Author Archives: Heather Tomlinson

In East Asia, there are more singles than ever before. But many say they don’t want to be in a relationship at all. Why are so many people shunning romance?

It’s a question commonly asked by Christians, particularly women: “Why are there more single women than single men, in our churches?” New research helps to shed some light on the subject and provide some answers to this question.

In church we hear a lot about marriage. The institution is celebrated, at times it’s even venerated and possibly idolised. But is church actually helping us to get hitched?

Sometimes it can feel as though being single is strange, out of the ordinary, or that we’re somehow missing out on something. But that’s not surprising, when we look at all the role models in our society and in our churches: they’re usually married. From politicians to church leaders to celebrities, everyone seems to be in a partnership.

There aren’t many single Christians who haven’t, at some point, longed for a family of their own. The Christian church family is great (usually), but often we yearn for the closeness of a biological family, of people who really care for each other and help each other out. Can we create this in our churches without getting married? I think we can.

Here are 10 ideas for creating community.