Church, All Inclusive

Hey, This is my final draft of my academic essay, please give me feedback.

 Single adults are a very diverse group of people; ranging from never married, divorced, widowed to engaged or just in a commitment. Single individuals span from several groups with different fears, experiences and motivations. “Out of the divorces, widowhood, the singles bars, clubs, apartments and condominiums, comes a torrent of need, and its flowing right past the doors of our churches…there is a boundless talent and creativity in this flood of single adults. The church can help and it can also be helped. It can give and it can receive.” (Edward & Gwen Weising, Authors of Singleness-An Opportunity for Growth and Fulfillment) 

 Every group of people in the church has unique needs, children, youth, men, women and married couples. Single adults feel forgotten. Single adult ministries are popping up in churches all over the nation serving the spiritual, educational and emotional needs of the growing number of single men and women. 

Single adults would like the church to realize that not all adults are married. They want and need to feel accepted in the church. We all have the same basic spiritual need but, many unmarried adults feel an emptiness and desire for the spiritual life, and want to be part of the church family. 
There are 97 million unmarried adults according to the 2006 U.S. census. Many of these adults find it difficult to fit in churches. The issue is many times individuals find it difficult to experience a genuine comfort in church; that many times are marriage and family focused.

 Unmarried individuals are more educated than before, therefore more independent. More people are now raised to be more self-sufficient, to stay in school and get a good education; which will ensure a better life. Our generation is not automatically taught to find a partner, get married, have a bunch of kids and live happily ever after. People are raised to better themselves, to fulfill their own dreams, ambitions and goals first. By pursuing our own independence, single adults may put off marriage and children until later in life. By being so independent, some single individuals become self-absorbed, and don’t know how to necessarily serve others. Therefore, they have an educational need from the church for teaching and discussions about The Bible, The Holy Spirit, salvation, prayer and discipline. They have a need and desire to be taught by likewise people, single people which whom they have something in common with.

 As more Single Adult Ministries form we have to organize events, social clubs, support groups and gospel to all people. No one group should be singled or stigmatized. Single adults need support groups maybe even more than married couples who have each other. Most church events relate more to married adults than singles; whom have their own unique challenges and deserve to be a part of groups with those who can empathize with them. We can really flourish and support all if churches come together and create divorce recovery, crisis recovery, and single parent support groups and touch on specific issues such as; career direction, loneliness, forgiveness and others.

 Some have questioned the need for a Single Adult Ministry but those gripes usually come from married people who don’t essentially remember or understand the feeling of being a single one. The need for this kind of ministry is strong because as a people, everyone wants to be loved and to belong. Most singles feel left out and most importantly, misunderstood. This is not necessarily always the intention of the Pastor and church leaders. But the reality is; America has become a nation of many family types; and to be an effective leadership churches must start to demonstrate openness, understanding and acceptance and supporting the spiritual, educational and emotional needs of single adults.