The Influence of a Biblical Fatherhood Programme on Faith Communities: A Community Engagement Strategy.

This paper emphasises the significance of fatherhood, specifically the Fatherhood of God, and the experiential reality of faith communities as a viable framework for theology and public life. Numerous faith communities in South Africa contend with challenges such as poverty, unemployment, financial difficulties, alcoholism, occultism, Satanism and familial issues, including gender-based violence, father absence, fatherlessness and single parenthood. An intervention that encompasses training and the provision of resources for fathers is necessary and imperative. Faith communities took action on the demand for a biblical fatherhood initiative. Human fatherhood warrants recognition and serious contemplation, as it provides a foreshadowing of the nature of God the Father. Contemporary fatherhood is a facet of fractured families and arguably the most perilous aspect globally. The study reported on in this paper aims to mitigate the social and destructive problem of father absence by implementing a biblical fatherhood programme. The programme has a biblical nature aimed at addressing social issues in faith communities. The programme was developed from a practical theological study of fatherhood, primarily aimed at training and equipping participants with knowledge about fatherhood through community engagement.