The Church’s Response to Fatherless Families

In one of my previous posts, I wrote that the biblical role of fatherhood is one of the best tools that we have to evangelize and disciple our children. I referred to it as a “Gospel strategy.”

God’s desire for fathers is to teach and train their children in the Scriptures, so that their children will respond to Biblical truth and place their faith in Christ and follow Him. This is all good.

And yet, there is a problem with this strategy in our world today. The problem is that there is a lack of fathers in the home. In the US, around 33% of children live absent from their biological father with some ethnic minorities having much higher percentages.¹

Where I currently minister in South Africa, the percentage is much higher. It is said that, “…over 60% of children in SA don’t live with their biological fathers, and 20% only have contact with their biological father twice a week.”² This is a massive problem in our sin-cursed world. But this leads us to ask, “What is the answer?” How are we to deal with this issue? What response should the church have to this problem?

Proclaim the Gospel

The Bible is not a moralistic self-help guide (although it is full of moral teaching). The Bible is the divine record of God’s redemptive plan to rescue man and glorify Himself for all eternity. In the Scriptures, we read of this plan: Christ, the Messiah, came to earth, lived a sinless life, died on the cross for the sins of man, rose again defeating death and sin, and now He lives to be the Lord and Savior of all who call on Him (Rom. 10:13).

This story is a message that gives life. By the proclamation of this message, sinners are converted and brought from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of the Son. This is the message that the Church proclaims.

You may ask, “How does this basic Christian truth lead to fathers in the home?” Because it is only as God, by His Spirit, gives believers new hearts that they are able to live right and pure lives. It is only when one receives the Spirit of God that they are able to take responsibility as a godly father and lead one in the path of righteousness.

Moralistic teaching will produce moralistic living…for a time. But only Gospel proclamation will bring about lasting morals that flow out of a heart that has been changed by the power of God. So, if the church is to see godly fathers raised up that take their responsibility as fathers seriously, then we must proclaim the Gospel!

Provide Support

In addition to proclaiming the Gospel, the church must provide support for those in their congregation that lack the example and support of a father. In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Moses gives instruction to Israel to,

“…teach them (the commands) diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise (ESV).”

In summary, Israel was meant to continually be teaching and discipling their children in the commands of the Lord. While we do not live in the old covenant community of Israel, fathers today do serve in the new covenant ministry of the church.

In the church, we do not draw the lines based on ethnic identity but on our identity in Christ. The church is made up of those from every nation, tribe, and tongue; and, it is also made up of those without fathers to guide and direct them? So, how can the church practically provide support for children and spouses in the church body that do not have the support of a father in their lives? How can the church today help teach children diligently the commands of the Lord when the family structure is broken?

Practical Suggestions

• Pray and ask the Lord to give you a burden for the fatherless in your church family.
• Connect with ministries (i.e. youth ministry, bus ministry, after school care, etc.) that reach out to fatherless young people.
• Invite teens that have no father in their life over for a family dinner.
• Find a young man that has grown up without a father and invite him to go camping with you and your son on a weekend.
• Provide support to a widow or single mom in your church by picking the kids up for school or helping with transportation needs.

Conclusion

These are just a few ideas, but there is much more that can be done to come alongside fatherless homes in the body of Christ. With such a breakdown in the family structure today, fathers within the church need to take it upon themselves to invest in the lives of those children and families that need the example of a godly father.