Opinion: Why your single moms ministry won't grow

By Jennifer Maggio

Special To Inside The Pew

The Life of a Single Mom Ministries exists so that no single mom walks alone, regardless of race, socio-economic status, or story. Our passion is to see single mothers connected to the house of God, thriving and flourishing to live the life He intended. One way we do that is by helping churches establish long-term, healthy single moms support groups or ministries.

I consider it an honor and privilege to work beside some of largest churches and nonprofits in the world. In doing so, I have found some things that may hinder your single moms' ministry from growing and I wanted to share them with you (and hope we have your permission to be brutally honest):

1. Ministering only to single moms within your church will prohibit your ministry from growing. Sixty-seven percent of single moms are outside your church walls, so be sure to welcome in the community.
2. Failing to provide a free meal and free childcare will hinder growth within your ministry. Single moms are busy and often do not have the time or money to provide childcare themselves for a Bible study. In addition, providing a meal is a great way to bless the moms and their children. (Read the book, The Church and the Single Mom by Jennifer Maggio, for ways to provide this at little to no cost.)
3. Your meetings drone on and on. We suggest meetings to last only 90 mintues. Single moms are busy and need to be able to plan their schedule for themselves and their children.
4. You are trying to integrate a single mom’s group on a Wednesday night or Sunday morning service. Weekday meetings are extremely hard for single parents who are juggling full-time jobs, soccer practice, second jobs, homework, and night classes. Friday, Saturday, or Sunday nights are, by far, the best nights for single moms to get out. (No homework for kids, no night-time classes, no work the next day, etc).
5. You are afraid to change. I once heard a dynamic speaker say, "When women's ministries turn into women's miseries, it is time for a change." The same is true for single moms ministries. Your church may have been doing the same thing for single moms, the same way, for 15 years. It may be time to shake it up a bit. Have some fun. Have some giggles. Give your ministry a face lift.
6. You need to plan an "event" to get the single moms in your church and community excited. There is no better way to attract some new faces (and regain some old ones) than to have a single moms' conference, night of beauty, night of worship, game night, or something similar.
7. Your leadership isn't diversified. In order to reach all single moms from all backgrounds and stories, it is important that the key leaders and volunteers within the ministry are diversified. For example, if you have exclusively 40-something divorcees in leadership positions, do not be surprised if teen moms aren't interested. We all want to know that someone understands our story. And when a new single mom walks into your ministry, she wants to see someone in the room who looks like her. It is a simple, but true statement.
8. The ministry leader for your single moms ministry needs equipping. Maybe she's tired and needs some more volunteers. Maybe she was never properly trained on how to lead women. Maybe there is a wonderful teacher waiting to "bud", but she hasn't found her voice yet and needs some encouragement on how to do that. Or.....maybe the wrong leader is leading within the ministry. Maybe her time has drawn to a close and God is moving her into a new season of life. This last fact cannot be determined without great prayer, but it is crucial in the survival and thriving of your single moms’ ministry. Sometimes as ministry leaders who are desperate for workers (the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few...), we don't diligently seek God about who the right person is for the job. Consequently, we have some misplaced leaders within single moms' ministries who really need to be replaced. When done properly, this is beautiful for all involved, as it frees the current leader to fulfill the role God called her to, and it allows the new leader to also fulfill her role.

Jennifer Maggio is considered one of the nation's leading authorities on single parent issues. She is an award-winning author and speaker who travels the country sharing her own riveting story. She has been featured on countless radio and television programs, and founded The Life of a Single Mom Ministries, to equip the body of Christ on how to best meet the needs of single parent families. For more information on running an effective single moms ministry, please visit http://www.thelifeofasinglemom.com.

‘Manifestation’ about holding on to God’s promises, seeing them unfurl

By Donald Lee
Special to Inside The Pew

Minister Aaron Moses — the next big thing in Christian rap — wants those within an ear shot of his voice to know that their dreams, fueled by their faith, will come into fruition, if they dare to stand unmoved by circumstances that may suggest otherwise.
“Believe beyond measure; never stop believing,” said the Baton Rouge, La., rap artist and founder of HopeMusic & HopeMovies Entertainment. “Philippians 1:6 tells us that He who began a good work in you shall perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

“So, just believe. When belief stops believing, you continue to believe,” Moses said. “When your money don’t believe in your dream no more, you continue to believe. When your body, your emotions and every fiber of your existence other than your soul refuse to believe in your dream, you believe in your dream, that you can do all things through Christ which strengthens you (as Philippians 4:13 states).”
And that strong conviction that he preaches is what his audience hears emphatically throughout his album Manifestation, which was released in May and can be purchased on iTunes or Amazon.

In talking about the title song Manifestation, Moses, 26, shares how it depicts his life’s transformation.

“At this stage of my life (six years ago), I had totally made up my mind that I was no longer going to prostitute my gift to the world, and I was going to present it holy before Christ,” Moses said.

He shares the meaning of the opening stanza in Manifestation. The line goes: “The realest quote I ever wrote, didn’t bother to put friends on it, it’s time for it to manifest, my whole family depend on it …”

“What I meant by that was my life had to change in order for a lot of people around me to change,” said Moses who’d lived a hard life, having battled drug addiction and having buried his mother who died of AIDS at age 45 in March 2006.

“I was always a leader of men,” he said. “But being intricately involved with the yoke of bondage and contrary spirits, I allowed myself and those who were around me to become isolated and stagnated (regarding) the things of God.

“So, when I speak of ‘I didn’t bother to put no friends in it,’ I’m speaking of the time when I no longer needed to be validated by people who were around me to accomplish that which I was created to,” Moses said. “In other words, the life that God created for me to live was more important than the opinions of those who were around me.”
And when Moses began to put things in to their proper perspectives, he began to see the physical manifestations of the promises of God in his life. As today’s youth would say, “This CD go hard.”
There are 12 tracks on it. Each offers a candid look into this artist’s heart. Each one ministers greatly to the souls of its listeners while captivating them with hardcore beats and a voice that sounds fresh off the streets.
The first track on the CD, “Welcome,” introduces listeners to an album that promises to sustain their attention with “custom-made” beats that keep their heads bobbin’, anointed lyrics that spit Holy Ghost fire and heart-felt messages powerful enough to make a thug weep. Those who are about that (thug) life, after listening to these songs, will receive an impartation of wisdom that is sure to redefine their definition of manhood.
The lines in the song are “a representative of the struggles that I came through as a child,” said Moses, who wrote his songs and is the album’s executive producer. “And also, the song represents me as a person beyond music. It represents me as a preacher, my testimony. And also I wanted people to be able to see Christ in me without the commercialized version of Christ.
“I wanted people to be able to take someone like me (as a positive example) who abused ecstasy pills, smoked marijuana, who dropped out of high school, who made countless bad decisions and completely turned my life around for His glory,” said Moses, who will be getting his associate’s degree in entertainment technology from Baton Rouge Community College in the fall.
On the third track, “Keep Me Going,” Moses shares, “It might be your grandparents, it might be your kids, there’s somethin’ that’s inside of you that’s tellin’ you don’t quit.

“It might be your old man, it might be your pastor,” he said in the song, “there’s somethin’ that’s inside of you that’s tellin’ you don’t slack up. Go hard or go home, or play sick and stay home. Better bring your A game. I’m Monday night in the Super Dome. I keep going for the prostitutes, keep goin’ for the drug addicts, keep goin’ for the drug dealers, my momma had a drug habbit. I seen victory and I liked what I saw, so He must keep showing, it’s that thing that keep me goin’… ”
In other words, there’s something on the inside of individuals, the song explains, that gives them that extra incentive to strive for a better life and refuse to give up.

“This brother is real, and I’m feelin’ that,” said Baton Rouge radio personality Guy Brody.

Moses said the chief thing his music is written to do is point people to the Lord.
“Christ has made salvation available to any and everybody who is willing to receive Him in their hearts, according to Romans 10:9,10,” Moses said. “That is what’s most important.”

Visit Moses on Facebook, and follow him on Twitter at @hopemusic. To book him, call Lakeisha Moses at (225) 278-1789 or e-mail themanifestation@yahoo.com.