5 Steps to become single friendly
Single Friendly Church Network want to see all churches become places where single people feel welcomed, valued and included. We encourage churches to embrace 5 Steps to become a Single Friendly Church.
What are the 5 steps?
We invite churches to take 5 steps to become a Single Friendly Church. These steps cover key areas of church life.
The 5 steps help you to make small changes in each of these areas, which will make a big difference to single people’s experience of church.
Complete these 5 steps and appear on our map of Single Friendly Churches.
Each step can be looked at in as little or as much detail as you like – the greater the detail, the greater the transformation in your church.
1. Know your community
Consider what different types of single people you have in your church or community (never married, divorced, widowed, single parents etc) and what their needs are.
2. Messaging
Review the wording and images on your website and noticeboards. What message are you giving out? Consider how you use the word "family".
3. Welcome
Consider how you can foster a welcoming culture in your church. Do you notice and welcome those arriving alone? Are single people included in the social life of your church?
4.Teaching
Do you have any single people preaching? Choose sermon themes and illustrations relevant to single people as well as couples and families. Have you had any teaching on singleness?
5. Leadership
Do you have single people in leadership positions? Consider how you can empower single people to think about their gifts and how they can use them.
The 5 Steps Audit
The most effective way to make positive changes in your church is to use our 5 Steps audit. The audit will help your church to:
Increase your understanding of what a Single Friendly Church looks like
Recognise what you are already doing well
Identify specific areas for improvement
If you commit to doing the Audit, we can feature your church on our Find-A-Single Friendly Church map!
When you successfully complete the audit, you will be invited to become a Single Friendly Church.
Training
Online workshops
We run regular online workshops that explore the 5 Steps in more detail. We also run workshops at key times of year like Mother's Day and Christmas. Past webinars can be found on our YouTube channelFurther resources
Check out our resources for churches.Invite a speaker
It is important that the vision of being single friendly is understood and embraced by the whole church community. We can give talks at regional, national or local ecumenical events.
