothers, we are the nation’s largest provider of coaching, curriculum, event planning, and church support for those ministering to single mothers and their children. We know single moms! (And we love the Lord – the most important part!)

What if you’ve already started a single moms’ support group, ministry, or outreach program in your church and are seeing no growth? What if you are not getting much response from the ads in the church bulletin or the flyers you’ve distributed in town? What if you’ve had a single moms’ ministry going for many years in the church and it feels stagnant?  What do you do?

Will you consider helping us making an impact in the lives of single moms across the nation? When you give, we make an impact.

Here are a few tips that can help you kick-start your program (or give it a fresh facelift when needed):

  1. Relationship development comes first. Oftentimes, we see leaders of single moms’ support groups, ministries, or Sunday School classes become so overzealous for teaching single parents a curriculum on parenting or finances or any number of other single parent issues that they forget that relationships lead to ministry. In other words, it is very hard to invest into someone’s life and give wise counsel, encouragement, and correction, if you have never learned who they are. Take the time in your ministry to learn who your attendees are. Spend the time getting to know their story. What are their needs? Their wins and losses? Their pain and joy? How might you serve them most effectively? As you take the time to truly listen without agendas of growth or otherwise, the Lord forges opportunities for meaningful relationships to form. This is especially important in small ministries, where individual ministry time is reasonable.

    Looking for additional ways to grow your single moms ministry? Consider getting the Single Mom Comprehensive Ministry Kit full of tips, FAQs, best practices, and more. Visit HERE.

  2. Be open to change. Maybe you’ve always had your single moms’ support group or ministry on a Sunday morning or a Wednesday night. Maybe that was convenient for you, because the church was already hosting childcare during those times. Or maybe you held your group on a Monday or Tuesday night. Consider changing your times. Consider changing your length of meetings. Consider adding something new. Consider changing your curriculum. Growing ministries are those who can keep things fresh and new and pivot often. You don’t have to do things “the way you’ve always done them.” Invite the Holy Spirit in to minister in the way He sees fit today. Allow fresh wind to blow through your ministry.
  3. Consider the participants who are not yet here. Many times, we see single parent support group leaders surveying their current participants about changes that could be made within the ministry. (e.g. Do you want to change the nights of our meetings? Do you want to open up our study to single moms in the community, instead of those just in our church? Do you want to meet more/less frequently?) Many times, a single moms’ group stays at only 4 or 5 attendees, because those attendees are only focusing on what works best for them. The questions much shift from “me” to “we”. When we begin to ask questions, such as “How would those girls who are not yet attending our group feel if we opened up the group to them?”  or “How much more convenient might a twice per month Bible study be for busy single moms, rather than having one every week?” Once leaders shift focus to those who have not yet started in their programs, there is great potential for new growth.
  4. Have fun and be flexible. Play games. Laugh. Have fun contests. Be creative. Have light-hearted conversation starters.  If your support group is always 6-7 women sitting around sharing woe-is-me stories, your group won’t grow. If your support group is always 22 minutes of teaching 8 minutes of prayer, and 3.4 minutes of socializing, it becomes boring and predictable. Have fun. Be flexible. Enjoy the fellowship. Enjoy the presence of the Holy Spirit. Allow flexibility in your ministry for the Lord to minister in a way He sees fit. If you don’t get to all 10 points you had prepared for this week’s lesson, it’s okay. Flexibility can mean great fun, and it keeps your participants excited and coming back (and bringing a friend), as lives change, relationships form, and the Lord ministers.
  5. Leaders, single moms support group is NOT time for you to share your story. Too often single moms’ support groups grow dry or stagnant, because the leader(s) think this is their time to share all about their divorce, their hardships, and their story. It isn’t. These women need to see Jesus, not us! Our stories are merely used in bits and pieces to further enhance God’s faithfulness. They can be representations of the goodness of God in the land of the living, but single moms’ ministry is not our conduit for personal group therapy!  For more on effective ways to grow single moms’ groups, visit HERE.

The Life of a Single Mom logo

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.