If you're passionate about faith, fitness, and fatherhood, you're going to love this interview! Our guest this week on the Everyday Faith podcast is Jeff Zaugg, founder of DadAwesome, a podcast that equips dads to lead and love their kids towards God’s awesomeness, and Fathers For The Fatherless, a movement that has mobilized over a thousand men for endurance challenges, raising over a million dollars for fatherless children. His work has also empowered men to become better fathers by following the ways of Jesus and pursuing health in every area of life. When he's not changing the world through media and endurance challenges, you can find Jeff surfing the tide or enjoying quality time with his beautiful wife and four daughters.
Early Seeds of Faith
Jeff grew up in a Christian home with parents who loved Jesus. His mother was a woman who loved the Bible and taught him to love the Word of God from a young age. Although his father was more reserved in his expression of faith, Jeff knew his dad followed Jesus because of his integrity and vision.
When Jeff was four years old, news reached his family that a close family friend had passed away. The pain of loss hit Jeff’s heart and questions about God, the afterlife, and heaven were coming up in conversation. Jeff asked his parents where he would be when he passed away. Would he go to heaven to be with Jesus? In response, Jeff’s mom told him about what Jesus did on the cross, how God made a way for us to go to heaven, and guided him in a prayer to receive Jesus into his heart. With that, Jeff began his walk with God at four years old and grew up wanting to learn more about Jesus and how to serve him well.
Curious to learn more about giving your life to Jesus? There’s no better time than now to surrender to Him! Learn more about Jesus, how much He loves you, and how you can follow Him: This is For You!
Freedom from Performance
Jeff went through high school and college filled with belief in God and living his life on mission. He was living in community and had a dedicated mentor walking with him. Through his mentor, Jeff realized that he was operating out of a performance-based relationship with God. Jesus began revealing to Jeff different times in his life when he learned that performance equaled love. Through receiving God’s love, Jeff experienced healing in his heart and learned how to love others from a place of identity and hope!
Max Lucado’s Wemmick’s books have changed the game for Jeff when it comes to teaching others about the love of God. Believe it or not, Jeff and his wife use this series of children’s books to teach others about God’s love. During their study, people experience freedom, and joy, and encounter the love of the Father!
A Lifestyle of Invitation
One thing we noticed during our interview with Jeff was how he carries a lifestyle of invitation and a culture of evangelism. Whether that’s during courageous moments where he’s spontaneously shared his faith with a stranger or when he’s inviting friends over to a beach bonfire, Jeff is always inviting others into the Father’s house.
Inviting people into a team – something where you’re all pursuing the same mission together – is one of Jeff’s favorite things to do! With this principle, Jeff started a men’s workout and Bible study group called Wisdom & Strengths with a friend of his. Before they knew it, 40 guys were a part of this group that met on top of a parking garage in Minnesota. The simple idea changed the lives of so many men and their families. Many of the men in the group found the courage to be vulnerable about their struggles and were able to find God and find healing in the group.
Jeff encourages our readers to slow down and make room for the people around you. By showing genuine interest and curiosity, you open doors for faith conversations and true connection with others.
Learn more about growing in a lifestyle of invitation: How to Find Faith in Every Conversation
The Start of Dad Awesome
Later on his story, Jeff transitioned from serving in the business world to serving as a pastor at his local Church. This came as a surprise to Jeff – he didn’t want to be a pastor! However, he ended up loving the role and loving where God had called him.
Shortly after this, the role of kids pastor opened up at his Church. After praying and fasting, Jeff felt the peace of God and took the new role. While working as a kids pastor, God started giving Jeff a heart for the fathers in his community. Jeff started noticing that even though their church was thriving, with multiple campuses, several staff, and over 600 kids coming to church each weekend, there was a need for ministry with the dads. Jeff knew he needed to create something to minister to the fathers at his church and before long, Jeff had built DadAwesome.
DadAwesome exists to walk with dads as they lead and love their kids toward God's awesomeness, helping them lead with wonder to build intentional connection with their kids. Alongside this, Jeff also started Fathers For the Fatherless, an organization that changes lives by exposing men to a cause beyond themselves. Men are invited to challenge themselves to cycle 100 miles in response to God's heart for the fatherless.
Testimonies from DadAwesome
DadAwesome has a podcast to empower dads and equip them to love like God! While most of the testimonies and feedback Jeff hears about are long stories that happened over many years, sometimes the breakthrough is sudden. During our interview, Jeff shared an incredible story of God speaking identity to a dad in need.
A committed Fathers for the Fatherless rider was experiencing deep depression and was intentionally putting himself on thin ice, multiple times a week, in an attempt to try and take his own life. This dad listened to a podcast from DadAwesome with Jamie Winship and it broke the heaviness over him. This dad then stepped into healing, transparency, and community to overcome depression. We are so grateful that God stepped in at just the right time.
Experiencing depression, heaviness, or sadness? Learn spiritual tools to bring hope: How to Have Joy and Peace in Difficult Times
Bible Verses for Fathers
Given his upbringing of being taught the Word of God, we wanted to share some Bible verses for dads and scriptures for fathers to equip those reading with the hope of the Word. Here are some of our favorite Bible verses for fathers:
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord. - Ephesians 6:4 NLT
This Bible verse for fathers reminds dads to be gentle and to teach their children the kindness of God through leading by example. It’s also a reminder that God the Father does not provoke us to anger, instead, He disciplines and instructs us in His love and His kingdom.
For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. - 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 NIV
This Bible verse for fathers shows us adjectives that describe a good father. In the scriptures, fathers are encouraging and comforting and urge others to live lives worthy of God. No matter what our earthly father was like, there is comfort in knowing that God the Father and fathers in the Church should be encouraging and comforting.
Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court. - Psalm 127:3-5 NIV
Dads: you are blessed! Children are a heritage from the Lord. This Bible verse for dads shows us God’s heart for children and his value for family.
Learn more about how to incorporate faith into your family: How to Help Your Kids Share Their Faith
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, - 1 Peter 3:15 NIV
This Bible verse for fathers reminds us of Jeff’s lifestyle of invitation and the culture of evangelism in his family. This scripture about evangelism is also a scripture for dads! When we revere Christ as Lord, everything follows in the way it should go.
Learn more about how to be a dad and an evangelist: How to Cultivate a Lifestyle of Evangelism
Wisdom for Dads
As we finished our interview with Jeff, he gave our listeners some tips to live as intentional fathers and hopeful followers of Jesus.
1. Slow is Pro on the Homefront: In Jeff’s home, bedtime routines are long, storytime is extensive, and slow is the pace that creates quality time with his kids. Jeff invites everyone to “Commit to the process of love; receiving love, giving love.” As we receive God’s love, we are able to share God’s love with others. Remember: you can’t share what you don’t have. Be sure to stop, slow down, and receive God's love today!
2. Ditch the Instagram Lens: In a culture that's obsessed with social media and loves things picture-perfect, it’s helpful to remember that Instagram isn’t real life. Jeff says, “Don’t take the world's Instagram lens on what success has to look like.” As Theodore Roosevelt once said, "Comparison is the thief of joy". Rather than being stuck in the cycle of comparison, you can be joyful and follow God's leadership for your life. Trade in your Instagram lens for God’s perspective instead!
3. Remember what God has done: Jeff and his family make it a priority to remember all that God has done for them. A practical way they do this is to write down when God does something awesome or when they receive an unexpected gift. They’ll even write down struggles, to remember how God helped them through it, like when they woke up to their floor covered in thousands of ants! Keeping a record of what God has done provides faith and deepens your relationship with Him. The Psalms even say:
I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds. - Psalm 77:11-12 NIV
4. Stoke the Fire of the Holy Spirit: When you gave your life to Jesus, you received the Holy Spirit. Now, you have a new nature and new desires that long to follow the ways of the Spirit of God! Jeff encourages everyone to get in the Word, spend time in prayer, and intentionally take time away to retreat with God. Jeff sometimes takes an entire day off to go somewhere calm and pray for extended periods of time with the Lord. Pray, check your calendar, and ask God if there is a day this month that would work best for you.
Conclusion
So, there you have it – a glimpse into an inspiring journey of finding faith, following Jesus, empowering fathers, and helping the fatherless. Jeff's stories remind us that living out our faith is an everyday adventure! Whether it's embracing the freedom of God's unconditional love, intentionally inviting others into community, or striving to be the best dad you can be, we've learned practical ways to be more like Jesus. Through Jeff's zeal for God, hunger for wisdom, and invitational living, he is able to grow in his faith and share his faith with others. Which of his tips will you try this week?
We hope this conversation has stirred you to deepen your relationship with God, embrace your role as a father (in whatever capacity that looks like for you!), and maybe even consider how you can help the fatherless in our world.
Stay up to date with even more incredible stories by listening to the Everyday Faith Podcast!
