Hands-on answers to the crises of urban homes. The problems urban families face--low income, drug abuse, divorce, gang involvement, domestic violence, and more--are devastating. But solutions exist in the local church that can transform troubled homes into places of love, security, hope, and growth. In Reclaiming the Urban Family, Dr. Willie Richardson gives pastors and leaders methods that can make inner-city churches a powerful force for restoring, training, and strengthening families, single-parent homes, and individuals. Using the principles and strategies described, the family training ministry of Dr. Richardson's own Christian Stronghold Baptist Church in Philadelphia has - Brought about a near-zero divorce rate - Produced strong marriages built on deep love bonds between couples - Helped numerous low- and moderate-income families become debt-free - Trained men to be competent husbands and fathers--and raised adult male membership in church to as high as 48 percent - Lowered the number of teenage pregnancies - Helped win to Christ those who have seen transformation in their loved ones. Reclaiming the Urban Family covers concerns as diverse as lay biblical counseling, singles and youth ministry, marriage preparation, occupational enrichment, single-parent households, evangelizing families, and more. Complete with a section of resources for African-American family ministries, it shows how local churches can become dynamic agents for building thriving homes and individuals and for evangelizing the unsaved. Hands-on answers to the crises of urban homes. The problems urban families face--low income, drug abuse, divorce, gang involvement, domestic violence, and more--are devastating. But solutions exist in the local church that can transform troubled homes into places of love, security, hope, and growth. In Reclaiming the Urban Family, Dr. Willie Richardson gives pastors and leaders methods that can make inner-city churches a powerful force for restoring, training, and strengthening families, single-parent homes, and individuals. Using the principles and strategies described, the family training ministry of Dr. Richardson's own Christian Stronghold Baptist Church in Philadelphia has - Brought about a near-zero divorce rate - Produced strong marriages built on deep love bonds between couples - Helped numerous low- and moderate-income families become debt-free - Trained men to be competent husbands and fathers--and raised adult male membership in church to as high as 48 percent - Lowered the number of teenage pregnancies - Helped win to Christ those who have seen transformation in their loved ones. Reclaiming the Urban Family covers concerns as diverse as lay biblical counseling, singles and youth ministry, marriage preparation, occupational enrichment, single-parent households, evangelizing families, and more. Complete with a section of resources for African-American family ministries, it shows how local churches can become dynamic agents for building thriving homes and individuals and for evangelizing the unsaved. Dr. Willie Richardson is senior pastor of Christian Stronghold Baptist Church in Philadelphia, the president of Christian Research and Development, and the author of Reclaiming the Urban Family. Chapter 1THE NEED OF SALVATION IN THE FAMILYREAL CHRISTIAN FAMILIESThis country is simply spinning its wheels in the mud of futility because we are excluding the God of the Bible from issues of morality and family. I believe that too often even the church does not take seriously the great ally we have in God concerning family matters. God created and defines the family by what He instituted. First, He instituted marriage when He created Adam and Eve, then He completed the family when He did not create Cain and Abel, but instead created within Adam and Eve the capacity to reproduce other human beings. The family unit consisted of the husband, the wife, and their offspring (Gen. 2:19--24; 4:1--2). Charles Sell explains the biblical view of the family:Biblical scholars tend to agree that the basic form of family created by God is the nuclear family, which gives the highest priority to the husband-wife relationship. Elements of Genesis 2:24 make it clear that a husband and wife's first loyalty are to each other and not to any extended family relationship. That the man is said to leave his father and mother to be united to his wife suggests he replaces one commitment with another. The fact that husband and wife become one flesh supports the priority of the nuclear pair. That Adam says of his wife, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh' is especially significant. The Hebrew words for bone and flesh are frequently used to describe extended family relationships (Genesis 29:14; Judges 9:2; 2 Samuel 5:1; 2 Samuel 19:12--13; 1 Chronicles 11:1). That the same terms are used to describe both the marriage (conjugal) relationship and blood (consanguineous) relationships shows that blood ties are not superio