SPEAKING MINISTRY: LIBERTY AG IN GIRARD OHIO- JUL 2021
This past Father’s Day weekend, I had the privilege of speaking at Liberty Assembly in Girard, Ohio. It was a great weekend of ministry. We traveled up on Saturday, and that evening, the men’s ministry of the church met together for food, fellowship, cornhole and to hear me share my testimony. I shared what the Lord has done in my life as well as seven specific lessons that I have learned in my own struggle with sin. I emphasized the need to live in the light, have solid accountability and deal with the areas of our hearts that we like to keep hidden. It was a great night, and I believe the Lord was really speaking to some of the men in the meeting.
The following morning, I preached their Sunday morning service. With it being Father’s Day weekend, I really prayed about what the Lord would have me share. He gave me a message called, “Fathering a Fatherless Generation.” I shared some startling statistics about the effects of fatherlessness in the lives of children. Then I shared practical ways that the church can step in to help solve the issue of fatherlessness through mentoring and especially through the foster care system and adoption process. I shared about men who have been father figures to me in my spiritual life. So many people do not have someone to pour into them, and the church can take that opportunity to become spiritual mothers and fathers to the next generation. I also talked about our fostering journey and the blessing of being able to physically take children into our home who have a temporary need for a family.
The Lord reveals His heart for the fatherless through Psalm 68:
5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling.
6 God sets the lonely in families,
he leads out the prisoners with singing;
but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
With the opioid crisis and fatherlessness at such a high level, the church has a wonderful opportunity to step in and help to redeem this broken area of our society. But it takes an intentional effort, and a willingness to step out of our comfort zones and into the lives of people around us. I pray we answer the call to reflect the heart of God to this generation. Thanks to all who are praying and financially supporting Make Way Ministries. We are always grateful for an opportunity to encourage and challenge the church.
DUSTIN RENZ is the President of Make Way Ministries, a non-profit organization that exists to see the world changed one Christian at a time. He has a passion to see the Body of Christ find rich intimacy in their relationship with Jesus and step out in faith to share the Gospel with the world around them. He is the author of Pile of Masks: Exposing Christian Hypocrisy and Something Better. He resides in Dayton, Ohio with his wife and three daughters.
