On Sunday (Sept. 17), Kirk Franklin took to social media to share the overwhelmingly positive response that he received for his recent documentary, Father’s Day: A Kirk Franklin Story. In the 35-minute clip, the gospel legend revealed that a series of recent events connected him to Richard Hubbard, the man who is now confirmed to be his biological father. What made Kirk’s moment of realization so heart-wrenching is the fact that Hubbard lives mere minutes away from him and his family. He also previously believed that his father was another man, Dwight Allen, who died in 2020.

“I buried the man I thought was my father. I flew to Houston and made peace with him,” the musician said. “In 2017, I got an anonymous phone call that he was dying of cancer.”

As a result of the life-changing revelation, Kirk met with his biological mother, Debra Jones, for what turned out to be an unfortunate encounter. On the upside, the moment sparked a beautiful reunion with his son, Kerrion Franklin, who he’d been estranged from for the past couple of years.

Before the documentary ended, the multiple Grammy Award winner spoke to those who have shared similar experiences. “I would say to anyone who’s lived in a history of trauma like I have, I just want to remind you that you deserve so much more. If I didn’t have music to work on in the middle of this, I don’t think I would make it through this. People that I work with, they’ve become my family.”

Father’s Day serves as the visual accompaniment for Kirk’s forthcoming LP of the same name, which arrives Oct. 6. He explained the title as one with a “triple meaning.” “The logline is, ‘It’s what I missed, where I am, and what has always been,'” he can be seen saying to his collaborators during a studio session. “I’m still built to believe.”