Too often we assume. When we see single parents there is an assumption that premarital sex probably occurred and that the other person is long gone abandoning their children. There is also an assumption that single parents almost always come as mothers, not as fathers. Finally there is an assumption they can not do it alone and the phrase “I don’t know how you do it” always seems to slip out.
We would like to interject into this conversation the idea that most single parents did not plan to be such. Things happen. One night stands, a moment of passion prior to marriage, a spouse cheats on the other and leaves, a spouse passes away, or a spouse just stops loving and walks away from their commitment. Once these and more things happen a person finds themselves a parent raising a child alone.
Enter Singles Ministry. Your singles ministry, as well as the rest of the church family, should become a part of their family network that may be missing from the lives of these kids and parents. Single parents may choose to remarry or date, but often that becomes secondary to their children and ensuring they get everything they need. A singles ministry can not fill the void entirely, but it can build relationships that support and encourage single parents. This is why single parents need to be around other singles and not just other single parents. They need the support of a group, which they can not get when they are isolated.
Singles: single parents are single, too. They need to be a part of your life and you need to be actively engaging them in your local church. If we believe as singles that we are complete in Christ, all the more reason to remind single parents they are complete and not an unfixable family unit.
