About Abiding Fathers

At age 32, founder Bill Dotson had a spiritual awakening and was hungry for the Word of God. Since 1974, Bill has been teaching the Bible to men in state jails, juvenile detention centers and homeless shelters. Through that experience, God revealed to Bill that virtually all the men he was teaching were there because of issues with their fathers. Their distorted view of themselves as a son and a family in general was a direct result of abuse by their father or simply a lack of a father in their home. Led by the Holy Spirit, in 2012, he officially launched the Abiding Fathers Ministry with a mission to disciple men in understanding their God-given role as a father.

Since being founded in 2012, Abiding Fathers has discipled over 10,000 men through its curriculum. The discipleship curriculum is the core focus of all activities within the ministry. They consist of Four Pillars, which include Prison outreach, Marketplace outreach, Fathers Forums and BeTheDadMovement.

Three Keys Missions Logo

Encourage | Equip | Engage

Throughout all of the places that Abiding Fathers participates with fathers in their journey toward godly discipleship of their children, we adhere to three key missions.

Equipping the next generation of fathers

We are a Biblically-based curriculum relating to the discipleship role of the father and provide several venues for interacting and equipping dads. We describe these as Pillars of the ministry.

Prisons

Marketplace

Forums

Be The Dad

Click on each pillar icon for more information about where we go with our message and training.

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International • Relational • Generational

International
Relational
Generational

Can Abiding Fathers make a difference and turn the tide back to wholesome families? No, but God can through us, and He will use Abiding Fathers as one of His instruments. Since 2019, the ministry has become international in scope. God has shown us that the absentee father issue is not only here in America but around the world. The fatherless situation breaks God’s heart and He is beginning to repair it. I hope He calls you to be a part of His solution, a movement of fatherhood. Join us for this exciting journey!

Mission Statement

Encouraging, equipping and engaging men in developing their God-ordained leadership role as fathers in order to make disciples for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Purpose

Biblically teaching men that God has given fathers the responsibility and authority to disciple their wife, children and future generations; and to know the consequences of accepting or rejecting this challenge.

Abiding Fathers Ministry Partners