The Power Of The Gospel

The Power of the Gospel

All children need a father to coach them in life. Dads instill wisdom, discipline, accountability, and unconditional love in their children. This is the fundamental job of a father. At least it should be. But there has been a shift taking place in the American family since the emergence of “no-fault divorce.” The great ideal that the family unit is the bedrock of the nation seems to have gone the way of wired telephones. As our culture evolves, we have fewer children than ever going to bed under the roof of two parents, and fewer dads who are intentionally coaching their children well.

In some pockets of our nation, we now have an entire generation of young men growing up without a father. The problem is that many of these young men end up in gangs because that is where they find the community, acceptance, and leadership they long for.

This is the story of Rick Vasquez, who serves on my church staff. Rick’s father wasn’t around much as he was growing up, so Rick didn’t really know how to be a man. He entered a life of crime and was eventually sentenced to prison. Rick has great leadership gifts, and the gang leaders in prison recognized that. So they brought him in as a gang leader.

It wasn’t until Rick was in solitary confinement that he came to know Jesus Christ.^a Today he is sharing the gospel with whomever will listen to him. Rick now returns to the prisons to share his story with men who are incarcerated. He lives out Romans 1:16: “I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.” You see, the gospel does what dads can’t. Let’s get the gospel to this fatherless generation!

I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.

Romans 1:16