By Louis Detweiler | Alone, in the middle of a church service in 2004, Sally Knapp recounted, “I was feeling out of place with all the couples and I was thinking other singles must be feeling the same way.” A member of Christ the King Lutheran Church, Sally presented the idea of Christian Directed Singles to the pastor and the group officially opened within the church and to the community. The church is located at 5575 Peachtree Parkway in Peachtree Corners.
Detweiler
Christian Directed Singles, currently just over 250 members, is strictly volunteer and non-profit. CDS (Christian Directed Singles) is open to age 40-plus single men and women of all denominations. It is a safe place for Christian Singles to share, fellowship, and have fun. Joanne, a long-time member, says: “CDS is a singles group where meeting a partner is not the focus, but having a safe place to make new Christian friends and attend social events in a group setting is prevalent.” To keep the group running, organization is paramount. The group holds meetings twice a month, plus gathering for activities at other times, often an outing.
Every month team leaders within CDS develop a calendar of events. Events include trivia, hiking, dancing, dinner, plays, concert events, sporting events, and museums, to name a few. We also help the community by being involved in a “Hugs” project for service men, make available a Thanksgiving dinner to people in the community, and support Family Promises of Gwinnett.
Roger, a member of Christ the King Church, provides leadership in coordinating the team planning meetings and presenting an abundance of activities to choose from. The events are formed into a calendar then sent out to local publications in Gwinnett County and churches in Northeast Georgia. Carol, a team leader, keeps all the email addresses of everyone, sends out the monthly calendar to members, and a weekly reminder listing the activities for that particular week. This way, all the members know the scheduled list of events for the week and month. Besides meeting for fun and fellowship Christian Directed Singles provides support in other roles.
Through the years the members of CDS have been there for each other to share joys, worries, good times, celebrations, and crises. Members have joined with others to mourn the passing and celebrate the life of a fellow brother or sister in Christ. With the support gained through Christian Directed Singles we feel more capable of fulfilling God’s word through our lives.
The past 10 years CDS has seen changes, growth, and adaptation. The lives of singles tend to fluctuate more often than others through time and Christian Directed Singles provides an anchor in a quickly-changing society. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are now more singles than married couples in the United States. Some churches have singles but aren’t able to address their issues because there are so few of them in their congregation. Christian Directed Singles hopes to reach out to singles and provide an outlet for fellowship.
- Through social media on the Internet, CDS has a Meet-up presence and a Facebook page.
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