From a spiritual perspective, the American single is in trouble. According to a national survey, singles' apathy toward the church ranks below the national average (see "Single Minded," page 16). Yet demographics prove that there are more singles in our nation today than ever before.

"Single adults are the unreached people group of America," says Jim Barrier, who works with college students through his church.

Campus Crusade for Christ specifically aims two ministries at reaching singles: SOLO (which stands for Singles Offering Life to Others), and Single Life Resources. Together, these two ministries have found effective ways to get the truth out to a group who is statistically running away from it.

SOLO, based in North Carolina, works directly with singles in Charlotte and the Raleigh area (where it is called The Singles Network). Single Life Resources, on the other hand, serves as a comprehensive source for biblically accurate, Christ-centered information on singleness.

SOLO began in 1985, and 10 years later entered into a partnership with Campus Crusade. Craig Seibert became a Christian after becoming involved in SOLO, and eventually became the ministry director. Today, Craig helps singles and those considered "single again" to change their world for Jesus Christ.

Working closely with many pastors, Craig organized a successful example of this goal through a SOLO-sponsored volunteer effort in Charlotte last August. They mobilized 130 singles representing 20 churches in the community to complete 20 projects, such as painting an inner-city church, replacing a roof for an elderly amputee, and replacing the bathroom plumbing in a church camp.

The large numbers of participants in the summer projects reaffirm a report from the Barna Research Group: Unchurched and never-married singles prefer investigating the church through social groups or by aiding volunteer efforts to help the needy, rather than attending Bible studies or Sunday services. According to Craig, several people without church affiliation were among those who volunteered.

Another community effort was SOLO's dinner outreach at the YMCA last November. In Charlotte, the YMCA ranks seventh nationwide in terms of membership: One in eight residents are members. What better place to reach the unchurched? SOLO hosted seven weekly dinners for singles at the center (in between evening aerobics classes) in response to answers from 700 SOLO surveys filled out by YMCA members. Besides meeting other singles over a meal, diners heard an applicable talk on stress and eventually received an opportunity to become a Christian.

In 1997, approximately 1,000 singles attended the New Year's Eve outreaches in Raleigh and Charlotte. The Charlotte Observer listed the event as the number one New Year's event in the city to visit. Everyone attending the "alcohol-free alternative" parties heard the truth of Jesus Christ and could take home a copy of Josh McDowell's evangelistic paperback, More than a Carpenter.

But we're about more than just projects," says Craig. "We want to develop relationships." He knows the real secret to any singles ministry is providing a place to build friendships. Among Christians, the church presents the most convenient place to meet this need. But since singles tend to be a transient population, they'll often leave for lesser reasons. They will likely leave a church low on single-adult members just to find a congregation boasting more. By building relationships within the community structure of SOLO, Craig says he can help keep the manpower in church and therefore strengthen the body of Christ.

"We have found many singles actually get more involved in their home church and 'church-hop' less because they have an opportunity to participate in SOLO," says Craig.

Cheryl Bolick is active in SOLO and has attended the group for nine years. Cheryl says the bonds of friendship without the pressures of a dating game first attracted her to the group. "SOLO wasn't supposed to be a singles meeting to meet Mr. Right. Craig made it clear during the meetings that this was not a meat market," she says.

But dating relationships are very important to many singles. Dick Purnell has traveled to more than 100 churches to talk about "Becoming a Friend and Lover" or "Understanding the Opposite Sex," to places as far as Canada and the West Indies. In a culture where a non-fiction book on relationships (Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus) stayed on the Publishers Weekly top-ten list for more than three years, no wonder these conferences are popular. More importantly, they send singles to the Bible for answers, not just to what feels right.

Single Life Resources also sponsors the Christian Singles Cruise. This year, the third annual trip will set sail in June on Carnival's cruise ship Sensation, traveling to St. Thomas, St. Marten, St. John and San Juan. Dick, who was single for 42 years before getting married, will speak, along with Tim Cleary, the single-adult specialist for the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Through these innovative strategies, SOLO and Single Life Resources are working to transform "America's unreached people group" into singles following God. They want to change the statistics, but more importantly, they want to change singles' lives.

For information about SOLO, contact Craig Seibert at (704) 358-0421. For information about Single Life Resources, call (919) 363-8000.