A conference will be taking place in Bedford next week to hear the experiences of Christian singles and consider their place in the church.
The conference takes place at Priory Methodist Church on 5 October and is being organised by Christian Connection, a Christian dating agency.
It follows extensive research by Christian Connection into the experience of 3,000 single Christians in the UK.
One of the key findings from the survey was the feeling in over half of all single churchgoers that their churches think there is something wrong with them.
With one in three adults neither married nor cohabiting in the UK, the issue of singleness is becoming more pressing for the church.
The Life, Love and the Church conference has been designed to get people thinking and talking about singles in church, and sharing positive experiences.
Statistician David Pullinger, who carried out the research for Christian Connection, will be speaking at the event.
"Churches find it hard to cope with single people in - or outside - their churches," he said.
"A majority of single Christians say their church does not know what to do with them.
"More than half of all single Christians aged between 30 and 60 believe other people think there is something wrong with them because they are single.
"This event will be much more than just talk. Participants at the conference will be able to share their experiences and ideas and leave inspired and take away ideas for their churches and lives."
The conference will explore how single people can make a difference in their own lives and what churches can do to make themselves warm and inclusive to single Christians.
Christian Connection's founder Jackie Elton said: "It will be a chance to talk, listen, share, dream and be positive and talk about change."
Find out more about the Single Christians - Life, Love and the Church conference here
