As the legislature resumes full activity, the CCV Policy team is working to move several key bills across the finish line. This effort will build on our existing relationships, continued engagement with lawmakers, and strategic events that reinforce why a family-first approach is essential on a number of important issues.

As shepherds of our communities, we are often the first to see the brokenness of the world. But there are some evils so dark they seem to hide in the very shadows of our steeples. Human trafficking, the modern-day scourge of slavery, is not a distant problem in far-off lands; rather, it is a crisis happening right here in the Buckeye State.

Today, however, there is a new sense of resolve. Ohio is moving beyond mere awareness and toward a strategic, unified effort to end this exploitation once and for all.

In the book of Nehemiah, we see a leader heartbroken by a city in ruins. Not only did he mourn the rubble, but he also took it upon himself to rally the community to rebuild the wall, family by family, station by station. Today, as we look across the Buckeye State, we see a different kind of “wall” that has crumbled: the presence of the father in the home.

For many of us in the pulpit, this is also a very clear reality on Sunday mornings. We see the single mothers heroically carrying the spiritual weight of their households. We see the young men drifting, searching for an identity that was never modeled for them. We see the “rubble” of a culture that has treated fathers as optional, and the data shows the price our children are paying.

As pastors in Ohio, you are no strangers to the challenges facing the modern family. We see it in our pews and our neighborhoods: marriage rates are at historic lows, birth rates are plummeting, and many young adults have stopped viewing family as a primary life goal.

According to the 2025 Family Structure Index released by the Center for Christian Virtue (CCV) and the Institute for Family Studies, Ohio currently ranks 29th in family strength. This ranking is based on critical metrics like the percentage of married adults and the number of children raised in intact, married homes.

But while many are struggling, one group is notably thriving. Utah ranks #1 in the nation by a wide margin. In Utah, the majority of adults are married and raise their children through high school in stable homes—figures far exceeding the national average. And what is driving this success? In large part it is the culture created by the Mormon Church.

In a culture that often feels like it is drifting further from its foundations, it’s easy for the faithful to become discouraged. We see the headlines, we track the legislative battles, and we feel the weight of a world increasingly at odds with the Gospel. But as pastors and leaders across the Buckeye State, we know that light shines brightest in the darkness.

As we close 2025, we join hearts in thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness and for how He has used the body of Christ through Church Ambassador Network (CAN), our ministry partner Center for Christian Virtue (CCV), and, most importantly, the local churches to advance His kingdom across Ohio and beyond.