Exposing the heart of God in reference to single mothers has become at the very core of who we are and what we do here at The Life of a Single Mom® Ministries – the fuel that wakes us in the morning, as we lean in to the mandate by the Lord to serve fatherless families. It has become an exciting journey that the Lord has for us, and we truly cannot wait to see the next step, where He leads next, who He sets free, and how He moves in the lives of single parents globally. With several thousand churches in our support group network and more than 1,000,000 single mothers connecting annually to the work we do, it is always surprising when we hear some of the top objections that church leaders give on why their church doesn’t need a single moms’ ministry.
As we travel the country mobilizing churches on how to best meet the needs of single parents, inevitably we will run across a few pastors, leaders, volunteers, or church members who believe that their church does not need a single moms’ program. (Some even try to passionately convince us – to no avail). We once would become frustrated and even angry with such statements of why single moms’ ministries shouldn’t exist in churches, but now, we welcome them as an opportunity to provide additional information and watch the Holy Spirit move on hearts – as e so often does.
Here are some of the top objections we receive:
Single moms’ ministries support unplanned pregnancy and divorce. We can understand why the perception may be that way, but consider this. Does drug rehabilitation ministry support drug and alcohol use? Does addictions’ ministry support pornography or alcohol? Do divorce recovery programs support divorce? Of course not. These ministries simply meet people where they are to bring the love of Christ, offering hope, healing, restoration, and salvation through Christ. Isn’t that what Jesus did? He focused on the ministry opportunity to change lives. It is also important to note that single moms arrive at their journey in many different ways, including some who had no choice in the matter.
There are no single moms in my church. With 15 million+ single parents in our country, there are definitely single parents in your community. While there may not be many in your church (especially since approximately 67% are unchurched), there is ripe opportunity in this mission field to minister to the needs of single parent-families and evangelize to those families who may not yet know the love of Christ. This is a modern-day mission field like no other.
We already offer a divorce recovery class. Wonderful. Praise God! We support divorce recovery programs, as we believe much healing can come through these program. But consider what single mothers will do after the 12-week class is completed. Where do they go? What support group or Sunday school class do they then attend? A single moms’ ministry can be a great way to connect moms to your church in a more long-term way. Also note that divorce recovery classes only encompass divorcees, not mothers who are widowed, adoptive moms, or never married.
Start a single mom’s ministry today. For more information, click HERE.
We have a Singles’ Ministry. Again, we applaud these ministry efforts, as we see room for all of the aforementioned ministries within the walls of the church. However, singles ministry and single moms’ ministry are often very different. Singles’ ministries in most churches are a co-ed program that caters to men and women who are in their 40s-50s (typically). Consider the teen, 20-something, and 30-something single moms. They generally do not feel comfortable in the college and young professionals group, as they are now mothers. However, they are too young for the singles’ ministry.
Additionally, single mothers who have recently divorced or lost a spouse may be emotionally vulnerable and appreciate attending a gender-exclusive event versus a co-ed singles’ group. They may need to have a time with other mothers to simply share their journey and receive encouragement. (And before you single dads get upset with us, we love the single dads’ Bible studies and support groups, too! We just want you to have fellowship separately). Single Moms Ministries can always be part of the Singles’ Ministry at your church and integrate for regular incremental fellowship, too!
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.
