In February, Boundless—the singles’ ministry run by Focus on the Family—stopped producing new content. I’ve enjoyed articles, blog posts, and podcast episodes from Boundless for years. Plus, I’ve written articles for Boundless and appeared on Boundless’ podcast. So when I first learned about Focus on the Family’s decision to (essentially) close Boundless, I was discouraged. But I was especially discouraged about the reason Focus on the Family made this decision.
My Questions and Concerns
According to a statement released by Focus on the Family, the reason it decided to close Boundless was “to focus even more intentionally on our core ministry activities.” The statement mentioned “assisting couples as they build stronger marriages” and “helping parents raise healthier, more resilient children” as core ministry activities, along with a couple others.
To be honest, I found the statement confusing. I mean, why did Focus on the Family bother to keep Boundless running for 27 years? Didn’t Boundless equip singles for the marriages and families they would likely have in the future? Although Focus on the Family’s decision didn’t completely rock my world, it did cause me to contemplate singles’ ministries more broadly.
My Take on Singles’ Ministries (in General)
Personally, I believe the two main purposes of a singles’ ministry should be: (1) to provide a place for singles to meet, build relationships, and potentially find spouses (2) to provide prayer and support for singles in their present season but also encouragement and instruction for their future season.
Yes, singles are obviously single right now, but that could change very quickly. It’s probable that they’ll be spouses and parents one day. And I believe that taking a proactive approach is better than taking a reactive approach. In other words, I believe that preparing people for marriage and parenting before they get married and have children is equally important as—if not more important than—helping people repair their broken marriages and families after they’ve gotten married and had children.
My Encouragement to You
I realize that Focus on the Family’s decision to close Boundless might not affect you the way it affected me. Perhaps you didn’t even know what Boundless was before you started reading this post. But I bet you can relate to feeling discouraged about singleness—either in your present season of life or in a past season of life.
Singleness can be incredibly lonely and deeply disheartening. That’s why singles need prayer and support as they navigate it. But they also need encouragement and instruction for the future. Most singles desire to get married and have children one day. Learning about marriage and parenting from a biblical perspective can help them prepare now. Singles’ ministries can help people in all of these areas (and more)!
Friends, this post isn’t a criticism of Focus on the Family. I’m sure the organization spent a long time thinking and praying before it decided to close Boundless. But if you still feel discouraged about its decision (as I do), let me give you some encouragement.
I understand how you feel. I see you, and more importantly, God sees you. He’s ordained a season for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Solomon wrote that there’s “[a] time to plant and a time to harvest” (Ecclesiastes 3:2 NLT). Singleness may be your time to plant—to prepare for what lies ahead—so that you can reap a harvest later on. Even when singles’ ministries like Boundless end, remain faithful where you are. Plant seeds in faith, trusting God to produce an abundant harvest.
Tizzie's Tidbits of Truth 