A Fatherless Generation

Today, I was asked if I would be interested in going to Israel in May on a missions trip. I asked what type of missions and to my surprise, I was told that it would be outreach to the youth and that the problem with gangs was out of control. Gangs in the Holy Land? Yes!

I was in Africa two years ago and was speaking to a group of pastors between services. Three boys came to the window to look at my assistant, Mike Darnell, because they weren't used to seeing whites in person. Mike waved at them and they waved back with a gang sign. I was sure that we had misinterpreted the sign until I got on the plane to go to the next country. I read an article on the front page of the newspaper that said Kenya is facing rising problems with gangs. And you thought that it was an American problem, right? Wrong! I think that gangs are a generational problem of youth without fathers. Most of these youth are searching for love in all the wrong places because they have no fathers to speak into their lives.

In my devotional time today, I was meditating on a scripture in the book of Malachi (4:6) which states that God is turning the hearts of the fathers to the sons and the hearts of the sons to their fathers. In America, the majority of single parent homes are headed up by the mother. So how is it that the fathers and sons will be connected? What is a father’s responsibility to a son? I asked myself this question and the answer is that I have both a natural father in my life who is an awesome man of God and I have a spiritual father in my life who speaks into my destiny as a minister of the gospel. I also have mentors in my life who hold me accountable in certain areas of my daily life. The word of God makes a point by saying that we have many instructors but few fathers. There’s that word again – “father”.


So, I ask myself and you, how are we going to reach this fatherless generation of youth who are throwing away their precious, God-given lives? How much is enough to save a lost soul? The truth is we can’t do enough to save them but we have to do whatever we can. Maybe you’re only saving four out of ten and twenty five out of a hundred. When you’re spending money, having brainstorming meetings, throwing everything that you know at saving them and its not enough. You have to follow the principles of Paul: you sow, water and let God give the increase. My role as a father to this lost generation is to gather the harvest. It’s going to take the mothers and fathers of the faith to change this generation that seems to have no restraint or fear of the unknown.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: G.A.N.G. Seminar with guest speaker Marc Fomby on Friday, March 14th beginning at 9:30 am. The seminar will be held at Teen Arena on RWOC’s campus in the Main Sanctuary. There is no cost to attend. If you are interested in identifying gang growth and activity in your community as well as applying prevention and intervention strategies to make your community safer, you need to be there.