Thriving As A Single Person In Ministry

Churches large and small across the world and in every denomination have rising numbers of single people on their leadership staff. This book presents a research-based perspective on the joys, opportunities, and challenges of being single in vocational ministry. Through extensive interviews and focus groups, the authors present both a practical application and a positive message for those serving God as single clergy or pastoral leaders.

Every pastor's wife is a faithful servant and leader in her own right. She has great influence on her church, her community, her family, and her husband, and she finds joy in seeing God move in the lives of others. Yet she also faces unique challenges that too often go unnoticed and unaddressed. At times, a pastor's wife may feel she can't talk about her struggles even with those who are closest to her, which can leave her feeling alone, depleted, and misunderstood. She may settle for this way of living, but that's not God's desire for her. Christine Hoover knows firsthand the unique struggles and opportunities afforded a pastor's wife--she's been filling that role for more than 20 years. Coming alongside as an understanding friend, she offers encouragement and guidance to the struggling pastor's wife, showing her how to make meaningful personal relationships with God, her husband, her children, her church community, and other women--relationships that will sustain her and help her thrive.

• Great for individual or group use• Includes provocative discussion questions and practical action steps• Features four-color art plates and literary quotesIt’s not easy being an Artist in the church.But whatever your passion—music, visual art, drama, dance, writing, technical arts—you can not only survive, but thrive. And the rewards far outweigh the pressures of weekly services, artistic differences, and relational conflicts. After all, where else could you consistently make a contribution of eternal significance, experience deep community with other artists, and grow closer to God as a result? Thriving as an Artist in the Church is a practical guide, full of wisdom and pastoral guidance, that will help you surmount the obstacles and flourish in your ministry. It’s packed with examples, discussion questions, personal action steps, and mega-doses of encouragement. Most important, it tackles the real-life issues every artist in the church has to deal with: • Sustaining passion • Developing key relational skills• Dealing with rejection and failure• Cultivating confidence• Resolving artistic differences• And much more! Written by an artist for artists, this book will help make your ministry experience sustainable and life-giving so you can fall in love with the church all over again.Rory Noland is director of Heart of the Artist Ministries (www.heartoftheartist.org), an organization dedicated to turning teams of church artists into communities of grace. A composer, songwriter, author, and speaker, Rory is a graduate of the Chicago Musical College at Roosevelt University and served for twenty years as music director at Willow Creek Community Church.

God has given us a specific, compelling reason for each of the four seasons of relationships: singleness, dating, engagement, and marriage. This book unlocks each season’s God-given purpose and shows you how to thrive within it. In a society where everyone is supposedly more connected, why do people feel so lonely? Even as marriage rates decline, recent studies find the overwhelming majority of single adults still hope to get married. But how can we navigate life and love in this disconnected culture? Has social media eroded the institutions that brought us together—and the deeper emotional intimacy they provided? Pastor and bestselling author Ben Stuart will help you navigate through the four stages of a relational life and show you how to look at the truths and intentions God has established for each. As you embark on this journey, you will discover how to: Use singleness to make an impact for the kingdom of God Pursue dating with clarity and purity Use the season of engagement wisely to prepare for marriage Maximize your life as a married couple for shared ministry Continually seek God and His will throughout each stage Discover how to embrace God's design, invest your life in what matters most, and find meaning in whatever season of life you're in.

Explore the concerns, needs, and fears of single adults and how your church may be ignoring them. Discover practical ways churches have opened their ministries, worship, and congregational life to include singles. An eye-opening discovery that a church growth model need not rely on family-oriented programs and structures.

The model of the nuclear family unit, once the norm, is now only one of many different forms of family. Fifty percent of the population in the US right now is single. In this original and readable book, Philip Watson examines the phenomenon of singleness in contemporary society and its implications for ministry. Wilson traces the history of the church's attitudes towards marriage and sexuality, from the early Church Fathers through the Reformation. In a series of direct interviews he probes how single people today feel within their church communities. His findings reveal that the vast majority of those questioned feel they are something of an embarrassing anomaly in communities that continue to prize marriage. Finally, Wilson begins to develop a framework for a more nuanced approach to the subject of sexuality and relationships, and suggests ways in which the church, as primarily a community of love, can become the best forum in which single life can be discussed, articulated, assisted, and faithfully lived out.

Tired of feeling sorry for yourself? Sick of answering the same old questions about why you still haven’t found your perfect match? Despite what many people think, singleness is not a disease. It’s not the lesser option. Singleness is God’s gift to you today. In Thrive, Lina AbuJamra – who has been single for over 40 years - will show you how you can make a difference with your life right now instead of sitting around waiting for something to happen to you. If you’re ready to figure out what God has to say about singleness instead of relying on your own feelings and conclusions, this book is for you. Isn’t it time you get excited about your life in Christ and quit falling back into the same old pattern of thinking? Freedom. Joy. Abundance. Hope. All these are yours the moment you embrace all that God has for you right here right now. Go ahead. It’s okay to smile. Life as a single Christian is good.