HOW THE CHURCH SHOULD RESPOND TO SINGLE PARENTS
A Single Mom’s Outlook
Not everyone has to endure the season of being widowed or being divorced. But this doesn’t give us reason to ignore these seasons. Quite the opposite! Our culture has given us an incredible ministry opportunity.
This week, we’ve tackled the following: (1) Why the Church Can’t Ignore Single Parents, (2) What’s It Like Being a Widowed Single Parent?, and (3) Unpacking the Difficulties Of Divorce.
Today we ask this question: How should the church be responding to single parents?
If rates of single parenthood are on the rise, how should Christians respond? What help can we provide? What support can we offer? How can we minister to this season of life?
Who Better To Tell Us Than a Single Parent?
On Tuesday of this week, I provided a testimony from a widowed single mom from Alaska. I asked her to share her thoughts on single parents and the church.
Here’s what she had to say:
“It’s been a journey, both with my faith and with the church…My heart is that the church will see (us) and help us more. Not just widowed women (where the Bible clearly mandates…), but the modern ‘widow’, which is any single parent.“
“Honestly the church as a whole lets us down from my perspective. Everything is geared for married couples (Sunday school, small groups, sermons). Singles groups are for younger groups. Women groups are usually (on) weekdays during working hours.“
“I’ve shared thoughts on some ideas (with the church) a few times. And sometimes I think the church has heard, and other times it’s easier to ignore, or worse, ask me to do it…I may someday, after the kids are grown or I have a ‘helper’, but it’s too much now.“
The Modern Widow…Any Single Parent
Since I read her words, I haven’t been able to get her phrase out of my mind: “…the modern ‘widow’, which is any single parent.“
It puts a whole new spin on a famous verse found in James 1:27.
“27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…“
And so I’ll end with this paraphrase:
“27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and single parents in their distress…“
