MAN SHAWTIJ

MAN SHORTAGE AFFECTS CHURCHES – Christian women complain of lack of potential husbands

The shortage of men has become a growing problem in several Jamaican churches.

THE STAR understands that with some church population having as much as 80 per cent women, a large number of females have been left with a problem to find husbands.

This is a huge concern for a number of churches, with at least one reverend saying the shortage is at a crisis level.

Reverend Philbert Johnson, ministry development officer in the New Testament Church of God, said there is a serious shortage in the number of men in the church as women in their 30s and late 40s cannot find a suitable partner.

Johnson, a pastor at one of the Testament branches, said at that location he had approximately 300 members of which only 40 were men. He further said that approximately 20 of those are already married.

When asked if the church should allow men to have more than one woman as a possible solution to the problem, Johnson said: “That is a big no no, but just for a matter of debate, some church leaders are being forced to look at different options such as polygamy, stronger evangelism, a stronger focus on men, more incentives for men and a greater focus on family.”

10 years

One case of a female Christian who is finding it difficult to get a partner is 52-year-old Joan Williams who says she has been trying to find a husband in the church for over 10 years. “As a matter of fact, I am no longer searching, I am so use to my single life, I just work and go to church,” she said.

Williams, who had three children before becoming a Christian, further said; “Sometimes when you see other couples I might feel a little jealous but if I can’t find nobody, what should I do?”

In the case of 26-year-old Shanice Grey who has been a Christian for 14 years, she believes the church should not allow men to have more that one woman; even though she couldn’t find a partner in the church.

According to Grey, “The Bible is against adultery, I wouldn’t feel good to know that my partner is seeing somebody else because that man couldn’t love both of us. I am not married but I am in a relationship right now with a non-Christian. The dating thing inside the church didn’t work for me. When I got pregnant with my daughter, some persons in the church were disappointed but some persons were supportive,” she said.

She believes that it is a leadership problem that has caused the issues in the churches. “Some churches don’t have the activities to grab the men,” she said.

devoted christian

Similarly, 24-year-old bachelor Keron Grant, who has been a devoted Christian for the past four and a half years, is in agreement with his female counterparts and is against polygamy. Grant who is a member of the Mount Olivet Apostolic Church in Kingston explained to THE STAR that Christians should exercise patience and wait upon the Lord.

At the same time, he added that marriage should not be the main focus of a Christian’s life but maintaining faith and holiness should be. “Marriage is a blessing but it must be received from God within the timing that He has appointed it to be. It is something that you expect but it cannot be the sole purpose why you are in church,” he emphasised. “We Christians must put ourselves under subjection and control, controlling our hormones because timing is key. At the time that God has ordained, certainly it will come to pass. In the event that you don’t get married, what is important is that you maintain your soul.”

Moreover, Overseer David Thomas for the Mount Olivet Apostolic churches explained jokingly that some Christians had become restless and impatient for matrimony because “some of we can’t wait and get too hot.”

On a more serious note though, he agreed that the world has changed which explained why some Christians has become restive but maintained that the Christian doctrine would remain the same nevertheless. “We have a changed world and an unchanged gospel …. We are aware that the world has changed but the gospel will never change,” he concluded.