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Greg Blanc has been single his whole life, and though that is not his choice, the pastor of Calvary Chapel Community Church in Rapid City has learned to trust his marital status to God’s timing, not his own.
Blanc will be the keynote speaker at the One Life to Live weekend retreat for Christian singles sponsored by Saturday Night Alive on Sept. 22-24 at Camp Judson near Keystone.
“Single people have a tendency to chase after the ‘ring’ of being married,” said Blanc, who encourages them to see their single status as a spiritual relationship to be celebrated rather than a temporary, transitional phase to be endured.
Whether they’re single by choice or because of circumstances beyond their control, unmarried people should be “busy about the Father’s business while they’re waiting for the Lord to bring them a spouse,” he said. “I have a desire to be married, but I trust in God’s timing.”
Blanc also has a passion for singles ministry. He is involved with Saturday Night Alive, a Christian singles ministry in Rapid City that began 23 years ago. He led a large singles ministry in San Diego for many years,
“I’ve been a single guy for a long time, so I’m up to date on the issues that are unique to single Christians,” he said.
Blanc has learned to use his “season of singleness to draw closer to God” and during the retreats he leads, he encourages other singles to do the same.
SNA member Darcie Decker said she has come to see her singleness as something to be lived fully and with purpose.
“Many singles see singleness as temporary or simply a transition, but none of us are guaranteed the length, or shortness,of our singleness or if one will live married happily ever after,” Decker said.
Whether by choice or circumstances of death or divorce, about 46 percent of Rapid City adults age 20 and older are single, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Twenty percent of those have never been married, 15 percent are divorced or separated and 7 percent are widowed.
“Life throws to each of us many different punches and not always what we want or expected. Singleness is one of the punches that many of us thought we would not face,” Decker said.
Society stigmatizes single people, and sometimes, churches are guilty of that too, Blanc said. Ministries such as SNA help singles see that struggles with loneliness and companionship can be helped by faith.
“The Lord can meet a lot of those needs,” Blanc said. “If you build that intimacy with God, you don’t have to try to attain it only through other people.”
During his four keynote messages, Blanc will remind single people that Scripture said, “We are complete in Jesus,” according to Colossians 2:10.
“We don’t need to buy into the world trying to conform us into a certain social status or monetary status or appearance status or marital status either,” he said. “I tell people that their value isn’t in their marital status, but their value is who they are created to be in God’s image.”
SNA welcomes single people of all ages, and the fall retreat will offer fellowship and group activities for two different age groups. Young adult singles are defined as anyone 35 years of age and younger.
One Life to Live singles retreat
The One Life to Live singles retreat on Sept. 22-24 will be held during Unmarried and Single Americans Week, widely observed in the United States from Sept. 17-23.
The retreat begins with registration at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, followed by a 7 p.m. presentation on relationships. It continues through Saturday and ends with a 9 a.m. worship service Sunday followed by clean up. It is a child- and pet-free weekend held at Camp Judson, three miles from Keystone on Old Hill City Road.
Cost of the retreat is $89, which includes four meals and two nights lodging in heated group cabins. Make check payable to Saturday Night Alive, and mail it to P.O. Box 5513, Rapid City, SD 57709-5513. To register online, go to www.SaturdayNightAliveSingles.com.
Contact Mary Garrigan at 394-8410 or mary.garrigan@rapidcityjournal.com
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