5 Steps to becoming a Single Friendly Church

We invite churches to take 5 Steps to become a Single Friendly Church. These Steps cover 5 key areas of church life where single people are sometimes not considered or feel excluded.

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.

The 5 Steps

  1. Who is single?
    Who are the single people in your congregation?
    Think about different types of singleness (never married, divorced, widowed, single parents etc)
    Consider the different needs of these groups

  2. Language
    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
    Do you notice and welcome those arriving alone?
    Is there a social opportunity after the service?
    Are single people included in the social life outside of the church? e.g. invitations of hospitality

  4. Teaching
    Do you have any single people preaching?
    Choose sermon themes and illustrations relevant to single people as well as couples and families.
    Offer life applications outside the family context (e.g. workplace, friendship, community)

  5. Leadership
    Do you have single people in leadership positions? E.g. service leading, small groups
    Consider how you can encourage single people to identify their gifts and serve God with them.

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.

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.

  Sign up to receive the audit 

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 channel
  • Further resources
    Check out our resources for churches, including a pastoral guide for leaders.
  • Invite a speaker to your churchIt is important that the vision of being single friendly is understood and embraced by the whole church community. We have given talks to staff teams and to congregations at church breakfasts, evening gatherings and Sunday services.