Father’s Day is just around the corner on June 15th! It’s a day to honor dads and celebrate their essential and irreplaceable part in the family. Sadly though, according to a 2019 Pew Research study, single moms lead 80% of homes in the US. According to the National Center for Fathering and The Fatherless Generation, this statistic translates to 25 million children living without their biological father! The harsh reality is that we are experiencing an epidemic crisis of fatherlessness in America!
This crisis of fatherlessness should not be surprising, as our culture has abandoned God’s creation mandate for the family (Genesis 1:27-28) and forsaken His Word in life and practice. We have sanitized the trauma of abortion by renaming it reproductive health care, calling the baby just an intrusive clump of cells.
These young men have swallowed the lie that they have no right to speak to their pregnant partners about choosing life or death for their unborn children. However, nothing can be further from the truth!
A study conducted by Care-Net found that the man is the number one influencer of a woman deciding whether or not to pursue an abortion! A large number of these young fathers (many of whom have not grown up with a father in the home) accompany their partners to their appointments at Soundview Pregnancy Services, believing that the choice to abort is their partner’s choice alone. Some come in determined that removing the “clump of cells” will eliminate the problem. Thankfully, some of these men are excited to be fathers but need practical life coaching. These men need another veteran father to come alongside them to share the blessings that come with being a father at that critical moment. This support empowers them to advocate for the lives of their children.
This is where our team of men who serve as Next Steps 4 Men (NS4M) Dadvocates come in. Our goal is to have one of our Dadvocates present in each Soundview location, whenever there are appointments scheduled to meet with these men when they arrive. As we meet with these men, we show compassionate care and concern for them as individuals and seek opportunities to introduce them to Jesus.
All of this happens in a time span of 30-45 minutes, prior to him being invited into the examination room to view the sonogram of their child. The good news is that for the men who may be inclined to abortion, the sight of their living and active baby on the screen is truly a life-changer! At that point, our Dadvocates offer them the help they need as they prepare for the arrival of their child. It has been an exciting and rewarding opportunity.
While we currently have four Dadvocates on our team, our availability is limited by our work schedules. Over the 6+ years that NS4M has existed, we’ve realized that the best candidate are retired fathers who have a heart for saving the unborn by becoming Dadvocates through this important arm of the ministry at Soundview Pregnancy Services. If you are a father who can devote a few hours to being trained to be a Dadvocate, I’d love to meet with you! We offer comprehensive training and appointment shadowing to prepare you for our ministry. Please reach out to us, via email Info@soundviewpregnancy.com or by phone 631-676-7990 for more information!
Dave Huizing, Soundview Board Member & Dadvocate