Reaching Single Adults

Dennis Franck

Description

Although 44 percent of all adults are unmarried, most churches are focused on marriage and families--and so miss many opportunities to reach out as well as to benefit from all that singles can offer to the church.Here at last is an up-to-date, comprehensive handbook to single adult ministry. Based on his over twenty-five years of experience, Dennis Franck offers church leaders guidance on all aspects of this often-overlooked ministry, including: -understanding singles' diverse life situations and needs -developing a biblical philosophy of ministry -the practical aspects of building a ministry Pastors and lay leaders will gratefully welcome this new in-depth resource to guide their ministry to, for, and through single adults.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 2007
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781585585625
• Langue: English

Extrait

“ Reaching Single Adults is an important book that needs to be read by every pastor and Christian educator, as well as by every parent of a single adult who is concerned by the marginalization of the unmarried in the body of Christ. Dennis Franck does not just rehearse the problem or lambast church leaders. He passionately offers solid, seasoned guidance on how to reach America’s greatest mission field. Only a leader long in this field could have written such a resource for effective ministry.”
Harold Ivan Smith, speaker and author
“Dennis Franck uses his years of experience to lay a firm foundation for a local church to begin ministry to the single adults in its community. Readers will gain a wealth of information based on Franck’s research as well as his practical experience. With the increasing single adults population and the seemingly decreasing attention given by churches to single adults, Reaching Single Adults is a must read for church leaders.”
Linda G. Hardin, general coordinator, single adult ministries, Church of the Nazarene
“Dennis Franck has been at the forefront of singles ministry since the beginning. When you read Reaching Single Adults you will understand why. It is practical in its application but personal in its perspective and will become the new standard for this vital area of ministry.”
Earl Creps, director of doctoral studies, Assemblies of God Theological Seminary
“My reward in life is watching individuals and churches effectively provide practical ministry. At last, a comprehensive guide for ministry to single adults. Dennis Franck not only ignites passion for single adult ministry but also opens the toolbox to accomplish the task. With over 40 percent of our communities being single, this is a must read for anyone desiring to reach single adults.”
George E. Krebs Jr., Christian education director, Pennsylvania-Delaware District Council
“Ministering to the unique needs of single adults was one of the first written challenges of the early church. Today, the rapid growth of the single adults population has brought greater problems and challenges. Dennis Franck, an apostle and prophet called and sent to minister to single adults, has chronicled some practical tools to help churches and ministries reach and minister to their single adults. This book is a must read for all churches interested in reaching the largest population group in America.”
Daniel J. Vassell Sr., crosscultural youth/singles ministries coordinator, Church of God International Youth and Christian Education Department

© 2007 by Dennis Franck
Published by Baker Books a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.bakerbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2013
Ebook corrections 10.11.2013
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means for example, electronic, photocopy, recording without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL READER’S VERSION™. Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Scripture marked KJV is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture marked RSV is taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture marked TLB is taken from The Living Bible , copyright © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Contents
Cover
Endorsements
Title Page
Copyright Page
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part 1 Foundation of Single Adult Ministry
1. Biblical Perspectives on Singleness
2. A Philosophy of Ministry to and with Single Adults
3. Practical Principles to Help a Church Minister to and with Single Adults
Part 2 Overview of Single Adult Ministry
4. Understanding the Diverse Needs of Single Adults
5. Who Are Single Adults? A Look at the Five Types
6. Ministry Models: Discovering Which Is Right for You
7. Designing Ministry for the Six Dimensions of Life
8. Primary Characteristics of a Single Adult Ministry
Part 3 Development of Single Adult Ministry
9. Beginning a Ministry from Scratch
10. The Pastor/Director and Basic Leadership Needed
11. Forming Leadership Teams, Developing the Ministry, Finding Relevant Resources
Notes
Resources for Single Adult Ministry
Leadership Training and Ministry Development for Single Adult Ministry
Denominational Offices for Single Adult/Young Adult Ministries
About the Author
Acknowledgments
I would like to acknowledge the people who have been influential in my life and ministry with single adults. Without these individuals, I would not have had the degree of personal growth and development I’ve experienced through the tremendous opportunities and fulfilling times in ministry to single and single-again people since 1978.
To my wife, Jill thank you for always listening to my gripes, groans, and questions (sometimes late at night!), for being my sounding board, confidant, advisor, and personal cheerleader during the challenging times of ministry to and with the thousands of single adults with whom God has enabled us to meet, teach, counsel, guide, and develop fulfilling relationships. I know God has given me a wise, caring, loyal wife in you. Thanks for being who you are to me, and to others!
To the hundreds of volunteer leaders who have worked alongside me in our ministries in Milwaukee; Billings, Montana; Omaha; San Jose; Boise; and Dublin, California thank you for the dedication to your specific ministries, passion for reaching and discipling single adults, and loyalty to me as a leader, even when I did not exhibit all the qualities a leader should possess. You helped make our ministries effective, need-fulfilling, and relevant to single adults who came through our doors.
To the thousands of paid and volunteer leaders, authors, counselors, and consultants working with single adults in churches and parachurch ministries thank you for what you do! You are helping to reach and shape the lives of single and single-again adults for the glory of God and the benefit of people. You are in the trenches of ministry! By ministering to and with people who have never been married, are divorced or divorcing, are widowed, are single-parent or blended families with biological, step, or adopted children, you are dealing with almost every challenging issue the church faces today. By your ministry to, for, and with single adults, you portray strength, willingness to risk and learn, courage, and an attitude of fun and growth. I commend you! In my opinion, you are heroes in the faith.
Introduction
As a former full-time singles pastor to the never-married, divorced, widowed, separated, and single parents in six Assemblies of God churches since 1978, I was keenly interested in the opportunity to research and write on the topic of single adult ministry. I also saw it as an excellent way to provide a training course for existing and potential leaders in single adult ministries. Another motivation for writing this material was the additional learning that would benefit my ministry as the director of single adult/young adult ministries for the Assemblies of God.
Past, Present, and Future Need for Training
Since beginning ministry to single adults in 1978, I found no targeted training for single adult ministry in the Assemblies of God until 2000, and there was little training in other church groups until the late 1980s. Certain groups such as Single Adult Ministries (now Strategic Adult Ministries affiliated with David C. Cook Ministries), NSL (Network of Single Adult Leaders), and various other denominational groups (e.g., Southern Baptist, Presbyterian, Reformed Church of America) offered some training in those early years (1975–1985); however, it was limited.
I remember traveling to the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, in 1981 to attend a three-day national leadership training seminar for Single Adult Ministries. There I mixed with hundreds of leaders from various parts of the country representing many church backgrounds. I became acutely aware of the massive need for targeted ministry to single and single-again adults of all ages and was educated concerning the who , what , when , where , why , and how of ministering to them.
Another national training conference I attended was sponsored by Ward Presbyterian Church in Livonia, Michigan, in 1983. This Presbyterian church knew how to attract and retain single adults and taught the nuts and bolts of ministry to them. These two events provided the first organized training I received to assist me in this diverse ministry to the five types of single adults: the never-married, divorced, widowed, single-parent, and separated persons.
Since beginning the Single Adult/Young Adult Ministries Office in 2000 for the national headquarters of the Assemblies of God, I have found, in my efforts to discover a course of this type in any of our twenty-one Assemblies of God colleges, that not one of them has such a class. The closest courses in any of our colleges resembling even a hint of specific training in understanding and ministering to single and single-again persons are classes entitled “Church Ministries” (or something similar). These classes examine children’s, youth, men’s, women’s, family, missions, music, Christian education, sometimes single adult, and the many other ministries in the church today in an overview form. A quick look at each of these, usually one sixty-minute class per ministry group, is provided to educate and acquaint the student with the m