Fatherhood is the original, essential role ordained and modeled by God – our Father.  Matthew 23:9 says, “do not call anyone on earth ‘father’, for you have one Father, and He is in heaven.”  That name is reserved for Him alone, but the position is a central theme in Scripture from the genealogies, commands, and stories of the Old Testament to the instructions, parables, and promises of the New Testament.  God’s design for families dictates that fatherhood is the foundation for a healthy society.  Yet the “traditional” family unit and a dad’s role are increasingly undermined, ridiculed, and abdicated in contemporary American culture.  Higher rates of abortion, foster care, single moms, absenteeism, and atheism – separately and collectively – speak to the gradual abandonment of fatherhood in our nation.

Chicken Out

Through abortion, men opt out of fatherhood entirely…

What the Bible says: Human life at any point beyond conception has tremendous value.  Everyone deserves a chance at the abundant life Jesus came to provide.  His greatest commandment includes loving our neighbor, and none is closer than our own child.

What dads are doing: An estimated 1,126,000 clinician-provided abortions were performed in 2025, up 21% from 2020 – despite the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022.  In nearly all cases, the man who got her pregnant either encouraged abortion or gave the impression he wouldn’t be a supportive dad if she gave birth.  Many men impregnate multiple women with no intention of raising any children not aborted.  Surveys show a father is the most influential voice in a woman’s pregnancy decision.

What dads should do: The ideal, biblical option for men not prepared to be a dad is not having sex outside of marriage.  However, abstinence is an unrealistic expectation in our post-Christian culture.  Awakening greater respect for the viability of a preborn infant and standing by a prospective mom seem more reasonable.

Cop Out

Child removals are frequently precipitated by neglectful, abusive, or addicted dads…

What the Bible says: Scripture calls dads who don’t provide for their families worse than unbelievers.  It cautions about the consequences of physical or psychological child abuse, embittering and exasperating kids.  It tells stories of drunken dads breaking up families.

What dads are doing: Nearly 70% of women in foster care become pregnant within three years of aging out, fueling the abortion crisis.  Roughly 85% of young people in correctional facilities grew up in fatherless homes, and 90% of male prisoners were “dad-deprived”.  In fact, 27% of male former foster youth are incarcerated within two years.  Fatherlessness results in higher rates of poverty, substance abuse, mental illness, behavioral issues, dropouts, and more dependence on government than God.

What dads should do: Churches and ministries are among the last remaining institutional voices in America for abstinence, sobriety, dads leading homes, and avoiding sin for the sake of families.  Secular educators, agencies, and programs can’t fill the fatherhood gap.  The body of Christ is the best source of hope for at-risk children and troubled youth, pointing toward the ultimate example of a loving Father.

Bow Out

Dads are bailing out in record numbers, letting single moms raise their kids…

What the Bible says: God’s Word endorses marriage between a man and a woman, fulfilling the Great Calling to multiply and fill the earth (with children).  He specifically cites the fatherless as the object of His affection and protection.

What dads are doing: America has the highest proportion of single-parent households in the world – three times the global average.  An estimated 73% of African American children born to unmarried mothers are raised by a single mom.  Among those owing child support (85% men), 30% pay nothing and 24%-35% make partial payments.  Media’s devaluation of dads for decades has succeeded in failing our nation.

What dads should do: Children, particularly boys, need male role models.  Mentorship and discipline help make them cultural contributors and productive employees.  Moving the needle on the U.S. fatherlessness epidemic requires a countercultural movement against the prevailing winds of gender fluidity and toxic masculinity.

Check Out

Of those dads who are at home, many burn out, zone out, or sneak out – at the office late or on the road…

What the Bible says: The wisest man in the Old Testament said, “Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife”, and “Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind”.

What dads are doing: Dads often work so hard to “provide” for their families that they miss the opportunity for relationship with their children (who would trade all those creature comforts for more time with their fathers).  Their true motive typically isn’t provision, but avoidance, unhappiness, recognition, and/or greed.  A mom bears responsibility for raising kids of an absentee dad; yet she’s unable to fully compensate for the critical part God intended for a man to play in a household.

What dads should do: A dad will only set boundaries, make time for his kids, and get home earlier if he swallows his pride and satisfies his desire for acclaim from what he achieves at home.  Most live with regret later, realizing how little came from climbing the corporate ladder when those he left behind wanted him more than his money.

Back Out

God appointed dads to be spiritual leaders, but few churches equip them adequately for disciple-making, so dads leave that task to children’s ministries and youth groups…

What the Bible says: Dads are instructed to “train up a child in the way he should go“, and reminded that “these commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home.”

What dads are doing: Studies show 5% of Christians are discipling someone else and only 1% of pastors think churches are discipling new believers well.  When churches don’t disciple dads to become spiritual leaders of the home, childcare workers and youth ministers become spiritual “fathers”.  Studies show children who grew up in church deconstruct in college because they can’t defend the “faith of their parents” – they know Bible stories but can’t answer hard questions by progressive professors.

What dads should do: Rather than abdicating a dad’s most critical function, men should learn – and then teach their children – how to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and how to respond when a non-believer brings up the problem of evil, challenges the reliability of the Bible, or demands evidence for Jesus’ resurrection.

As long as the fatherhood crisis continues in America, Meet The Need and our partners will take steps to help the victims of dads who chicken out, cop out, bow out, check out, or back out…

• Abortion – Help men secure employment so they can provide for their family
• Foster Care – Form support networks around young moms and teens aging out
• Single Moms – Build software that provides social capital for the fatherless
• Absenteeism – Equip and strategize with fatherhood initiative leaders
• Atheism – Develop apologetics apps to help dads make disciples at home

Churches who agree that fatherhood matters should be engaged in providing related solutions in each of those spaces.  Jesus did not leave us as spiritual orphans – and His Church is intentionally designed to execute His plan to ensure none remain fatherless.

It’s Your Turn…

Do you agree that America’s continued cultural decline or spiritual revival hinges largely on how well dads do their jobs?  Does it raise a red flag when you consider how many ways secularism is at war with fatherhood, despite the risks for our children?