Changes in U.S. Households

Since 1990, single fathers, male householders, no spouse present, increased 33 percent. Single men, nonfamily male householders, increased 18 percent. Single mothers, female household, no spouse present, increased 17 percent. People living alone increased 10 percent.

Since 1990, unmarried couples have increased by 700 percent. In 1970, there were 523,000 compared with today's more than 4.2 million (4,236,000). In 1970, 327,000 couples had no children under age 15. Today's that number is 2,716,000. In 1970, 196,000 couples had children under age 15. Compare that to 1,520,000 today.

Implications for ministry: With this increase in single fathers, ministry to single-parent families needs to become more inclusive and sensitive to the needs of single fathers. Traditionally, these ministries catered to single mothers. Including single fathers may require more than changes in wordingÑwe may need to determine the needs of single fathers and how we can assist them in this role.

Single adults continue to be the fastest growing of all populations groups. Based on the most recent data (1998) from the Census Bureau, here is information about the marital status in the United States of persons over 18 years of age.

U.S. Adults by Marital Category

Implications for Ministry: With 40 percent of the total adult population identified as single adults, recognizing the needs, concerns, and issues of this population group is a necessity. The non-traditional family is the fastest growing population group. Since 1980, the unmarried population ages 18-54 grew by 52 percent while the married population experienced a 12 percent growth. Churches that are not reaching this segment of the population are ignoring a significant portion of their community. While the unmarried adults are the least likely to belong to a church, they are the most likely to be in search of meaning and purpose in life. They have a spiritual hunger and yearning. Due to the unstable relationship they have experienced, many single adults need the safety, security, and nurture only found within a church family. Without this help, there is little hope of breaking and reversing this cycle of relational instability.

Children Living with Grandparents

In 1997, 3.9 million (6 percent) of the nation's children lived in a grandparent's home, up 76 percent from the 2.2 million (3 percent) in 1970. Slightly more than half (1.3 million) lived with both grandparents; 1 million had only a grandmother; and 150,000 had only a grandfather. One-half of the grandchildren living in a grandparent's home in 1997 were younger than 6 years of age.

Children continue to be affected by the changes in marital status. Today, children are almost 25 percent less likely to live in a two-parent home that has never experienced divorce or remarriage. In 1970, 85.2 percent of all children under age 18 lived with two parents. In 1998 that figure decreased to 68.1 percent.

Unmarried Women Are Having more Children than Unwed Teens

Since 1970, the percentage of births to unwed teens has dropped but increased for adults, especially women over 25 years of age. Those under 20 are having 19.7 percent few births than in 1970. Women ages 20-24 are having 2.4 percent more births; those over 25 are having 17.2 percent more births. Women over 25 are now the segment of the population having the most children outside of marriage.

Implications for Ministry: Children are tremendously affected by the trends in marital status of their parents. Children's Ministries workers must continue to increase their sensitivity to the wide variety of home in which children live.

Grandparents rearing grandchildren is a new phenomenon. Parenting classes and groups must be expanding to include the grandparents who are returning to active parenting roles. At a time when these individuals anticipated a different lifestyle, they suddenly find themselves parenting again. Their expectations of discovering the joys of grandparenting have been replaced with a new role that frequently involves adjusts as they move from doting grandparents to a parent figure.

Single Parent Family Ministries must also recognize the increasing number of never-married mothers. Some of these mothers may have chosen to use medical technology to give birth to a child. These ministries must also be aware of the single-mothers who chose adoption as a means of fulfilling their nurturing needs.

Current Trends to Watch

Divorce rates have reached a plateau over the past decade. But if you think that is an indication that relationships are becoming more stable, think again. In the past, marriage was viewed by most of society as a critical and necessary step to becoming an adult, having sex, living together and making babies. Much of society no longer adheres to this standard. This has lead to relationships that are increasingly unstable.

Since 1990 there have been 2.5 percent fewer marriages in the United States. This translates into a 12 percent decline in marriages since 1980. However, since 1978, the number of "unmarried-couple households" has increased from 523,000 in 1970 to 4,236,000 in 1998. In other words, cohabitation has grown from a rare and deviant behavior to the majority experience among those of marriageable age.

Cohabitation is changing our culture in three key ways. First, it is increasing the number of marriage-like partners. The proportion of first marriages preceded by cohabitation will steadily increase. The largest part of this increase is in the proportion of women who had cohabited with different partners than their husbands. An increasing percentage are entering "first" marriages after living in a marriage-like relationship with a different partner.

Second, it is creating greater instability in relationships. Despite the plateau in the divorce rate, there is a substantial decline in the stability of unions. Few individuals are choosing to marry their cohabiting partner. Union begun by cohabiting are less stable with the percentage of those separating increasing from 45 to 54 percent in the last five years.

Third, it is causing increased negative consequences for children. In the United States, the proportion of childhood years spent with a cohabiting parent has increased since 1980 by 80 percent. The number of children who ever lived in a cohabiting family before age 16 increased from 37 to 47 percent. Thus almost half of all children spend some time in a cohabiting family. This means children are more likely to experience family disruptionÑagain, despite the decline in the divorce rate. The unsettling impact of these disruptions on children and adults cannot be ignored.

2. Single adults are seeking safer means of connecting.

According to Graham Spanier, a sociologist and President of Pennsylvania State University, "We are in a society that is increasingly impersonal and there is a need for a way to meet one another." In a world where people have watched relationships become increasingly less stable, and where they find if difficult to trust, single adults are seeking ways to fulfill their need for touch. For non-Christians (and maybe more Nazarenes than we would like to admit), they find safety in the structure of ballroom and line dancing.

A pastor decided not to stand at the door to greet parishioners following services. One widow (which means she was a single adult) asked why he discontinued the practice. The minister replied that it was a ritual that appeared to have little merit. He then asked why she wanted the practice continued. Her reply suggested shaking his hand at the end of the service was one of the few times during the week when she made physical contact with another person.

3. Growth in single fathers outpaces growth in single mothers.

The number of single mothers has remained constant over the past three years (9.8 Million) while the number of single fathers in the United States has increased dramatically. In 1997, there were 2 million single fathers, more than 50 percent more than in 1990 and triple the number in 1980. Families headed by single fathers comprised 5 percent al all parent-child families in 1997. Men account for one-sixth of the nation's 11.9 million single parents.

In 1997, nearly half of the single fathers, 46 percent, were divorced, while 32 percent were never-married, 13 percent were separated, and about 5 percent each were widowed and separated due to reasons other than martial discord. In 1997, the majority of single fathers (61 percent) were rearing one child and 10 percent were rearing three or more.