According to an Office of National Statistics report covered in The Times recently, more than one woman in three will be unmarried by 2031, one woman in five aged between 45-54 will never have married, and half of all men will be unmarried.
Pastors and church leaders may be justified in believing these figures only apply to the world ‘outside’ the church, but, most likely, some reflection of these statistics will be seen in church life. The question is, ‘Will the reflection be a vague likeness or closer to a mirror image?’ Judging by how successful non-biblical culture is at penetrating Christian living, we must heed the warning these figures are sending out. It appears that unwanted singleness could become a major issue in the evangelical church.
In using the term ‘unwanted singleness’, I am trying to refer to those people in church life who are single but don’t want to be. I am very much aware that there are many people who are single from choice. Furthermore, I believe the church needs single people and that God never intends the church to function without them. This article, then, is addressing only singleness that is ‘unwanted’.
