How Does Your Church Greet Singles?
Greeters across the country will wake up Sunday to serve at thousands of church doors across America. Do they realize nearly 40% of people who walk in their doors will be single adults? True, not every church has the nationwide average, but when singles attend your church how do volunteers respond?
Here are some common responses:
We have a college and career class
While the size of a church may limit the options, a college class is often not the place to send working single adults. Approximately 25% of singles who start college will graduate. Lumping 20-something singles into a college group will offend and deter the other 75%. Every person is different and needs options at your church to be connected.
We have a young adults class
The nice door greeter who assumes the guest is in their 20s instead of asking, usually takes them to a young adults class. But these classes are typically married adults with a few singles who never found a place to fit in. No matter how many ways it is tried, this group mix often fails to reach one or the other, single or married adults.
We have lots of singles in our choir
True, lots of singles may be in your choir. The reason this is common? Singles can’t find a place to connect so they go where a married status is not an issue to avoid the awkwardness. Of course it could be due to their love of choir and need to serve but some can find it to be a hiding place as well.
I am not sure, let me ask a minister/leader who may know
As your leaders and ministers have a plan to put more singles in a specific class to grow a singles ministry, make sure your greeters know that information. When greeters do not know how to respond, the leaders become aware of how many singles visit. Hopefully, the leaders will think about offering a class geared towards these individuals.
Leaders must teach greeters how to respond to singles when they enter the doors. Equipping volunteers with information will encourage the single adult to return, and hopefully become involved. Singles, if your church doesn’t have a singles class or ministry, ask your leaders if you can start one.
Singles are searching for churches where they can connect…is your church ready for them? Your church does not have to have a paid staffer that works with singles to reach singles, it simply needs a plan of action to connect singles and share that plan with volunteers.
