My wife and I recently bought a home in North Carolina. It had been bank-owned for a number of years and was in a state of disrepair. The property has 10 beautiful acres of lush trees, a pond with hundreds of fish and plenty of room for our three four-legged kids to romp.  One thing our new property did not have was many birds.  And, we love birds.

Soon after we moved in, my wife put up many bird feeders around the home area.  Soon, the birds came. Flaming red Cardinals, Mocking Birds, Red-Tailed Hawks, hummers and itty-bitty birds that I have no clue as to their name.

Why did the birds suddenly “appear” on our property?  My wife drew them in by giving them something they needed: food.

The reason that many of our churches have no divorced or unwed dads in attendance is because they offer nothing to draw them in.

When a church takes a stab at holding a “divorced” class, and that class is taught by a man who has been happily married for 40 years, regardless of how sincere the teacher is, he cannot relate. Any attempt to relate is usually rebuffed and the divorced dad quietly leaves the church.

Think back for a minute about all the families you have known in your church who have gone through a divorce. Where is the dad?  Where is the mom?  She is most likely still in the church and the dad just quietly disappeared.

The divorce rate in America is over 50% and has been for many years. If this figure drops at all annually, it is only because more couples are choosing to not wed. 

No nation on earth has survived a 50% divorce rate for any length of time. Rome fell at this figure.

On any given week, some church is holding a marriage conference, where a facilitator who has been happily married for 40 years tries to impart on the participants how to “strengthen” their marriages and not fall prey to divorce or separation.

Where, I ask, are the seminars in our churches that minister to those whose marriage has failed?  Where are the churches in our country who are reaching out to these dads who number in the millions?  Sadly, they are hard to find.

I guess it is just easier to minister to “single mothers,” than it is to “divorced dads.”  This ought not to be so!

Schedule an ODADi seminar at your church today. Set up the bird feeder, give these dads a reason to come in from out in the cold!