Ideas for Singles Ministry Church Conferences

Church singles conferences can help church staff address the more difficult aspects of singles ministries.

Conferences for church and religious organizations are effective ways to communicate training materials, teach best practices and make resources available. Church conferences are held across the country in much the same way as training conferences are held for specific industries and products. Ministers and church staff often find valuable information at Christian conferences, increasing their ministry effectiveness at the local church.

1 Relationship Building Exercises

Any group within a church can become shallow or superficial. Encouraging church members to develop depth in their relationships is a challenge. However, because a high percentage of church members are married families, adult singles within church organizations often feel left out, like they are a subset of the larger congregation. Singles Ministry church conferences that honestly address the single adult's emotional struggles within the church will help singles ministers to effectively meet the needs of their adult single congregation.

2 Divorce Recovery

More than 50 percent of marriages in America end in divorce, and churchgoers are part of this number. Christians who experience divorce often feel not only outside of the married adult community, but also that they have somehow failed at an important Christian lifestyle. Divorce also creates deep emotional wounds that take time to heal. While the newly divorced person's first reaction may be to seek a new partner, teaching adult divorced individuals to care for themselves and learn from their divorce experience is a valuable conference topic for Christian singles' ministries.

3 Singles' Emotional Needs

Adult Christian singles do not feel free to engage in physically intimate relationships outside of a married relationship. Nonetheless, adult singles within church organization still have sexual and romantic feelings. The tension between physical desire and religious boundaries can make it difficult for adult Christian singles to get to develop deep relationships with people of the opposite gender. Therefore, conference topics on how to plan events that create emotionally safe environments while encouraging deep relationships are valuable and effective for the church staff.

4 Communication Styles

Each person is hardwired with individual personality and communication styles. Individuals who learn to understand their communication style and learn how to communicate effectively with others are better prepared to find and marry a well-suited mate. For this reason, conference topics that teach adult Christian singles about their unique personality and communication styles can help them learn to communicate effectively with friends, and when seeking a potential marriage partner.

5 Marriage and Remarriage

Christian adult singles may think about marriage more often than their secular counterparts. In Christian culture, marriage and adulthood are somewhat synonymous, and marriage is an expected event for most adult Christians. Therefore, an adult individual who is unmarried, or who finds himself single again, faces many questions regarding his identity, and his options for marriage. Conference topics that address these issues will help educate adult Christian singles and those who minister to adult Christian singles on their options.

Since 2003, Timothy Burns' writing has appeared in magazines, management and leadership papers. He has contributed to nationally published books and he leads the Word Weavers of West Michigan writers' group. Burns wrote "Forged in the Fire" in 2004, and has published numerous articles online. As a trained conference speaker, Burns speaks nationally on the art, science and inspiration of freelance writing.

×