Churches to ‘father’ 4,000 youths tomorrow
Agroup of men has come together to organise an event especially designed for disenfranchised young men who are not able to celebrate Father’s Day in the traditional way.
This Sunday, some 4,000 young men from churches across the Corporate Area, Portmore and Spanish Town are expected to turn up at the National Arena in Kingston for Meet A Father, Change Your Life. It is organised by the Men’s Bible Study Group, in association with Operation Save Jamaica and Choose Life International.
“For over 15 years, a group of men from various denominations meets every Tuesday morning for Bible study and prayer meetings. In March, we went on a retreat thinking of how we can impact our community and country. One thing that came out is, one of the biggest societal challenges is the young men who grew up without a father figure and are then repeating that process,” Tommy Cowan told THE STAR.
Cowan is an active member of the Men’s Bible Study Group, the collective behind the initiative.
“We have issued tickets through the churches, so you have to have a ticket to get in; they have to go to their churches. And it’s for males only,” he explained.
Starting at 11 a.m., the young men will run through a programme of music and ministry then break at 1 p.m. to catch the World Cup match between Brazil and Switzerland.
“After that, there will be more presentations and competitions. There will be testimonies from artistes and ministers, and then we’ll have dinner at 4 p.m.,” Cowan said.
To assist with the proceedings, the Men’s Bible Study Group has recruited personalities like Al Miller, Bishop Rohan Edwards, and gospel artistes Rondell Positive, Dunamis and Mark Johnson. The event will be hosted by popular comedian Ity.
“I’m happy to be a part of this initiative. I grew up without my father for a better part of my life — I met him as an adult. I am also from a volatile community, so I’m excited to share these stories — to say, even though we are from this background, we can achieve in life,” Ity told THE STAR.
“We don’t spend a lot of time on the young men — to engage us men, to talk to men. I need to hear men talking to men. And we look forward to seeing how many we could be mentoring,” Cowan said.