Turning the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers (Malachi 4:6) … to make ready a people prepared for the Lord (Luke 1:17).
Early one Saturday morning, over a decade ago, a group of hopeful, but not particularly expectant, volunteers gathered within the walls of a small Baptist church in a suburb of Chester. They stood in a huddle and prayed that God would bring to their building the fathers and children from the streets surrounding it, and then they opened the doors and waited. First came one father and his excited children. Then another came, and another, and within half an hour the church was echoing with the sounds of children playing and men chatting about cars and football and their kids.
Gallons of tea were drunk and the grill went into overdrive to keep up with the demand for bacon butties. That morning, 20 dads and their children took part in the first ever Who Let The Dads Out? parent and toddler session at Hoole Baptist Church.
From these humble beginnings, Who Let The Dads Out? has become a national ministry that encourages churches across all denominations to find a new heart to reach out to fathers in their communities with a vision to strengthen families, invigorate communities and see faith passed on from generation to generation.
The Who Let The Dads Out? ministry inspires, resources and supports churches by providing a simple model for engaging with young dads and father figures early in their parenting journey, and ideas and resources to develop friendships, journey together and begin to explore faith issues. Well over 100 churches across the UK and beyond have been duly inspired to set up a Who Let The Dads Out? group and to become part of this growing movement.
How to find out more …
Details of how to start a Who Let The Dads Out? group, a listing of all registered groups and information on all the available resources are at
www.wholetthedadsout.org.uk
Alternatively contact Mark Chester on
mark.chester@brf.org.uk or Tony Sharp on
tony.sharp@brf.org.uk