Most churches are faced with the situation of having more women than men, and some single believers are more than 30 years old or even in their late 30s. Not only the believers themselves are worried, but also the church's pastors.
Nowadays, many churches have launched individual counseling and prayer activities. There are also many churches that have been doing interchurch or interregional matchmaking programs to help these single believers.
I recently went to a matchmaking event that one of the bigger churches in the city had organized with more than 100 single young people.
The first time I walked into the place for this event, a co-worker brought out the homemade baked desserts and health-enhancing herbal tea prepared early that morning. The room was also filled with music, and participants would not feel embarrassed about not knowing each other.
Unlike other matchmaking events within the church, this event did not begin with a round of self-introduction and faith testimony. After the host briefly introduced the activity process, they started a series of ice-breaking games and team games. In this way, people would not judge others according to their education level or other conditions when they just met each other.
This matchmaking event has been held for two years, and each session of this event has a different theme. There are marriage lectures, dancing and fellowship, book sharing, dinner activities, outdoor sports and outings, and so on. Instead of insisting on finding the right one through a matchmaking event, organizers hope that believers can get to know each other better through this event. At the same time, co-workers would pray and observe behind their backs, and when appropriate, they would ask a brother or sister if he or she was willing to be introduced.
I found that in this activity, in the one-hour interactive session, believers not only started a simple introduction naturally but also exchanged some of their inner journeys and feelings of waiting for the right one. Waiting for the right one for marriage is quite a hard process. Sometimes the pastor's counseling alone is not enough, and we also need the support of fellow travelers.
There are also people who feel disappointed after participating in this event many times and never finding a satisfactory date. The co-workers who organized the event also said, "Although there are not many data results in service, we are still moved to continue serving. We do not know God's timing and guidance, but we can do what we should do."
In fact, we can help single believers, both by giving them the truth and the right concept of marriage and love and by praying silently. We can also hold similar matchmaking activities to give them a positive social and mental impact.
Finally, several co-workers cared about all the believers by checking their dates, and there were follow-up WeChat group services.
(The writer is a Christian in Shaanxi Province.)
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
