If you’re a church leader wondering how to serve single moms and their sons, a structured mentoring program might be exactly what your ministry is missing. The need is urgent, and the solution doesn’t have to be complicated. Using the PursueGOD app’s group function to connect a mentor, a single mom, her son, and a designated ministry leader in one shared space, your church can build a program that is accountable, transparent, and genuinely life-changing for the boys it serves.
The Urgent Need for Male Mentorship
Boys growing up without fathers face real and well-documented challenges—lower graduation rates, higher rates of depression, and greater difficulty forming healthy relationships and boundaries. None of this is inevitable, but it is a signal that something important is missing. The church is uniquely positioned to step in—not to replace a father, but to point a boy toward the One who never leaves and never fails.
God himself identifies with this role. He doesn’t stand at a distance from the fatherless; he claims them as his own.
Psalm 68:5 “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.”
A well-structured mentoring program becomes one of the most tangible ways a church can embody this truth. When a consistent, godly man shows up for a boy month after month—because the church made it happen—it speaks louder than almost any sermon about who God is and how much he cares.
The Three People You Need
Before you recruit anyone or schedule a single meeting, it helps to understand the three roles that make this program function. The first is a ministry leader—think of this person as the church champion who owns the program, vets participants, and stays involved throughout. This isn’t a hands-off administrative role; it’s someone who genuinely cares about the mission and remains present in the group from day one.
The second role is a vetted male mentor. A background check and pastoral approval are non-negotiable, but the ideal mentor brings something beyond a clean record: a son close in age to the boy he’ll be mentoring. That detail matters more than it might seem. A mentor who already does father-son activities has a natural rhythm to build on, and the boys can participate together rather than an adult spending one-on-one time alone with someone else’s child. The dynamic becomes easier, more natural, and safer for everyone involved.
The third role is a single mom who understands what she’s signing up for. That last part is key. A mom who enters the program knowing how it’s structured—what communication looks like, what the monthly rhythm involves, and what her role is in the group—is far more likely to stay engaged and trust the process. Clarity upfront prevents confusion and disappointment down the road, and it sets the whole relationship on solid footing.
Set Up a Group in the PursueGOD App
Before the first meeting ever happens, the most critical step is building the right accountability structure. The PursueGOD app makes this straightforward. The ministry leader—this is the person who will champion the program at your church—creates a group in the app and adds four key participants: the mentor, the single mom, her son (if old enough to engage), and themselves. This group becomes the hub for all communication related to the mentoring relationship.
Every meeting gets scheduled in the group. Activity updates, photos, and check-ins all happen there—not in private texts or phone calls between individuals. This isn’t about suspicion; it’s about building a structure that protects everyone from the start. Transparency reassures the mom, safeguards the mentor, and models healthy relational boundaries for the boy watching it all unfold.
Ecclesiastes 4:12 “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
For single moms especially, this structure is a gift. She never has to wonder where her son is, what they’re doing, or what kind of man she’s trusting with her child. The app group keeps her fully in the loop—not as an afterthought, but as an essential voice in the relationship. Ministry leaders should make clear from the start that her presence in the group matters and that her feedback shapes how the program runs.
A Consistent Monthly Routine
Two required activities per month is a sustainable and effective baseline. More is always welcome, but consistency matters more than frequency. When a boy knows a mentor is going to show up—reliably, not occasionally—it begins to build something many fatherless boys have rarely experienced: the sense that a man keeps his word.
The first monthly meeting is church attendance followed by a discipleship lunch. This is where the spiritual investment happens intentionally. The PursueGOD series designed for men and boys provides a ready-made conversation guide that keeps discussion focused and age-appropriate, giving the mentor a natural way to share faith without it feeling forced or awkward. Everything gets coordinated through the app group so the mom knows the plan in advance.
Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
The second monthly activity is a service project or an outdoor adventure—something active and memorable. Helping at a food bank, going fishing, learning basic car maintenance, hiking a trail together. These shared experiences build a history between a mentor and a boy, and they open doors to the kinds of honest conversations that rarely happen across a table. Photos from these outings, posted in the group, let the mom celebrate alongside her son even when she wasn’t there.
Communication Guidelines That Protect Everyone
Safety has to be built into the program from the beginning, not added after something goes wrong. Every mentor should complete a background check and receive pastoral approval before meeting any child. The ministry leader should have enough knowledge of the mentor’s character—through the church community, not just a form—to vouch for this person with confidence.
One of the most important boundaries in any mentoring program involves communication between the mentor and the single mom. It must be clear and firm: the mentor is not a romantic prospect, and any blurring of that line puts the entire relationship at risk—especially for the boy. All communication between the mentor and the mom runs through the app group, where the ministry leader is always present. This isn’t a burden; it’s a safeguard that makes the whole program more trustworthy and sustainable for everyone involved.
James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
Ministry leaders should revisit this guideline regularly with mentors and communicate it clearly to moms when they first join the program. The goal isn’t to make anyone feel watched—it’s to build the kind of trust that keeps a mentor in a boy’s life for years, not just months.
The Takeaway
A mentoring program for fatherless boys works when it’s built on structure, consistency, and accountability. By setting up a group in the PursueGOD app that connects the mentor, the single mom, her son, and a ministry leader, your church can launch something that protects everyone involved and genuinely transforms a boy’s life. God calls himself a father to the fatherless—and a well-run mentoring program is one of the most powerful ways his people can make that truth feel real.
