Churches, Pastors & Leaders
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and 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
Words from James
As a single parent dad, after my wife died in an automobile accident, and raising three children the one place that I felt I did not fit in was at the church I attended. Each Sunday I would load up my kids and head to our church. They would attend Sunday School while I attended the Worship Service from the balcony. My children and I only attended one Mother's Day at our church, too painful.
I tried attending several classes but didn't find one I felt comfortable in. So for 13 of my 15 years as a single parent dad I was not involved in a small group setting in my church. My youngest was a senior in high school when I decided to give a small group setting a try again.
So, on Sunday morning I went to the information desk at my church and explained that I was a single parent dad in my fifties and needed their help in attending a small group setting. To make my story short, I was told they took "people like me" to a class of about 100 people. A class the size of a small church. This is where most of the single parents and others that they didn't know what to do with ended up. I didn't last there long.
I had wanted to attend some singles events, but they were always on Friday nights and for a single parent that is high school sports night - football, basketball, soccer, band, dance team, cheering. Single parents want and need to bond with their children at these events. Thus most single parents are left out when it comes to single's events.
I had spiritual needs. I had parenting needs. Not entertainment needs.
I needed help and I went looking. There was not much out there when I was a single parent and looking years ago. I realized I was not alone in this single parent thing. I needed help and I knew other single parents needed help, also.
Thus JAMES CRUISE Ministries!
Resources for Pastors & Leaders
Click on PDF icons below to view, copy, or print
What you need to know about single parents & the church
-
Single parents truly want to come to church; they just don't know which church doors are safe for them to walk through
-
If you get the single parents to come, they will bring their children
-
Many single parents feel they do not fit in anywhere, or that they will be judged
-
They just need their own class/small group in the church that is just for them
-
Single parents want to serve in the church, not be entertained
-
They need help and guidance in parenting their children
-
Many feel they are not welcome in the church
-
Single parent families want to worship and fellowship with other Christian families
-
Every ministry in your church is affected by single parent families
40.8 MILLION CHILDREN OF SINGLE MOMS NEED YOU!!!!
Ways We Can Assist You
-
Launch a single parents or single moms class/small group in your church
-
Help you improve your existing program
-
Host a life-changing single parent event or conference
-
Provide teaching materials for your single parent support groups
-
Provide you with single parent resources
-
Work with and train your leadership staff
-
Work with and train your leadership volunteers
-
Help you identify and connect single parents in your church or community
-
Provide information, guidance and inspiration to single parents
Our Committment
I believe churches and faith-based organizations are called to be a place of support and encouragement for single parent moms and dads and their children.
We encourage churches to go beyond one-time events and to put in place single parent and single parent children's support groups.
JAMES CRUISE Ministries is committed to assisting churches and community leaders with ways to minister to the needs of single parents and their children.
Want to start a Single Parent's or Step/Blended ministry/support group or just improve on an existing one.
We can work with you, your leadership staff and your leadership volunteers.
Want to Start a Single Parent's or Step/Blended Family Ministry
Single Parent Facts:
Absolutely Staggering
-
40% of families are single parent led in U.S.
-
52% of families are single parent led in my state of Mississippi
-
50% of babies born are to un-wed mothers
-
75% of all people will be in a single parent home at some time in their life
-
Over 18 Million Single Moms in the US
-
95% of single moms are un-churched =17 Million Single Moms are Un-Churched
-
Single Moms have an average of 2.4 children x 17 Million unchurched single moms = 40.8 MILLION UN-CHURCHED CHILDREN IN THE UNITED STATES FROM SINGLE MOMS.
"The church needs to address this madness quickly."
Dr. Charles Stanley
Our Goal
We want to help you connect every single parent and their children in your church and surrounding area to a support group in the local churches.
Ministering to Step-Families
“The church needs to be more involved in blended family ministry.”
Dr. Gary Chapman, author of The Five Love Languages
I Recommend James
“James shared his story at our church. He did an outstanding job and our people were greatly blessed. I highly recommend James Cruise as a guest speaker. He will simply give hope to those who are hurting."
Stan Buckley - Former Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church Jackson, MS, Current Executive Director BUT NOW Ministries
Church Is all about Family
And families come in all types, sizes and shapes these days!
The Need
Single parents are a huge mission field for the church. 95 % of single parents do not come to church for they feel they do not fit in anywhere, or that they will be judged. That is why it is so important for the church to provide a SAFE PLACE in the church for these single mothers and single fathers to come to and bring their children.
IT IS IMPERATIVE FOR THE CHURCH TO REACH SINGLE PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN
I'm not sure why, but when family life changes, sometimes the church doesn't.
Often a company goes out of business because it didn’t adapt to change. Well, I fear many churches have not adapted to how families have changed. I'm not talking about moral issues,
I'm talking about understanding families. For the first time in American history, LESS than half
of teens in the U.S. live with their married biological parents and half of all kids will have a stepparent at some point in their life. Yet, rarely do churches have a single parent ministry
or a blended family ministry. To lead people to where they need to be, you have to meet them where they are. Ron L. Deal
Print Ministry Brochure
HOW BUSY PASTORS MAKE TIME FOR SINGLE-PARENT & STEP/BLENDED FAMILY MINISTRIES
Their secret?
Lay-Driven Single-Parent & Step/Blended Family Groups
2010 - present
2010 - present
Ministries to know about...
CLICK on pictures to Enlarge
