It’s almost Father’s Day — do you know where your dad is?
About 24 million children in the United States — one in three — don’t. They have an absent father, according to information from the National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI).
But at Sav-a-Life Vestavia, Russell Worrell and his Fatherhood Ministry are aiming to change those statistics.
In 2010, Worrell, the fatherhood ministry coordinator at Sav-a-Life, received a grant to begin an extensive ministry to educate both new and experienced dads.
Using the Bible and literature from NFI, he leads classes ranging from four to six weeks about everything from how to take a child’s temperature to how to control a hot temper and medical facts on sexually transmitted diseases and shaken baby syndrome to courses on marriage and parenting responsibilities.
“We work from a stance that there’s a crisis in fatherhood,” Worrell said.
Father absenteeism can lead to increased rates of crime, poverty, drug abuse and health and behavioral problems among the children left behind, NFI reports. Worrell added that these rates lead to increased jail populations and government spending for remediation programs.
“We as a society pay literally billions of dollars for father absence,” he said.
In 2010, 170 dads graduated from the Fatherhood Ministry and from January to May this year, it has seen 102 more dads complete fatherhood training, Worrell said.
The ministry includes a program called Dr. Dad, a four-week course that teaches fathers about infant care, and 24/7 Dad, an introspective six-week course on a father’s role with lessons on communication and co-parenting.
It also provides one-on-one counseling, a five-week marriage course called Why Knot, a Dad’s Night Out every Thursday and a variety of workshops in which course material is condensed into intense one-day seminars.
Like many of the fathers who come to his classes, Worrell grew up without a dad, and despite numerous father figures and a supportive grandfather, he still feels the hole his father left in his life.
The absence of a father makes it difficult for new dads to raise their children, said Worrell, who has three sons.
He said the ministry has made him more thoughtful and intentional in his time with his children, especially when it comes to discipline.
In his classes, Worrell teaches that discipline is about discipleship, not punishment.
But an absent father can make some men less trusting toward their heavenly Father, he noted.
“The fact that God revealed Himself as a Father — there’s a profound impact in that,” Worrell said.
Scott Jones participated in the ministry and moderates the fatherhood program at The Foundry Rescue Mission and Recovery Center in Bessemer. Jones said the Foundry program is “helping guys knock off the rough edges, smooth things out and be better fathers.”
He added that fatherhood training helps mothers by allowing them to share parenting responsibilities — when anyone plays both parenting roles, it can be a strain on both the parent and the child.
Jones stressed that fatherhood classes aren’t for “bad dads” or absentee dads but those who want practical advice for having more fulfilling relationships with their children.
“This isn’t saying you’re a bad father or that you’re broken,” he said. “This is a tool.”
It’s a tool Jones recommended to his 21-year-old son. He attended Fatherhood Ministry classes, and Worrell’s one-day seminar in child care helped him realize the responsibility of fatherhood and reconsider some of his habits, Jones said.
“He didn’t understand the work aspect of being a father,” Jones added.
Though his son is an adult, Jones is still learning fatherhood lessons, like how to control his temper, and passing them on.
Some of the seminars have been offered at Canaan Baptist Church, Bessemer, and plans are to work with more churches and associations.
For more information, contact Worrell at 205-979-0302 or russellworrell@savalife.org.
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