The Challenge of the 21st Century

The epidemic breakdown
of marriages and families is producing
seismic repercussions in America i
n culture:


  • 60% of American rapists grew up in homes without fathers

  • 72% of adolescent murderers grew up without fathers

  • 70% of the juveniles in state reform institutions grew up in single or no parent situations

  • 3 out of 4 teenage suicides occur in households where a parent has been absent

  • Children who exhibit violent misbehavior are 11 times as likely not to live with their fathers

  • The likelihood that a young male will engage in criminal activity doubles if he is raised without a father

  • One study found that only 4% of teenage girls feel they could go to their fathers to talk about a serious problem

  • Seventh and eighth graders spend an average of 7.5 minutes a week in focused conversations with their fathers (an average of one minute and 4 seconds per day)

  • In a study examining father-son relationships, only 15% of the sons had healthy relationships with their fathers. 85% of the fathers were physically absent, emotionally absent, or emotionally abusive

  • When teens under stress were asked where they turn to for help in a crisis, dads were 48th on the list

The church's efforts to counter the large-scale breakdown of the home are failing.