Why Do Churches Neglect the Poor?

In my last post I asked why there are so many divorces among couples who have a child with a serious disability. Now I am following up with a story about research on single mothers who are not welcomed at their churches or any church. The research from ARDA shows that, despite a newly intense interest in prayer, God and church attendance, many poor, single mothers feel unwanted by God and church leaders.

You can read part of the article here but I suggest that you go to the link and see the additional resources, statistics and maps.

Latoya and Shantelle, two poor single mothers, stay away from church due to guilt and a sense of “being a sinner.” Adrienne will not attend after a pastor refused to baptize her baby.

Yet what these three women have in common with many new mothers is a strong interest in instilling faith in their children, reports sociologist Susan Crawford Sullivan of College of the Holy Cross.

Her research and other studies on the religious practices of low-income mothers reveal a renewed commitment to faith with parenthood. Acting on that faith can provide a number of benefits from better behavioral outcomes for children to reduced parental stress for struggling moms, the studies suggest.

But the data also raise questions:

Why don’t more poor mothers take advantage of these critical resources?
What can churches do to close the gap?

Congregations appear to be sending real or perceived signals that it’s OK for the poor to be always with them — as long as it is not in the next pew. Some young, single mothers, unable to keep up with church fashion or put much in the collection plate, stay away on Sundays even as they make sure their children attend.

Even for the child who’s got his own, the lack of parental involvement makes it that much harder to keep the faith.

This is real data on why so many parents refuse to attend church despite wanting to be worshiping, learning and praying with other Christians. Do churches really want to grow when the neglect people such as this? Do we not realize that one of the reasons the Early Church in the Roman Empire grew rapidly because they openly accepted the wives and concubines of wealthy Romans and reared them as Christians?

Do the parents of kids with chronic illnesses and problems also feel rejected and unwelcome in many of our churches? We do know that upon learning of the chronic condition of their child the desire for spiritual support and understanding goes way up but the availability of such support goes way down!

Would any of your like to minister to the low hanging fruit of hurting moms and dads by showing love, understanding and practical helps to the one with ongoing challenges? Come on November 6 to our Gathering at Christ's Church at Mason and learn how. See our web link at sweetenlife.com