As many prepare to celebrate their dads on Father’s Day (June 18), statistics show there’s a huge problem of fatherlessness in the country. According to a report, 39 percent of students in the United States, from the first grade to their senior year of high school, do not have a father at home. And fatherlessness is the cause of several other social issues like crime. 85 percent of youth who are currently in prison grew up in a fatherless home. But it can also lead to drug addiction, depression, high abortion rates, teen pregnancy, and even suicide is linked to fatherlessness. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Pastor Sean Teis says the solution can be found in the church. Teis’s ministry, God is My Dad, equips single mothers, fatherless children, grandparents raising grandchildren, and also fathers, with ways to combat the effects of Fatherlessness. Teis, who grew up without a father, gives churches practical resources to better minister to fatherless families. Teis says when a child grows up without a father, there’s a hole in his or her heart. And the only guaranteed source for repairing that hole is a relationship with God the Father. No parent is perfect, and even kids who live with their fathers can still experience a dysfunctional relationship that scars them for life. Fathers are vital to children’s emotional and spiritual health. Teis says today’s culture needs to embrace fathers.
