Over the last two weeks, we’ve focused primarily on how God has called us to reach into our own community to reach the fatherless, but Acts 1:8 doesn’t stop at our doorstep. In fact, it reaches far beyond. Christ commanded His disciples to go not only to Jerusalem but also to Judea and Samaria: The regions directly surrounding them.
Billings certainly has its needs, but what about the area around us? What about the rest of the state? What about the states around us? And what about our nation as a whole?
In Montana, we have an enormous problem. Meth and Heroine use has grown astronomically. The number of children in Foster Care has gone from 1,746 in 2011 to 3,454 in January of 2017. That’s nearly double. Of those cases, 65% are drug related.
According to the 2012 census, approximately 41% of children nationwide are born into fatherless homes. It isn’t hard to find statistics on the results of fatherlessness. Simple Google searches such as “fatherless statistics,” “the fatherless epidemic,” and “number of children in foster care” instantly bring up long lists of statistics. Like:
- This page from The Fatherless Generation
- This page from Fatherhoodfactor.com
- Or this page from The National Center For Fathering
But a danger exists in seeing the problem only statistically. Humanity is lost in numbers. The reality that each of these numbers represents not a statistic but a child disappears in percent signs and ratios. In truth, these children are real. They are souls. Many of them are living nightmares such as most of us could never imagine. Their futures look bleak, but God has provided a solution:
You and Me.
As an individual, I can never reach all of these places. But you can reach the children in your corner and I can reach the children in mine. That is why we feel it is so important for Forbid Them Not to reach beyond our doorstep to help others reach the children in their sphere. Because of this we have a desire to walk alongside of churches and individuals around the state, region, and our nation to see others fulfill this command of Christ.
How can we do this? Through providing:
- Encouragement
- Insight
- Training
- Resources, and
- Prayer
Forbid Them Not wants to be there to help as others catch the vision for the fatherless in their community.
So where do you come into this equation? Each person reading this can play one of two parts:
- Get involved in your community.
- Support FTN in supporting others.
It’s that simple. If you’d like to find out more about how you can get started where you are please contact us at rmiller @ forbidthemnot (dot) com or 406-208-7332. Follow this link if you’d like to have a part of supporting our ministry to walk alongside of others who are reaching out to the fatherless. Click here to be a part of this year’s Green Bean Project. Be sure to subscribe for more information.
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