Helping churches help fathers

For churches

If you are interested in using Fathers Matter in your church, there are a number of steps you can take.

We are looking forward to being part of your journey as you become part of the movement to restore the positive, active presence of men in children's lives.

How Heartlines can help

We can encourage leaders about the benefits of Fathers Matter in your church
We can provide training for leaders and congregants
We can help you spark conversations
We can help you roll out Fathers Matter in your church
We can provide ongoing support to you, your church and individual fathers through our Fathers Matter WhatsApp Coach

Contact a Fathers Matter rep in your area

HOW TO RUN FATHERS MATTER IN YOUR CHURCH

Step 1

Introduce Fathers Matter

Introduce Fathers Matter to your church leaders and invite them to a
Fathers Matter event that you run at your church. To do this, you can:

Show one of the Fathers Matter films
Show the Fathers Matter promo video
Preach a sermon on Fathers Matter (these will be uploaded soon, please contact our team if you need them before then)

Step 2

Train and equip your leaders

Heartlines can provide a regional rep to assist with the training. Contact our team to find out who is available in your area.

Contact the Heartlines team

Step 3

Roll out Fathers Matter in your church

1. Read through the Fathers Matter Church booklet.

2. Plan to show the films in your church or community.

You can do this with particular groups (youth, women, men, Bible study groups).

Or, you could create a larger event where you show the films.

To help facilitate discussions after you have watched the films, we have film discussion guides available to download for free:

3. Decide what type of events you want to run

You could host a watch party, workshop, Father's Day event, hiking, family day, etc. See the Fathers Matter Church booklet for more ideas.

What's next?

1. Get support for ongoing change

The Fathers Matter Coach is a great way for fathers and men in your church to get regular advice and encouragement. To sign up, WhatsApp 'Hi' to 060 058 2107 or click here and message 'Hi'.

You can also sign up for the Fathers Matter newsletter at the bottom of this page to get monthly updates and insightful content about encouraging men to be active, positive and present in children's lives.

2. Run Fathers Matter Connect Groups

You might want to take conversations around positive fatherhood to your small group or connect group. Even if you don’t yet have a small group, our resources offer advice on how to start a connect group. Find out more about Fathers Matter Connect Groups here.

3. Use one of our discussion guides

These discussion starters include a link to a short video and some questions to help men grow in their fatherhood journey. Find out more on our discussion starters page.

Discussion starters

Discussion Starter: Active, present fatherhood

This discussion starter explores what it means to be a present and active father. We use stories from real people about their own experiences of fatherhood to get the conversation going.

Discussion Starter: How do boys become men?

"There's a lot of undoing from our upbringing and culture we have to be aware of" – Asanda Sibanyoni. This is one of the statements we use as a conversation starter in this mini-guide for groups to explore.

Discussion Starter: 'Fatherhood' movie

Being a father can be very challenging. It's important that we celebrate all the small victories along the way. This discussion starter has prompts to help guide fathers in conversations about their own experiences of fatherhood.

4. Run Fathers Matter events in your church or community

The Fathers Matter Church booklet has lots of great ideas that you can use as inspiration to help encourage the positive, active presence of men in children's lives in your community.

Browse all our Fathers Matter resources for churches

Fathers Matter Church Booklet

The Fathers Matter Church Booklet gives and overview of how churches can partner with Heartlines to encourage the active, positive presence of men in children's lives. It also includes ideas for Fathers Matter events that can be run in churches and communities.

Heartlines Fathers Matter Films Youth Discussion Guide Cover

Films Discussion Guide for Christian Youth and Young Adults

This discussion guide has been designed for Christian youth and young adult small groups and includes questions and reflection actvities based on the Fathers Matter film series.

Films Discussion Guide for Churches

This discussion guide can be used to explore the themes of fatherhood in South Africa from the six Heartlines Fathers Matter Films.

Isikhokhelo Sengxoxo KumaSonto

This isiZulu discussion guide can be used to explore the themes of fatherhood in South Africa from the six Heartlines Fathers Matter Films.

FM Films Discussion Guide Se Sotho Cover

Bukana ya Tataiso Dipuisanong Bakeng sa Dikereke

This Sesotho discussion guide can be used to explore the themes of fatherhood in South Africa from the six Heartlines Fathers Matter Films.

FM Films Discussion Guide Afrikaans Cover

Films Besprekingsgids Vir Kerke

This Afrikaans discussion guide can be used to explore the themes of fatherhood in South Africa from the six Heartlines Fathers Matter Films.

FM Group Connect Facilitators Toolkit Updated

Connect Group Facilitator's Toolkit

This Connect Group Facilitator's Toolkit has been designed to help guide anyone looking to start or run a Connect Group in their community. This course is currently in a testing phase and we'd appreciate your feedback if you use it.

Christian Connect Group Core Module

This is the first module that a Fathers Matter Connect Group in a church or faith-based context should work through. It is designed to help start important conversations about fatherhood and is the foundation for all other modules.

FM Group Connect Module 1 Core Module circular cover

Connect Group Core Module

This Connect Group Core Module is the first module that any Fathers Matter Connect Group should work through. It is designed to help start important conversations about fatherhood and is the foundation for all other modules.

Afrikaans Connect Group Facilitators Toolkit Cover

Connect Groep Fasiliteerder se Hulpbron

Hierdie hulpbron is ontwerp om fasiliteerders en leiers toe te rus om ‘n Fathers Matter Connect Groep te lei.

Additional marketing material

If you're looking for one of our Fathers Matter church brochures, you can download them below.

For the Fathers Matter promo video, click here.

Fathers Matter Brochure

2.384 MB

Fathers Matter Z Fold Brochure

4.411 MB