According to Fatherhood.org, one out of every three children in the US live in “biological father-absent” homes.
Children in father-absent homes are almost four times more likely to be poor.
71% of high school dropouts are fatherless.
85-90% of youth in juvenile detention are fatherless.
According to 72.2% of the US population, fatherlessness is the most significant family or social problem facing America. (National Center for Fathering poll)
Here is what we are doing in a small way to make an impact. Our High Impact Teen youth outreach ministry visits teens in juvenile detention centers across Tennessee, Georgia and Indiana. We spend time with youth who are disconnected from their fathers.
We visit them, we do Bible studies with them and we pray with them.
During this “Father’s Day Week” we are providing a special Father’s Day card for several hundred of these youth to send to their dad. For those who have lost all connection to their dad, they will be sending the card to a “father figure” who has deeply impacted their life such as a grandfather, teacher, pastor, coach, mentor, etc…
We are asking our friends to join us this “father’s day week” in the DAD Project. Here’s how you can help:
1. Take a moment each day from now through Sunday to pray for the fatherless among us. Pray especially for those who are sending theses cards and pray for the men who receive the to be moved to re-engage with their teen.
2. Share this page via email, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN or any other social media platform asking your friends to commit to pray once per day through this Sunday for the fatherless. Share the photo of the DAD Project.
3. Prayerfully ask God how you might connect with a fatherless young person. James 1:27 charges believers to engage with the fatherless. Here are the specific words of Jesus, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
4. Consider a donation to help with this project. The ministry of High Impact Teens is a ministry to the fatherless. We are supported by individuals and churches who believe that a deep investment in the fatherless among us is a priority that Jesus called us to do.
The DAD Project: James 1:27
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Give $127.00
Give $1270.00
Give any amount.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015 – DAY ONE OF THE DAD PROJECT
Pray for Dads who have a strained relationship with a son or daughter. Pray for God to heal and restore.
Thursday, June 18, 2015 – DAY TWO OF THE DAD PROJECT
Pray for several hundred youth today that will be mailing a father’s day card from the juvenile detention facilities in Tennessee, Indiana and Georgia. High Impact Teens provided the cards and in some cases the postage. Teens who don’t have a father will be sending their card to a grandfather, uncle, mentor, pastor, teacher, etc… Pray that God will use this connection to forge stronger bonds between youth and their father or father/figure.
Friday, June 19, 2015 – DAY THREE OF THE DAD PROJECT
Pray for children and adults who have been hurt by their dads. Pray for them to turn to God for healing from pain, bitterness and discouragement. Pray for them to begin to understand who God is as a Heavenly Father and understand His love for His children. He is a Father to the fatherless.
Saturday, June 20, 2015 – DAY FOUR OF THE DAD PROJECT
Pray for men who are struggling to lead and protect their family. Pray for them to find courage and become courageous men of God who will stand in the gap for the spiritual, physical and emotional care of their families. Pray for God to connect them to Himself and one other man to be accountable to.
Sunday, June 21, 2015 – DAY FIVE OF THE DAD PROJECT
Pray to God today, thanking Him for being a loving heavenly father. Ask Him to work miracles today in the hearts of dads and children to reconnect and start a new foundation of love and trust. Be sure to thank Him today for your own family. Also, ask Him how you might invest in a fatherless child moving forward.
Jim and Jan met in college and got married after graduation. They had a couple of kids and eventually were introduced to a growing church in their community through some friends they met through their kids soccer team. Neither Jim nor Jan grew up in church but they were beginning to grow more curious about it and knew they wanted to raise their kids with strong values. After attending their friend’s church for a while they grew to understand the meaning of a personal relationship with Christ and both of them eventually accepted Christ and began to grow as new Christians. It wasn’t long before they were introduced to the concept of “ministry involvement.” People would ask, “Have you found a ministry yet in the church? What ministries are you guys interested in here at the church? Hey, you guys know that we need lots of help here in several ministries at the church!” So they went on a quest to learn about all the “ministry needs” in the church and picked one.
Fast forward a few years and catch up with Jim and Jan… the faithful church attending Christian couple who have been integrated into the church for several years now. They have a nice home in a safe neighborhood, they have some good friends with kids the same age as their own with similar values, and they have faithfully served in various ministries in the church. But something seems to be missing. They have created a safe haven for themselves and their family but they sometimes just feel so worn out running back and forth doing so many things at church in the name of ministry. And there’s another problem… they long to be connected to something meaningful. They can’t put their finger on it but there is an unrest and they dream of being able to do something that would be impactful, something that would be life-changing, something that feels really fulfilling and looks like things they read about in the Bible.
Sound familiar? Now, I’m not knocking the genuine needs for workers to function in many ministries within the church. I’ve been in full-time ministry myself since way back in the late 80’s. After all, I did a quick web search and found a long list of ministries listed on a few church websites. Each one of these ministries need workers.
Here are a few ministry opportunities that were listed on just a few church websites…
Welcome ministry, Worship ministry, Children’s ministry, Youth ministry, Usher ministry, Greeter ministry, Cleaning the church ministry, Set up crew ministry, Men’s ministry, Women’s ministry, Prayer ministry, Bus ministry, Kitchen team ministry, Counting the money ministry, Grounds crew ministry, Visitation ministry, Sunday school teacher/helper ministry, Nursery ministry, Deacon ministry, Choir, Orchestra, Singles ministry, Couples ministry, Senior saints ministry, College ministry, Small group ministry… well, you get the picture.
Here’s a thought, “What would happen if every Christian found a way to to have DEEP MINISTRY IMPACT in their community while still meeting the needs of their local church?” I don’t think it is an issue of serving in the church OR serving in the community… I think we need to make room for both.
Most of my readers know that I spent about two decades in church youth ministry and a few years ago God led me to begin a youth outreach ministry to unchurched youth. If you aren’t familiar with the story about how God redirected my ministry you can listen to an interview I did with Wayne Shepherd here https://kenturnerministries.org/radio-interview-first-person-wayne-shepherd/ on Moody Radio or read more about it here. https://kenturnerministries.org/a-window-into-juvenile-detention-ministry/
Here are a few rewards I have experienced by opening up to ministry outside the church:
My Christian Life Has Been Rejuvenated. Ephesians 2:5 mentions how we are “quickened” or made alive as a result of our salvation. By ministering to those who don’t know Christ, I find great excitement in talking to them about who He is and how He has changed my life.
There’s Not A Lot Of Competition. You will notice an unusual phenomenon in the church… sometimes several Christians are competing for ministry opportunities. “When will I get asked to sing, teach, lead, chair a committee, serve as a deacon, plan an important event…” Sometimes these thoughts literally steel all the joy from our Christian life! But there are so many needs outside the church and there’s room for many more people to connect and serve.
It Feels Like I’m Doing What Jesus Was Talking About. James 1:27 says it plainly that pure religion, or could we say authentic faith, looks more like this… visiting the fatherless and widows in their time of need and keeping ourselves unstained from the world. There’s something very rewarding about knowing we are lined up with Jesus priorities of ministry.
It Brings New Purpose To My Spiritual Growth. When you are talking with people regularly who don’t know much if anything about God or His word you are forced to answer their questions. Questions like, “If God really loves me then why is this happening in my life? If He is really real then how do you explain this? Can you tell me what God is really like? How has He changed your life? Why do you believe in Him?” Now, don’t let the questions scare you… I’ve found people really want honest answers but they don’t expect us to have ALL the answers all figured out. They just want honesty in a Christian friend who really cares about them.
It Makes Service Within The Church More Meaningful. I promise you that you will sing with more joy in the church choir, you will bring greater enthusiasm to your role as a greeter, you will greet all your duties within the church with more heart if you are serving Him outside the church in a meaningful ministry.
Give me your feedback. What have been some of your greatest experiences in finding fulfilling ways to do ministry for the Lord? I’d enjoy your feedback in the comments section of this article. Like and share it to invite others into the conversation!
Join us Monday night March 10 and Monday night March 17 from 6:00-7:15 PM for a special session for parents of teens.
Are you struggling to teach your teenager “right from wrong?” Are you feeling the pressures of friends, neighbors, media and society to be permissive, give your teen more space and give in when your heart tells you that you need to be more engaged as a parent in your teenager’s moral and spiritual character development.
Come join us for an open, honest look at a Biblical approach to parenting your teenager. Come find the courage you need to teach your teenager “right from wrong.”
If you played in the NFL and won a Super Bowl… then coached in the NFL and won a Super Bowl… then became a best selling author and NFL TV analyst among many other successes… how would you define the happiest moment of your life? While working as a co-author on the book “The Jersey Effect”, I had the opportunity to ask Tony Dungy the question, “What was one of the happiest moments of your life?” And for the next four minutes he answered. The answer he gave me had a lot less to do with football, success, money or fame.
It was revealing and it might help you understand why you are happy today… or why you are not. Listen here:
By the way, if you haven’t read “The Jersey Effect”, click here to get your copy. For a $15 suggested donation I will send you one… shipping included (inside the USA).
Ken Turner
Ken Turner Ministries
PO Box 1325
Dayton, TN 37321 kenturner@highimpactteens.org
Learn more at http://jerseyeffect.org[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
You can make a difference that will last for eternity by giving to bring the gospel to hundreds of youth.
90% of the youth we serve are fatherless.
70% of youth in juvenile detention have committed “crimes of survival” meaning they are in trouble for choosing to do something to help them survive. Things such as stealing food because they are hungry or skipping school to try to support their family in poverty are common.
Over 300 teens have accepted Christ as Savior since our ministry started.
Your gift will fund a gift of a student Bible and my spiritual journal which teaches teens how engage with God through His word and really develop a personal relationship with Him. Our goal is to provide the gospel to 29 youth facilities in Tennessee and in Indiana.
$15 provides 1 Bible and 1 Spiritual Journal.
$75 provides 5 teens with a Bible and Spiritual Journal.
$150 provides for 10 teens, $300 provides for 20 teens, $1500 funds an entire detention facility of 100 youth! Click here to make your tax deductible gift today. Click here to set up a monthly donation to provide the gospel month after month to fatherless youth and become a part of our ministry support team!
Last week I had the opportunity to take a trip to French Camp, Mississippi to speak to the students at French Camp Academy. This was my second trip in about six months to be with these amazing people. I first learned of French Camp Academy by plopping down at a breakfast table while attending a ministry conference last winter and meeting Todd Marion. We were all focused on our stomachs and talking around the table about who we are, where we are from and what we do. Todd asked me what I do in Tennessee and I told him I work with high-risk and fatherless youth. We talked briefly about teens and Todd said, “You would love our place and you should come visit.” I asked him what kind of place he was talking about and he went on to tell me about French Camp Academy, a Christian boarding school tucked away in this little town of French Camp, Mississippi. The boarding school ministry has been there since 1885! Following that conversation was an invitation to come speak in chapel at the school last spring and another invitation to come back last week to speak in the Wednesday evening service and Thursday morning chapel. I was able to bring a good friend with me on this trip to share the ministry with him. Hoss Johnson lives up to his name because he’s a “Hoss” of a guy who played football at Alabama from ’82-’86 and had a short NFL career. Just five weeks ago Hoss left his job to go in to full-time sports ministry. Hoss shared his heart with these students and how God has worked in his life through the unfortunate death of his wife ten years ago and how God has been so faithful as he raised his son and daughter as a single dad.
My time at French Camp was amazing and refreshing. If you can imagine immersing yourself in a ministry surrounded by hundreds of students who are coming from extremely difficult family situations. Some of them can’t go home… it’s just not possible because home has become French Camp. Not all students that attend French Camp Academy come from broken homes but the heart and purpose of their existence is to glorify God and impact young people while providing a safe, stable, Christ centered place to heal and grow.
Here are some things I observed while being immersed in the ministry of 200-300 students and staff at the French Camp Academy Boarding School.
God is good. I can only imagine the turmoil that could overtake a child’s emotions when the family falls apart but yet there is incredible hope in that God is good and He provided a new place and new people to provide love and care. One student told me with a huge smile that God is really good and he feels so incredibly blessed that God provided this family for him. Have you noticed that God often replaces things you’ve lost in life with something new? Have you thanked Him lately for that?
There is a tremendous joy in serving. The staff that serve the youth at French Camp have a joyful spirit… there is a sense of value in what they are investing in with their life and it shows. Have you noticed that when you invest in others, there is a renewed spirit of joy?
The harder things bring the greater rewards. I noticed the staff working long hours, the house parents that have chosen to live with 10-15 teenagers and be “mom and dad” and I imagined by interacting with the high-quality people that lead this ministry that they have made financial sacrifices to be there but they didn’t ever mention anything about sacrifice. There was much more of a spirit of reward. It struck me that there are great rewards that come in doing the hard things. Have you considered the rewards that are coming from something hard you are doing right now? Is there something you feel God leading you to do but you are holding back because it looks really hard?
I’d love to get hear from you. Take a minute and answer one of these questions. Your comments could have a big impact on our readers.
What have you lost but seen God replace in your life? Where have you served and found great joy in doing it? What hard thing do you feel you need to start and what is holding you back?
According to Fatherhood.org, one out of every three children in the US live in “biological father-absent” homes.
