Biblical Basis for Ministry to Single Moms
[Adapted from a sermon preached by Ken Wilson on December 7, 1997 to launch single moms ministry.]
Jesus came to build his church. If he builds it, as the movie said, “they will come,” because heaven is throwing wide her doors to the lost kids…and this world is crawling with lost kids. Putting out a sign & publishing some by-laws doesn’t make us the church Jesus is building, nor does it mean “they will come.”
But there is a church that people will come to…the kind of church Jesus wants to build. It doesn’t matter whether the music is traditional or rock & roll; whether the sign says Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Vineyard, Antioch Orthodox Church of the Byzantine Rite, or 1st Church of the Pomegranates on Aaron’s Robes.
What matters more than all that is authenticity:
an authentic church is genuine, without
pretense, with values corresponding to her founder, actions corresponding
to her values
Wherever the church lacks authenticity, she lacks power, the presence of
Jesus and appeal. Because there is a great hunger in this world for authenticity.
In this world of smoke & mirrors,
image-making, politicians elected by phony ads we all despise, the whole
planet has an itch it can’t seem to scratch: the longing for authenticity.
(As Lilly Tomlin says regarding the state of political discourse: "no
matter how cynical I get, I just can't keep up!")
What would a church look like if it were authentic?
“Religion that God our father accepts as faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1: 27)
This is a mantra the Bible’s been chanting since the days of the patriarchs…
“The Lord upholds the orphan and the widow…” (Ps. 146: 9); “Seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow” (Is. 1: 17); “He executes justice for the orphan and the widow” (Dt. 10:18)
It’s a major theme of the law, the prophets,and thepsalms; you’d have to be blind to miss it. Literally, the couplet is “the fatherless & the widows”…not just what we think of as orphans, but kids without dads and moms without husbands.
One in four households are one-parent families: the vast majority, single moms.
This is a very personal issue
for God. Can you imagine God priding himself in being the “father
to the fatherless” the husband of the woman who has no husband? It’s
a name we’re to call him—it’s personal with him, it’s
who he is….
“I am a father to the fatherless!”
So his people, the body of Christ, have a special responsibility, a personal one…to care for the fatherless & the widow.
This is not generic do-good-ism (not that there’s anything wrong w. that). But it has a different flavor than that. When we get him, we get his Name, we get his heart, and we inherit his favorite causes. This is one of his favorite causes.
In 1997, we began to feel a prompting to launch a new ministry to people in need.
• Something that isn’t
already being done better by someone else…
• Something we could do better because we’re a church, not an
agency…
• Something that takes more than money, but involves us as people
After sniffing around, we couldn’t find much in this area designed to help single moms. I spoke with a mother of a single mom and asked her, “What might a church to to help your daughter?” She answered without hesitation: “A support group, where childcare & dinner was provided…adult conversation & support from others facing same challenges.”
“Is that available anywhere?” I asked. She responded, “I’ve called every place I know…nothing doing.”
Something inside me cried out, “We can do that!” We have lots of people in this church with various skills & a heart to help. I thought of my friend Jaoa, the car doctor, lawyers, computer people, trades people…experienced parents who could lend an ear.
Around that time, we learned that John Wimber, the founder of the Association of Vineyard Churches had died. To honor John, we decided to take a special offering to launch a new ministry to Single Moms. It was around $3,000. Only later did we learn that John Wimber was himself the son of a single mom.
We began simple and small, with a monthly dinner for a handful of single moms, and care for their kids provided. We called it Moms Night Out. We learned from those single moms what it meant to be a single mom. And how the church could come alongside to help them on their way.
Since then, the ministry has grown considerably, serving single moms connected with the church and those who attend other churches or no churches as all. Jaoa Simoes launched a Car Care Ministry to Single Moms. We began to link small groups with single mom families to provide Christmas gifts and a personal connection during the holidays. A team of dedicated volunteers has rallied to provide care for the children and teens of single moms at the monthly Moms Night Out. As funds were available, we gave gift certificates to Single Moms to help them with the extra expenses incurred during that time of year. Recently, we’ve begun a food and toiletries pantry to help Single Moms in need to supplement their very tight budgets. And a young man, the son of a single mom himself is exploring a home care ministry to help single moms with repair projects.
When we tap into God’s heart for single mom’s (fatherless & widow), we’re tapping into a tender place in his heart, revealing something of his heart we could not otherwise know.
But we don’t know the truth
of this by memorizing all the pertinent Bible passages.
That leads us to the water, but doesn’t make us drink. We get to know
the power of this truth, we get to experience it, by doing it!
The payoff for us (in doing it) is the deep pleasure of authenticity.
We get the satisfaction of being part of something that has authenticity.
Think of it! a church with authenticity:
something genuine, without pretense, with values corresponding to her founder,
actions corresponding to her values.