Scripture on Singleness

Can a Single Person Fully Image God?
by Steve Wellum

Did Paul Prefer Singleness?
by Thomas R. Schreiner

How Did Paul Pastor Singles?
by Frank Thielman

Pastoring Singles

9 Ways to Pastor Those Longing for Marriage
by Matt Smethurst

Pastoring Discontented Singles
by Jeremy Pierre

Singleness in Modern Culture
by Owen Strachan

A Gospel-Centered Framework for Ministering to Lonely People
by DW

Diagnostic Questions for Ministering to Single Women
by Mary Willson

Can Christians Marry Non-Christians?: A Biblical Theology
by Mike Gilbart-Smith

Singles and the Church

Redefining Intimacy
by Ed Shaw

Singleness, Same-Sex Attraction, and the Church: A Conversation
with Sam Allberry, Rosaria Butterfield, and Christopher Yuan

Folding Singles into Family in the Life of the Church
by Sean Demars

Using the Holidays to Host Singles
by Andy Johnson

Reforming College Dating Through Discipleship
by Allen Duty

The Single Pastor

Can Single Men Serve as Elders?
by Andy Davis

Single Pastors, Biblical Counseling, and the Local Church
by Bert Daniel

Other Resources

Pastors Talk podcast: On Pastoring Singles (Ep. 6)

Sunday School curriculum: Singleness

Sermon: A Biblical Theology of Singleness

Editor’s Note:

Why devote an issue of the 9Marks Journal to pastoring singles?

One, it’s a growing demographic in our culture and therefore in our churches.

Two, it’s a demographic that is particularly impacted by our culture’s removal of all barriers on sex; by the culture’s eroticization of all forms of intimacy, especially among same-sex friendships; by its delay of marriage; by its lies about the ad-vantages of the self-indulgent and autonomous single life as well as the growing enslavement of consumerism; and, in turn, by the extra emphasis churches have given to marriage in order to counter the lies of the sexual revolution. In other words, a number of cultural and pastoral roads all collide in the intersection which is the single life.

Three, it’s a biblical theme replete with eschatological promise. Matt Smethurst’s article, drawing from Andreas Köstenberger, observes that singleness in creation is nonexistent. Singleness in the Old Testament is uncommon and undesirable. Singleness in the New is treated as advantageous for kingdom ministry. And singleness in the new heavens and earth is universal, when there is neither giving nor receiving in marriage.

Could it be that we as Christians have given too little biblical and pastoral attention to this topic?

Certainly, a single person is far more than his or her singleness. Nonetheless, it’s often experienced as a trial (see Eccl. 4:9–11), even while Paul de-scribes it as a gift (1 Cor. 7:7, 32, 38). So, trial and gift. We need to maintain both perspectives in all our speaking and praying and preaching on the topic. And doing that requires wisdom.

Why devote an issue of the 9Marks Journal to pastoring singles? To help pastors and members both grow in conscientiousness and wisdom and love for singles. That way, singles and marrieds both can grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

—Jonathan Leeman