Hello, this is GTYjordan and I am the writer and director of The Fatherless Generation. I believe now is the time to tell the story of the lost, the distracted, the neglected, and the fatherless of this generation, generations prior, and those to come.

Ever since I became a believer in Jesus I have held his Word to be ultimate truth and his commands to be eternal life. Therefore, when creating any work of art, I hope to involve these writings, themes, and great teachings. The stories we tell through movies can impact people to their core, and so choosing the right story is of vital importance. Who better to ask than the God who has crafted the greatest story of all time? Thus, I started praying to God about starting a new film project, asking Him what He wanted me to make.

As I did I felt the call to reach the lost, specifically to reach my generation, Gen Z. However, I struggled to understand what exactly my generation needed to hear: Did they need a deeper understanding of the dangers of drugs, alcohol overuse, and casual sex? How about an understanding that their lives have value, and that suicide is not the answer? Or, maybe that mindless scrolling can lead to mindless living? I didn't know, there was too much to address. 

Not too long after, He spoke to me while at a Christian worship night. Mid-worship set a message was shared concerning those in the room with impatient fathers, and how those impatient fathers have skewed the image of God the Father. It was at that moment that I heard these words ring through my head: "The Fatherless Generation." It suddenly all made sense to me and I began spewing out words into my notebook, writing a story about a loving father giving up his life for his adopted son.

Later that night, I talked to a man. He told me he had grown up fatherless and in a rough household, having to essentially raise himself. He lived seeking the pleasures of the world and eventually hit a low point, overdosing and flatlining. Yet, he explains, God had mercy. In his unconscious state he was shown an unexplainably peaceful place and what was to come. When awakening, his life was changed and his priorities were set. He was commissioned by "The Prince of Peace." This confirmed what I had felt from God. I came to an understanding that generations are led into darkness when they are not taught nor shown the love of a father and the love of The Father. 

Gen X, the generation that came after the Baby Boomers, was the first in which it seemed normal to have divorced parents. Most Millennials, in turn, found it best to live with their partners instead of getting married — a way to "test the waters" before committing. This has led to Gen Z becoming the generation of confusion. What does a family look like? A father? A mother? What does commitment look like? What even is the point of marriage?

Instead of understanding these questions, they go unanswered. Gen Z seems to be a part of a global experiment to see what happens when the family is broken apart, when technology takes over, and when escapism feels like the only answer. Drugs, alcohol, sex, pornography, endless scrolling, suicide... doing anything and everything except face the reality of their hurt and brokenness.

Our goal with this film is to reach them: the lost, the distracted, the neglected, and the fatherless, of this generation and those to come.

Now, you may disagree with me here, but I truly believe that the answer for the Fatherless generation is to know there is a Father up above that will never leave them, never neglect them, and will never lead them astray. A Father that loves them so much, so deeply, that He gave up His one and only Son to carry our sin and our judgement. All for the chance that they would choose Him, that his kindness would lead them to repentance (Romans 2:4). When we have the Father, we don't need escapism, we don't need self-righteousness, and we don't need to be satisfied by anything else, we just need Him. If they knew this love, they would never, ever be satisfied with anything less than Love Himself.

If you have a story to share you can do that here, if you want to listen to the stories we've captured you can do that here. I believe the stories of the people are of vital importance as we go forth with this project.

I pray, may this film become an arena for the Fatherless to wrestle with God the Father. May they wrestle and may they lose. May they see that the Father has been and always will be, that His Love endures forever, and that their greatest and most ultimate need can be quenched by the Blood of Jesus Christ.