Pete Blodgett Reflects on Staff Training

This past week was our staff training for our summer interns. During these week long trainings, we cover topics ranging from the history of Chicago’s south side, to the state of education in neighborhoods like ours, to issues of poverty and homelessness. I’ve been a part of these trainings since 2002, my first summer serving as a summer counselor. Although I’ve sat through most of these sessions many times, there is always something new that I learn. We added a new session this year, although I have heard it a few times at other conferences. It was called “Ministry to the Fatherless,” taught by Pastor Danny Lopez. With so many of our kids living in homes without their fathers, it was an extremely relevant topic for us.

Pastor Lopez hit on the importance of a father in the life of a child, and the devastating effect of growing up fatherless. Doing a quick word search for “fatherless” in the Bible shows us that God has a heart for those growing up without fathers. In fact, “religion that is pure and undefiled before God” includes caring for orphans (James 1:27). So many of the issues our kids are dealing with and the negative behaviors that some exhibit are directly related to growing up without a father. Being a father myself has shown me the significance of a father’s relationship with his children, but I’m still learning how strong that connection is. But the little that I do know has changed the way I view the kids in my neighborhood. Although I can’t fully father our kids, I can play a part in filling that void. I can provide a father figure and be the support that they need. I can, in small parts, attempt to be a picture of their Heavenly Father and His love for them.

Pete Blodgett
Youth Pastor
Sunshine Gospel Ministries