Warm, cozy lighting, carefully made décor, beautiful background music, deep sharing of delicate emotions, and testimonies full of grace all weave together into a one-of-a-kind event specially arranged for singles.
Upon entering the venue, the first thing that caught the eye was the banner that reads, “Seven Aspects of Inner Growth.” As we grow up, things such as work, marriage, and family will all bring us different degrees of growth and change. Also, because of these experiences, we can learn to be grateful and tolerant, to place our trust in others, and to give, accept, and forgive.
Moving forward, we then arrived at the “Museum of Love.” Here, a couple shared with us the objects that are of landmark importance to them, from love to marriage. With beautiful voice narration and description, they recorded the wonderful moments of their love and married life in the presence of God.
As an idyllic English hymn sounded, we were at the main stadium. The event's organizer invited a long-married couple who experienced hurt in their love and married lives to share their testimony about the leadership and grace of God in their marriage. The couple reminded the listeners with their comforting songs and intricate stories that even in the sweetest love and marriage, obstacles are inevitable. As God alone is our only true love and sees us as the most precious thing in the world, our lives will be much happier and more fulfilling when we center our love and marriage on God.
The above was a singles' event in which I had the privilege to participate more than six months ago; the event was held by an Eastern China church, especially for single Christians. It was an innovative attempt, hoping to help young single Christians understand the true meaning of marriage and have the courage and proper values to enter into marriage.
Many Christians are having difficulty getting married these days. Furthermore, some Christians often decide to marry non-Christians due to a lack of suitable partners. However, such a choice will lead to other problems after marriage, including quarrels and conflicts caused by incompatible core values (world view, sense of value, and life outlook), as well as the giving up of faith as their spouse does not support it.
However, Christian couples may not have fewer marital problems than non-Christian couples. Problems often appear when the couple needs to establish a biblical view of marriage before getting married. Therefore, churches must hold seminars and activities to talk about marriage and love relationships.
Nowadays, many single brothers and sisters in the church are millennials and Gen Z, who are often the most trendy bunch. So, for the pastors of churches, these creative and stylish activities may be a win-win move, as these events not only help the younger generation establish a mature and correct view on marriage but also attract more young people to the church.
Therefore, these activities for singles that are innovative and creative can be attempted and made into future goals by other churches as well, just as the Eastern China church mentioned at the beginning of the article.
- Translated by Joyce Leung
温馨的灯光，细致的布景，美妙的歌声，细腻的情感分享，满有恩典的见证……谱写成了一次别开生面的单身活动。
一进入到活动的场馆，首先映入眼帘的是“7个内在成长”。每个人在自己的成长过程中，无论是工作、婚姻、还是家庭，都会带给自己一些些不一样的成长与改变。我们也因此学会了感恩、信任、付出、包容、接纳和原谅。
继续前进，便来到了一个“爱情博物馆”。一对夫妇将自己从恋爱到结婚具有里程碑意义的物件展示了出来，用优美的声音和细腻的文字，记录了他们在上帝的面前所拥有的爱情与婚姻生活的美好点滴。
随着一首富有诗意的英文赞美诗的响起，我们来到了主场馆。主办方邀请了一对结婚多年并且经历过一些爱情与婚姻伤痛的夫妻来为大家分享见证了上帝的带领和恩典。他们用温暖的歌声和曲折的见证故事，告诉大家甜蜜的爱情和婚姻难免会遇到风浪。而唯有上帝才是我们唯一的真爱，是看我们为世上最宝贵的。当我们的爱情与婚姻以上帝为中心时，才会拥有一个更加幸福和美满的生活。
半年多以前，笔者有幸参加了一个华东教会特别为单身举行的婚恋活动。是为了帮助更多年轻单身弟兄姐妹了解婚姻、有勇气和正确价值观进入婚姻所做的一种新形式的尝试。
其实，现在不少基督徒都在面临结婚难的问题。不仅如此，很多时候由于没有适合的择偶对象，不少弟兄姐妹也会选择和一些非基督徒进入婚姻。而这样的选择也会导致一些问题，例如三观的不合所产生的婚后吵架和冲突、信仰不被支持而放弃相信上帝等等。
不过，基督徒之间的婚姻问题也并不一定会比非基督徒少。分析其原因，多数是因为在结婚前并没有建立符合圣经的婚姻观。因此，教会有必要做一些针对婚恋的讲座与活动。
现在教会中单身弟兄姐妹更多是90后、95后、甚至是00后，他们的风格往往很新潮。而对教会的牧者来说，为了让年轻一代能够建立成熟、正确的婚姻观，那么采取一些有创意、新潮的活动形式就能够吸引更多的年轻人来，这可能是一个双赢的举动。
所以，就像文中开头所提到的华东地区那个教会一样，一些新颖、富有创意的单身婚恋活动，也可以成为各个教会未来的尝试和目标。
特写| 一场别开生面的单身婚恋活动：教会如何发挥创意帮助单身？
Warm, cozy lighting, carefully made décor, beautiful background music, deep sharing of delicate emotions, and testimonies full of grace all weave together into a one-of-a-kind event specially arranged for singles.
Upon entering the venue, the first thing that caught the eye was the banner that reads, “Seven Aspects of Inner Growth.” As we grow up, things such as work, marriage, and family will all bring us different degrees of growth and change. Also, because of these experiences, we can learn to be grateful and tolerant, to place our trust in others, and to give, accept, and forgive.
Moving forward, we then arrived at the “Museum of Love.” Here, a couple shared with us the objects that are of landmark importance to them, from love to marriage. With beautiful voice narration and description, they recorded the wonderful moments of their love and married life in the presence of God.
As an idyllic English hymn sounded, we were at the main stadium. The event's organizer invited a long-married couple who experienced hurt in their love and married lives to share their testimony about the leadership and grace of God in their marriage. The couple reminded the listeners with their comforting songs and intricate stories that even in the sweetest love and marriage, obstacles are inevitable. As God alone is our only true love and sees us as the most precious thing in the world, our lives will be much happier and more fulfilling when we center our love and marriage on God.
The above was a singles' event in which I had the privilege to participate more than six months ago; the event was held by an Eastern China church, especially for single Christians. It was an innovative attempt, hoping to help young single Christians understand the true meaning of marriage and have the courage and proper values to enter into marriage.
Many Christians are having difficulty getting married these days. Furthermore, some Christians often decide to marry non-Christians due to a lack of suitable partners. However, such a choice will lead to other problems after marriage, including quarrels and conflicts caused by incompatible core values (world view, sense of value, and life outlook), as well as the giving up of faith as their spouse does not support it.
However, Christian couples may not have fewer marital problems than non-Christian couples. Problems often appear when the couple needs to establish a biblical view of marriage before getting married. Therefore, churches must hold seminars and activities to talk about marriage and love relationships.
Nowadays, many single brothers and sisters in the church are millennials and Gen Z, who are often the most trendy bunch. So, for the pastors of churches, these creative and stylish activities may be a win-win move, as these events not only help the younger generation establish a mature and correct view on marriage but also attract more young people to the church.
Therefore, these activities for singles that are innovative and creative can be attempted and made into future goals by other churches as well, just as the Eastern China church mentioned at the beginning of the article.
- Translated by Joyce Leung
Feature: A Creative Way for Churches to Help Single Christians
