What happens when pregnancy centers intentionally minister to fathers? According to Matt Haviland, Men’s Center Director at Alpha Grand Rapids, the answer goes far beyond handing out diapers or teaching parenting skills. It is about changing generations.
In a recent Care Net TV conversation with Roland Warren, Haviland shared how God has used Alpha Grand Rapids’ Men’s Center to help fathers step into their God-given role. Through mentoring, discipleship, fatherhood classes, and connection to the local church, men who once felt disconnected and hopeless are becoming husbands, fathers, and followers of Christ. Their stories illustrate what the Pro Abundant Life vision looks like in practice: saving lives, building strong families, and making disciples.
3 Key Points from this Care Net TV Conversation
#1 Fatherhood Ministry Is Foundational, Not Optional
Long before joining Alpha Grand Rapids, Matt understood the importance of fatherhood personally. Raised by a single mother and later becoming a single father himself, he experienced firsthand the challenges many men face. After coming to faith in Christ and serving single fathers for years, God led him into pregnancy center ministry. Today, the Men’s Center stands where an abandoned house once used for drugs and prostitution stood—a testimony that God can redeem both places and people. What began as a vision in 2014 became the nation’s first standalone building dedicated to serving fathers.
#2 Relationships Matter More Than Programs
One of the core values at Alpha Grand Rapids is that relationships are primary while curriculum is secondary. Men have access to mentoring, fatherhood groups, Jobs for Life classes, and parenting programs, but transformation happens through loving relationships. Haviland shared the story of “JJ,” a gang member facing an unplanned pregnancy and struggling with violence and instability. Through biblical mentoring, fatherhood classes, and consistent invitations into Christian community, JJ eventually gave his life to Christ, left the gang, married his child’s mother, and asked Matt to serve as best man at his wedding.
#3 God’s Design Is Bigger Than Simply Saving a Baby
Roland Warren pointed to Isaiah 7:14 and God’s response to Mary’s unplanned pregnancy from a human perspective. God did not merely provide a child—He provided Joseph, a husband to Mary and a father to Jesus. That pattern reveals God’s design for family and discipleship. Warren’s “central question” asks what we would want for a woman facing an unplanned pregnancy if we could change everything except the fact that she was pregnant. The answer goes beyond birth. We would want fathers involved, marriages strengthened, families connected to the church, and children raised to follow Christ. That is the fullness of Pro Abundant Life.
“Do not despise these small beginnings” (Zechariah 4:10). God often begins His greatest work quietly, building deep roots before producing visible fruit. The story of Alpha Grand Rapids and the Men’s Center reminds us that fatherhood ministry is not the icing on the cake—it is part of the cake itself. When men are invited into God’s design for family and discipleship, lives are saved, generations are changed, and families become living testimonies to the transforming power of Jesus Christ.
If you’re ready to explore more about the Pro Abundant Life vision of our ministry, visit Care Net Free Resources to learn more and take your next step.