#5 Why Church Attendance Matters for Fathers

In this episode, I discuss the significant impact that a father's attendance in church has on his family. I present various statistics that highlight how a father's involvement in church can lead to higher rates of church attendance among children. This conversation also touches on societal changes affecting family dynamics, including the rise of single parenthood and the implications of modern gender roles. I emphasize the need for men to take on leadership roles within their families and communities, advocating for a return to church attendance as a means of fostering spiritual growth and family unity.

Sources:
https://nickcady.org/2016/06/20/the-impact-on-kids-of-dads-faith-and-church-attendance/
https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/want-your-church-to-grow-then-bring-in-the-men/
https://promisekeepers.org/
https://www.focusonthefamily.com/
https://research.lifeway.com/
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2016/03/22/the-gender-gap-in-religion-around-the-world/

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Chapters

• 0:16 Intro and Context of the Discussion
• 7:05 The Impact of Fathers Attending Church
• 17:50 The Role of Fathers in Family Dynamics
• 21:42 Cultural Shifts and the Need for Male Leadership

Transcript

Welcome to episode five, folks. Happy New Year. I hope that everybody has set their intentions straight Episode five is going to be about the impact of a father's attendance in church on his family. So we will be exploring the impact and the effect that

a father's attendance in church has on his wife and his kids. But before we get into that, I want to mention a couple interesting things. is sort of random, but at the same time, it has meaning. So I'm not sure if you are all aware of a gentleman named Hough. So he is a biblical scholar and he is a PhD candidate.

And he recently debated dude by the name of Billy Carson. Now, Billy Carson is a self-proclaimed leading expert on the biblical text. He also claims that he is a world expert of forbidden knowledge and that gets into a bunch of wonky stuff like the Anunnaki, the great pyramids and

He claims that Jesus was an alien, just crazy stuff like that. So the two went head to head in a debate. And put it simply, and without being disrespectful, Billy Carson pretty much got spanked. Billy Carson had no comeback or any true evidence for the claims he was making during the debate. And

Wes Huff being the biblical scholar that he is, he was able to refute all of Billy Carson's points and actually make a few interesting points of his own. So anyways, this debate just, it up the internet. It gained a lot of traction, a lot of attention, and has

It has caused Wesley Huff to appear on the world's biggest podcasts such as Joe Rogan, Patrick Bette David. But the reason that I'm bringing this up is because there has clearly been an outpouring of God's spirit in these end days. And man of faith,

and a biblical scholar at that to appear on the world's biggest podcasts. And these podcasts aren't Christian podcasts. These are secular podcasts. For him to appear on these types of podcasts, it's really an indication that God is orchestrating these moments for times like these. And so, you know, these times obviously being the end times.

And the word is getting out there. I know that Joe Rogan, has struggled with his faith. think he started out as an atheist and then turned into agnostic. And I believe he's somewhere in the middle of agnostic and theist. So I think he's getting closer and closer closer into believing in God. Now, the reason that I'm just sharing this is because

Joe Rogan is undoubtedly the biggest podcast in the world. the word is getting out, Christians having their voice heard. And the fact that his podcast and other big podcasts such as his reaches millions and millions of people, that is just the perfect way

for the gospel to be spread. And as Christians, you know, we get excited about things like this because we want the gospel to be spread, especially during times like these. I mean, the world's just falling apart. Evil's everywhere. It's no longer covert. You're seeing a lot of wacky stuff going on lately.

And so the world is just in desperate need of truth. And this is why, you know, this moment is so important. So if you get a chance, to Joe Rogan's latest episodes. one of his most recent is that of Wesley Huff episode. when you get a chance.

watch that episode. It's truly eye-opening and Wesley Hough presented information that I'm not even privy to. So that was pretty interesting and I'm a Christian. So if it was interesting to me, I'm sure it'll be interesting to the casual listener. Definitely take some time and listen to the podcast for yourself and draw your own conclusions.

Point number two, I want to send my thoughts and prayers out city of Los Angeles as they deal with these crazy fires. If you've seen the news lately, if you've been on social media, you know that these wildfires are truly reaping havoc throughout the city of Los Angeles. These fires are...

spreading out at godly speeds and there's literally no control over these fires. And so in the name of Jesus, I just want to pray that the city of Los Angeles is in your hands. I pray families, the citizens of LA are safe. I pray that they overcome this time in history. I pray that their faith will not be shaken because they believe in the God of

Abraham Isaac and Jacob that will come through for them. So in Jesus name I rebuke fire and I pray that it is vanquished in the mighty name of Jesus by the blood of Jesus Amen So you guys really be there for? For the people of LA show your support if you have family in LA, make sure you call them check up on them Make sure they're doing good

but you guys were living in some crazy times. Stay safe out there, take care of each other, take care of yourself. But yes, blessed and continue to pray.

Let's get into episode five. So like I said, we'll be discussing now the impact that fathers have on their families if they simply attend church. Unfortunately, we know women attend church more frequently than men. So that's just a given. And while the following data is about women and men, fathers and mothers per se,

it's well documented how often fathers men and mothers are women. be looking at this data through a husband and wife lens, right? According to a 2016 Pew Research study, 53 % of US Christian women attend church weekly while only 46 % of men attend across

192 countries and territories, women are more likely than men to affiliate with Christianity and women are more likely than men to pray daily. And that came out of the gender gap in religion around the world Pew Research Center.

So let me just read that first line one more time. 53 % of US Christian women attend church weekly while only 46 % of men attend. So that number may seem close, but it's also staggering.

Now we need to make sure that we're getting men to church and I'll tell you why.

the impact of a dad's faith and practice on their families, it has a profound effect. And

According to data collected by Promise Keepers and Baptist Press, if a father does not go to church, even if his wife does, only one child in 50 will become a regular worshiper.

And another stat says if a father go regularly, regardless of what the mother does, between two thirds and three quarters of their children will attend church as adults. This third stat states if a father attends church irregularly, meaning they don't go consistently half and two thirds of their kids will attend with some

regularity as adults. And finally, if a mother does not go to church, but a father does, a minimum of two thirds of their children will end up attending church. But in contrast, if a father does not go to church, but the mother does, on average, two thirds of their children will not attend church.

So these stats here are just giving you the reality of a father's impact on their family if he simply attends church. It's also giving you sort of nuanced statistics when it brings in the mother and the children. I mean, there's just like we went over, if a mother goes to church, but if the father doesn't,

that tells you the effects on the family. If a father attends regularly versus him not attending regularly, that obviously gives a different type of impact on the family's faith and practice,

I also found some other interesting

Another survey found that if a child is the first person in a household to become a Christian, there is a 3.5 % probability else in the household will follow. So that's a start, right? a child is the first person in a household to become a Christian, there's

a 3 % probability everybody else in that household will follow. So let's just continue. If the mother is the first to become a Christian, there is a 17 % probability everyone else in the household will follow. However, when the father is first, there is a 93 % probability everyone else in the household will follow. Now, why is this?

I've wondered myself as I was reading this data, but I truly believe that the man holds a lot of value in society God designed it that way.

when created Adam, he created Adam with a purpose and he made Adam in charge of his surroundings, fields, garden, the animals around him. And he put purpose on Adam's life just from the very start.

God knew that Adam being alone was not good. So God put Adam into a deep sleep. He made Eve out of Adam's rib. And he then deemed that dynamic, that covenant to be good.

How does this relate to what I just read? It's because were first, And men have been given this responsibility of of masculine sacrifice, just being there for others.

doing things for others, helping, attending to others.

Because of this, it makes sense that a man holds a lot of gravity and world needs sacrificial masculinity. It's putting the needs you have for yourself set to the side, but it's also helping those that need your help. So it's putting your own needs aside to help those who really need that.

So there's a profound effect when a man is truly in his community when he leads, other people follow become leaders themselves. So this is the effect that a man has on his wife and on his family when he is in his purpose and his true essence.

So as the leader of the home, as the leaders of his family, his wife, as the spiritual leader warrior of the home, he is the one that leads his family, the one that makes his family comfortable, the one that makes his family happy. And this is why we need to get men to church because

if man is first to become Christian, then 93 % of the time, everyone else in the household will follow. So there's a specific ordained responsibility that God has given men for times like these. I back this up with scripture. Deuteronomy chapter six, six through nine.

States and these words that I command you today Shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk to them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise you shall them as a sign on your hand and they shall be frontlets

between your eyes, you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." For some context, the Israelites were commanded to constantly reflect on God's covenant laws to diligently teach them to their children and to share them to the entire community.

So scripture backs this up. I'm not just reading you stats and data to fit the narrative I'm trying to push. That's not what I'm doing. scripture that backs this up. This idea being a spiritual leader in the church and in your community and sharing this information with your family, with your children, with your wife. And this is all to honor

and love God. This is why God has designed it this way.

This is the true design and I want to read you Proverbs chapter 22 verse 6. states, up a child in the way he should go. Even when he is old, he will not depart from it. That's one of my favorite verses as I'm constantly applying it every day now. But it's so true. If we're truly teaching a child the way that they should go, then they won't really have a choice.

to depart from it. Even if they do, if they sin, if the world gets to them for a time, if they stray away, they might for a short period of time, but they will eventually come back, just like the prodigal son. So it's very, very important that we as fathers, even as mothers, we train up our the way

they should go. That's teaching them scripture, that is showing them examples. It's showing them positive biblical examples. It's attending church. It's reading your Bible. It's worshiping. It's praying. It's fasting. It's joining small groups. It's making friends with the congregation, with your brothers and sisters.

It's leading by example. And having a father in the home makes these things much more attainable. So as the Christian, you want to follow these concepts. What I've been noticing is there's been a very high rate of single parents. Now,

I have my theories about this. So number one divorce. Obviously the divorce rate is 50 % I spoke about this in my last episode and the last episode was about marriage and live and apply a healthy marriage. So if you haven't had the chance, go back and listen to episode four.

It has a lot of good information about what a covenantal marriage means and how it reflects Jesus's relationship with the church. this episode is just a natural segue.

People are just, they're living godless lives. not applying what the Bible and scripture teach. They haven't given their lives to Jesus. And so this is why I believe the divorce rate is where it's at. number two, I believe that social changes are also a factor.

What do I mean by this? Societal shifts toward gender equality and women's economic independence have enabled more women choose single parenthood.

I might just make another episode about this, but this is referring to stuff like and fourth wave arguments out there that third and fourth wave feminism is actually counterintuitive the nuclear family. There's arguments that it's toxic, I might even make an episode about that.

So stay tuned for that. need to think that episode and how I would approach it. But this is just saying that today's society, we have shifted toward a me mindset. It's no longer about community. It's no longer about family. For the most part, it's no longer about finding the right person.

frankly, it's no longer about marriage. It's just about me, and I. So this is what I'm trying to say about that. There's just been a push for greater gender equality. And if, if you don't need man or a woman in your life, if you truly believe that because you're pursuing

you know, your your own self gain and you're you're pursuing a career of lots and lots of money. Of course, you're you're going to you're going to realize that you don't need a partner. But that's just a lie. The devil is a liar. He is the author of confusion. And that is totally against God's design. It was never God's intention to

creates conditions where man and women would be alone. Like I few minutes ago, when God saw that Adam was alone, he deemed this to be a bad thing. So this is what I'm trying to say. not saying that making good amount of money is bad. That's not what I'm saying, but it's the love for money is the root of all evil. And so I feel like we get wrapped up or this, this

current culture is wrapped up in the love for money. And that is what's them from the truth.

So those are my thoughts about topic. Drop a comment, let me know what you think.

Do you feel like man's presence in church does make a difference? Do you think that we need more men to attend church? you think families suffering from church attendance because the men are simply not attending church? So what are your thoughts? Drop a comment in the below.

me know what your thoughts are, send us a text, reach out. I love to know what your opinion is on this, data's out there, the stats there. I read you only a few, there's actually more on this, I'm just curious what your thoughts are. I believe that men need to step up. I think that

Men need to start going back to church and actual leaders in their community. I don't think a woman should ever have to do this by herself. I don't think that even in a married situation, I don't believe that wives should attend church by themselves. They need to be accompanied husband.

obviously, is just the way that it's supposed to happen. That's the way that it's been designed to happen. start thinking about men really started going back to church,

How would the world change? How much more would the world change? Would the community change? Would society and culture change? So that's actually very interesting to think about. But the stats are out there, the data's there. me know what you think. Thank you for listening. And until next time, take care of yourself and take care of each other.