Breaking the Mold for Christ

What do I envision in a ministry to singles? If you read the post , where I give a broad brush stroke of what I was imagining, you were probably left with a lot of questions. The ultimate goal is to create an environment where singles feel welcome and can build relationships in general. Through these relationships, they will have room to heal and to work on building trust. Most people I know who are single or divorced and older tend not to have great relationship models to learn from in their life.  I feel like this is why groups consisting of just singles can be so toxic. I am not saying everyone who comes is broken, but there are enough that do come that can make a singles only ministry difficult for leaders and attendees to navigate through.  For a long time I was broken due to poor relationship models and not having any kind of emotional support as I was battling life threatening illnesses.  As my body healed, God taught me a lot about myself and gave me a lot of insi...

  I was excited about an open door....  It all happened unexpectedly at the church I have been attending. The pastor was excited. Maybe this is an open door. Honestly, I was expecting not much of a response from him. So I contacted the leader involved in a particular aspect of the church. He knew I wrote the pastor.  No need to get into the details of the conversation, but multiple times I was gaslighted about not being able to make it to some events due to health issues. I was to blame for the lack of connection I felt. (Actually, I had multiple people share with me a frustration of very little relationship building and they had been to most of the events.) Excitement quickly left my spirit. He then complimented me on living up to the challenge of living with chronic illness. The compliment fell flat. One, I felt excluded. Two, I called trying to find a way to bridge the gap I felt. Complaining was not my goal. It was to forge a solution and I had a list of ideas....

I have been thinking.... That is when things get dangerous!   After visiting a number of churches with a desire to meet people who are like-minded, I have come to a conclusion.... I feel like an alien!!!  This is confusing for me because I tend to meet people I end up staying in touch with almost everywhere I go. Why is there such a disconnect?  Obviously, I am not the only one who feels this way. How do I come to that conclusion? Churches are not exactly swarming with singles. Actually, I greeted for a season at the main entrance. Each Sunday, I could count how many singles came each time on one hand if any showed up at all.  Yet, statistics tell me that half of adults in the US are single. In my own county, 46% of adults are single. Ultimately, how is church relevant to singles these days if it is at all?  This is a test....  This topic has been on my mind so often. I talk to other Christian singles. Oddly enough, I am feeling a huge disconnect in terms o...