A Family Ministry - Paul Durocher
a story about Paul Durocher BA '87
At a time when marriage and the family seems to be under constant attack, there is an incredible need to promote family values based on godly principles throughout the country. In light of the state of the American family today, Paul BA ‘87 and Judy Durocher have been given a burden to minister to families all across the country. With the help of bluegrass music, Paul and Judy, along with 10 out of their 12 children, transcend musical and generational barriers to bring a message of hope to a lost and hurting world.
Paul was saved at 16 years old while growing up in a nominal Roman Catholic family in western Massachusetts. Shortly after high school, he entered the military and served in the Army Corps of Engineers in the United States and Europe. It was while serving in the Army that he married his wife, Judy.
Paul and Judy came to Moody in 1984 with two children. While here, Paul had to work three jobs as a married student in order to put himself through school. Paul was a pastoral major at Moody, majoring in Greek with a minor in Hebrew. “Doctrine and the meaning of words are important to me,” Paul said. His time at Moody has immensely helped him to prepare for ministry, as his love for the Word and Bible study skills were sharpened greatly.
After graduating from Moody, Paul and his family moved to New England to be involved with church planting in Connecticut. While they were content with the three children they had at the time, Paul and Judy prayed and decided to allow the Lord to send them child number four. “As we began to think about our decision not to have more children, we just felt it was a little selfish of us,” Paul said. “I read in the Scriptures that children were a gift from the Lord, a blessing.”
Child number four turned out to be triplets, doubling the number of Durocher children. At the age of 26, Paul and Judy found themselves blessed with six children under the age of seven. “After that, we got the message,” Paul said. “You know what they say, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’”
Since then, the Lord has brought the Durocher family six more children, bringing the total to 12. Paul and Judy have always believed in the Lord to provide for their growing family, and the Lord has continued to take care of them. They have had to be thrifty over the years and have grown much of their food in their garden on their 28-acre farm in northern Minnesota.
It quickly became evident that the older Durocher children were blessed with the gift of music. They excelled in classical piano, violin, and cello. The family was given an opportunity to stand in at a church fish fry when the scheduled musical act cancelled. “I had played a little guitar years ago when serving as a youth pastor, so we put together five or six songs and absolutely had a blast,” Paul said. “We got another invite to do a Thanksgiving supper and thought the Lord might be leading us to do this full time.”
After taking it to the Lord in prayer, the Durochers decided that the Lord was calling them to minister to families around the country. “Our burden is to encourage families in the gospel and in growing in unity and oneness in Christ and to be used of the Lord to turn back the tide of social evils resultant from the breakdown of the family,” Paul said.
In October 2007, the older Durocher high school- and college-aged children resolved to dedicate two years of their lives to travel the country and minister in churches, camps, rescue missions, and prisons. Ten out of the 12 Durocher children currently travel together with their parents in a motor home, ministering throughout the country. Their plan is to do 150-200 events per year in these first two years. “Our goal is to preserve marriage and families and teach through personal testimonies and music the importance of biblical priorities with respect to the family,” Paul said.
The Durocher family plays bluegrass, country, and traditional folk music, as well as some of the old hymns like The Old Rugged Cross, I’ll Fly Away, and Power in the Blood. In addition to playing music, the Durochers minister through testimonies and humorous stories from life on their farm and living in the country.
Paul believes that his family’s ministry is uniquely suited for this time in history when marriage and the family have been under critical attack. “People are enamored and amazed by the family, and especially big families. It doesn’t matter if it is urban or suburban, when people see the poster of our family, they stop and read it, and their curiosity drives them to begin questioning basic assumptions about their own family and wanting it to be all that it could and should be,” Paul said.
“Seeing live families and how they live and what they do is strategically significant, because unlike a book or sermon series, it allows a unique dynamic to take place where truth is more often caught then taught,” Paul said. “People are coming away from our events inspired and encouraged to take the next step, whatever that is for them.”
Paul believes that his family’s ministry offers something that seems to be lacking in much of church outreach ministry today. “The world is not impressed with the church’s entertainment and sometimes the church doesn’t understand this. We cannot compete with MTV, Disney Channel, Discovery Channel, HBO, and Netflicks,” Paul said. “What the world is craving is genuine spirituality, a spirituality that works in the day in day out grind of laundry and dishes, and unemployment, and broken cars, and all the stuff life is made of. That’s what our ordinary family is all about. That’s why the Lord is using us.”
Please keep the Durocher family in prayer as they seek to spread the message of the gospel across the country. Paul asks for prayer for a personal health need. Pray also for open doors for the gospel and message of redemption and family relationships, as well as for monthly supporters of their itinerate ministry.
For more information about the Durocher family and to find out about having the Durocher family play at your church or ministry, visit the Durocher Family Ministries Website.