This week the blog is sponsored by New Growth Press. This article was written by Lisa LaGeorge, author of the newly released book, Single Together (foreword by Tim). Save 35% off Single Together through August 9, 2026 at newgrowthpress.com.
Look around your church on a Sunday morning, and you will see that singleness touches the whole body of Christ. Some are single now, some have been single in the past, and some may be single again in the future. Scripture teaches that singleness is not a state of life on the margins of the family of God but is a providential calling to be stewarded for the fruitfulness of Christ’s kingdom.
Singleness reveals what we believe about God’s providence and goodness.
Whether a prolonged status or a brief season, singleness exposes what we believe about God’s character. It is easy to affirm that God is good when life feels full, but harder when his path leads through a valley, away from the life we expected and longed for.
Singles need to wrestle honestly with questions they may never have expected to ask: Is God withholding something good from me? Has he forgotten me? How do I fit into the church? Likewise, the church must also wrestle with how it engages its singles.
Scripture meets us in those questions, not with platitudes, but with God’s persistent, patient presence. Consider how God commends faithfulness with fruitfulness (Isaiah 56:4–8). Take to heart Jesus’s betrothal promise of a heavenly home (John 14:2–3). Stand under Paul’s admonition that people are called to be devoted to God (1 Corinthians 7). Faithful singleness, however long it lasts, is a gift of God intended to be stewarded by the whole church for our good and his glory.
Singleness reveals what we believe about the family of God.
Church culture can sometimes celebrate the creation mandate of “be fruitful and multiply” in ways that unintentionally eclipse the Great Commission to “make disciples.” As a result, singles can feel like outsiders in a church shaped around families. They have sat alone in pews, missed events that meet during the workday, and fielded the well‑meaning questions about dating.
Church culture can sometimes celebrate the creation mandate of “be fruitful and multiply” in ways that unintentionally eclipse the Great Commission to “make disciples.”
The church, however, can be the most life‑giving place for singles, not as a substitute family, but as the blood-bought, Spirit-empowered people of God called to represent him together. Singles are welcomed as spiritual brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers. Churches can promote this family through robust preaching about marriage and singleness, consistent hospitality, and shared service.
Singleness reveals what we believe about kingdom fruitfulness.
Singles are not restricted from kingdom fruitfulness. Singles, like all believers, are called to make disciples and to teach those young believers the words of Jesus. Faithful singleness integrated in the local church is itself a witness to a world that doesn’t understand the gospel call to love and obey a kind, holy God. This fruitfulness is born of dependence on the Lord as we love him and the people around us.
Single Together: Stewarding Singleness in the Family of God
How we handle singleness personally and within the church requires strong biblical reflection and practical application. Single Together: Stewarding Singleness in the Family of God is designed to encourage singles and to help churches embrace singles as essential members.
If you’re a pastor, a church leader, a parent of singles, a married Christian who wants to love singles well, or a single believer navigating your own story, I pray this book will challenge and encourage you to see God at work in his whole family. May our churches display the goodness of God, the gospel of Christ, and our sure hope of resurrection life—together!
Available at New Growth Press and Westminster.
