DTC Stories

Defending the Cause: “Reimagining Father’s Day”

fatherless-day“I don’t have a dad, so why would I care about Father’s Day let alone celebrate it?”

Fatherlessness is simultaneously the worst epidemic in American history and the least discussed topic among those of power and influence. This Father’s Day more than 25 million children will have no father in their home to give a card, neck tie or hug to.

Their schools will have them end the school year making a present for a father that many of them don’t know, haven’t seen in years or who are incarcerated. This ritual leaves them confused and angry as they try to understand why they would make a present for a man who saw so little value in them that he abandoned them. When the fabled day finally arrives something happens inside a fatherless boy, the hole inside their heart that longs for their father grows bigger. The question of why their dad doesn’t care enough to be in their life gets louder. The shame of not having a father in their life grows deeper.

It doesn’t have to be a hated day for fatherless boys; we have the ability to make it a day of hope. What would it take to reimagine Father’s Day? If the churches across the country would take the day to openly and honestly talk about the issues involved in fatherlessness and then show their men how they can help, that would be a great start!

Are you willing to ask your pastor to step up and reimagine Father’s Day?

Male influence and role models are vital to a boy’s sense of belonging, emotional health and development. God recognizes this need which is why He declares Himself to be the “Champion” of the fatherless more than one hundred times in the Bible. By extension Christians, as imitators of God, are called to be the “Champions” of the fatherless.

This means that men need to see the brokenness in fatherless boys and step boldly into their lives. Too often churches ignore the need to intentionally put men in the lives of the fatherless. They fool themselves into believing that Youth Group, Children’s ministry and other activities are enough to heal the abandonment wound. By refusing to equip their men to invest in a one on one mentoring relationship with fatherless boys they are further harming these boys. For many reading this it may sound harsh or unfair, but the truth is a fatherless boy needs to know he has value and this comes through intentional one on one interaction with a Christian man.

lifeway-research-graphChurches across the country are filled with good men who would gladly step into the life of a fatherless boy if given the opportunity. Fathers in the Field equips churches to provide these men with the opportunity to be the positive male role model these boys need; helping men to understand that when their father abandoned them these boys felt like a piece of garbage that was just tossed away.

As they grow they will struggle with an unforgiving heart that will seep anger, bitterness, depression and sorrow into every aspect of their life. When a Christian man steps intentionally into his life and leads him, a fatherless boy hears about the love of his Heavenly Father and about a saving relationship through Jesus Christ. This relationship allows a man to teach a fatherless boy about forgiveness and how to let the pain of abandonment go so that it won’t run his life.

The time for passivity is gone, it is time for churches and Christian men to step up and matter greatly in the lives of the fatherless boys in their communities. To reimagine Father’s Day we have only to leave ignorance and apathy behind and say “We will love what our Heavenly Father loves in order that fatherless boys and their families might be healed through the Gospel.” This Father’s Day let’s declare the plight of the fatherless and then stand up and make a real difference in their lives.

Each year Fathers in the Field releases a video for churche showing a man who has stepped up to matter greatly in the life of a fatherless boy. Join us in using this videos to expose the epidemic of fatherlessness and to declare that enough is enough!

Contact us today to receive this year’s video for your church and together we can make Father’s Day meaningful to all the children in our country.

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