Solo Planet: How Singles Help the Church Recover Our Calling

CHRISTIANITY TODAY BOOK AWARD FINALIST

“… an astonishingly broad-ranging analysis of Christian single life that is at once astutely sociological, deeply personal, sincerely prayerful, and boldly ecumenical. It is a mature achievement that deserves serious attention from clergy and lay leaders alike.” - Dawn Eden Goldstein, theologian, canon lawyer, and author of Father Ed

How can the church do better for its millions of singles? Journalist Anna Broadway traveled around the world to interview nearly 350 Christians for answers.

Solo Planet draws on her 17 months of fieldwork to provide a first-of-its-kind account of the single life of Christians from nearly 50 countries. Discussing a variety of topics―loneliness, sexuality, aging, housing, cooking, celebrations, parenting, and many more, it gives us the global-church story of singleness. Because when singles thrive in a church, everyone benefits. But consider these typical barriers within most churches:

• Singles and marrieds often don’t know how to talk to each other.
• Christians continue to act as if nearly all will marry―and if you don’t, then something must be wrong with you.
• Churches teach that marriage and family is God’s greatest gift outside of salvation―a perspective that deserves theological challenge.
• Women in the church outnumber men by a factor of millions―and churches do very little to acknowledge this gap.

Solo Planet calls Christians to a more faithful vision of singleness through the wisdom and stories of the global church: young and old; abled and disabled; and Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox. Through its deeply researched account, Solo Planet shows how a more biblical approach to singleness can strengthen churches and empower singles to thrive.

Everyone spends at least part of life single―and research shows that singles are leaving the church faster than other groups. To better understand singleness in the church, journalist Anna Broadway traveled around the world to interview Christians from nearly fifty countries and all three major church traditions.

From cooking to aging, celebrations to housing and parenting, Solo Planet looks at how Christian community shapes everyday life―and why single and married people need each other. Broadway draws on interviews with nearly three hundred fifty Christians to show how the church can become the integrated family God intends. Because when singles thrive in a church, everyone benefits.