Church planting for singles
Following my post on Partnership in Marriage and Ministry Digger asks, “What about church planters that are single? Is there much research done into them? Or should i say, us?”
Good question Digger.
Firstly, you’re in good company when it comes to church planting and singleness—Jesus, Paul and thousands of other pioneers in church history including the Celtic missionary movement and many of the early Methodist circuit riders in Britain and the US were single.
One of the best planters I ever coached was Paul Marshall of Foothills Vineyard in Sydney. It was not until the church was well and truly established that he met and married his wife Bec.
When interviewing potential planters who are single I’m looking for a pattern of maturity in handling their singleness. I’m looking for a network of supportive relationships within and outside the ministry setting. I’m looking for a history of handling relationships with the opposite sex with integrity.
Bobby Clinton at Fuller Seminary has done some great work on what he calls “Social Base Processing”. He’s found that for marrieds and singles it’s essential to attend to the social base out of which you live and minister if you are going to finish well as a leader.
