Dawn VanderWerf - Michigan/Wyoming
Dawn VanderWerf founded Single Parent Missions in 2012 after digging in to God’s Word as a divorced single mom and discovering the biblical definition of “widows and fatherless” includes most single parent families. Shortly after starting the ministry, she began writing Hope Notes, daily encouragements for single parents that are now read by subscribers worldwide. In 2014 she and co-author Matt Haviland published their book, The Daddy Gap, and in 2017 they launched The Single Parenting Summit, the only conference of its kind in the U.S. that encourages and equips single moms and dads and their kids, and also includes a Leader Training. In 2019, Dawn traveled to the U.K. to put on the first international Single Parenting Summit, and she has been interviewed on the topic of single parenting across multiple media venues including Fox 17 News, iHeart Radio, WCSG, Moody Radio, and London’s Premier Christian Radio. Dawn is driven by her passion to provide spiritual and practical guidance to those on the difficult journey of single parenting, and to envision and mobilize the Church to actively and effectively minister to the growing population of one-parent families. Dawn and her husband Steve live in Cody, WY and share 4 adult children.
Dawn Corona - Michigan/Florida
Dawn Corona has been serving single moms in multiple capacities for more than 13 years, beginning in West Michigan as a participant and then leader of a post-abortive recovery group. Dawn then began serving with Cradles of Grace, a non-profit that supported women facing unplanned pregnancy and single parenting, where she served as their Center Director for 7 years. Having developed a greater vision of how important it was for single moms to find a supportive church family after graduating from a crisis pregnancy program, Dawn began focusing on trying to start a single parent support ministry at her local church. Launching this ministry in 2021, it quickly grew and thrived, serving around 30 single parent families just over 2 years later. Dawn served teen parents as the Parent Life Director for the West Michigan Chapter of Youth for Christ and has served with Suncoast (Florida Chapter) Youth for Christ in 2022, as well as recently starting a single mom support group at her new church, Bayside Community Church. Dawn’s passion and deep love is to come alongside young women facing unplanned pregnancy; to encourage them in their brave decision of choosing life in difficult circumstances, and to honor that decision by making sure they have a church family walking with them, showing them the love of Christ through their entire single parenting journey. Dawn and her husband Alex are blessed with a blended family, sharing 6 children and 3 grandchildren, and live in Florida.
Caroline Chalkley - England, UK
Caroline Chalkley is the Single Parent Pastor at New Life Bible Church London, and the only on-staff pastor in England specializing in Single Parent Families. As a former single mom herself, Caroline knows the many needs of single parents and feels a calling as a pastor to minister to unwed women raising children alone. After launching this ministry more than 15 years ago, Caroline has seen continued expansion as the population of single parent families continues to grow in her community and across the U.K. Her passion is to help single parents find their hope in Christ in the season of parenting alone. Having seen her own life transformed from brokenness to wholeness, Caroline’s desire is to extend that same hope to other single parents so they can also discover that their lives are made for purpose, and they can have a fresh start in Christ. Caroline and her husband Clive share 3 adult children and live in London, United Kingdom.
Linda Jacobs - Florida
Linda Jacobs is one of the nation’s leading experts on how to minister effectively to single parents and children of divorce. Having been both divorced and widowed, Linda learned firsthand the emotional and support needs of single mom-led families, and she developed a passion to help other hurting families. As a pioneer of single parent family ministry, Linda has served over several decades as a children’s ministry director, children’s program developer, speaker, author, trainer, and therapeutic childcare center owner. Linda has shared her expertise across multiple platforms, including conferences like D6 and The Single Parenting Summit, doing interviews with organizations like Focus on the Family, and her 2019 book, The Single Parent: Confident and Successful. Linda is possibly best known for her role as Church Initiative Ministry Ambassador, where she developed the Divorce Care for Kids (DC4K) curriculum and currently monitors all conversation traffic across the Divorce Care, DC4K, and Single and Parenting websites, which gives her a unique insight into the actual experiences of single parents seeking support and guidance from a local church. Linda lives with her husband in Navarre, Florida.