The statistics are sobering. When the mother is a believer but the father is not, the children are not nearly as inclined to stay involved in the church. But when the father walks with Christ and leads his family that way, the children will be much more rooted in the church as they grow older. The father not only calls out the child’s sexual identity but sets the tone for their spiritual acuity as well.
Of course, mothers can and should play their part in talking about Christ to their children, using teachable moments throughout the day to bring up spiritual realities. There are also wonderful stories of a mother’s winsome faith opening up the heart of a child to follow, despite an absent or antagonistic father. But those stories tend to be the exception. God designed fathers to be the pacesetters for the faith in their families. It is an awesome privilege and responsibility.
But many fathers abdicate their role here to the moms, the churches, or to Christian schools. Sometimes they have no vibrant faith in Christ to pass along. At other times, their faith is real, but they feel incompetent to teach or lead spiritually. I certainly felt this way when my two daughters were young. I came from a family where I had no modeling of a father doing this.
You are absolutely right