Feature Story
The Absent Father's Presence
It is perhaps one of the most heartbreaking stats that I have ever heard. Seventy-two percent of African-American children are born out of wedlock. But that’s not the stat I am talking about. Here it is: 89% of the households in Benton Harbor do not have a father present. After hearing this I could not believe it. But as I reflected upon all of the young men I work with in my community, which is plenty, none of them are living with their biological father. This is a big problem because studies have shown that youth violence, teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, incarceration, and a host of other societal ills increase when fathers are not home! But this problem is not bigger than our God. He has a solution spelled out in Malachi 4:6. “Turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their
fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” This verse is foundational to our vision emphasis which is to empower broken homes beginning with boys, young men, and fathers ...read more
by Taurus Montgomery, Harbor of Hope Pastor