Why Ohio Needs a New Vision for Fatherhood
Rebuilding the Wall
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.
The Data: A Crisis of Absence
The groundbreaking Hope and a Future report, recently released by Center for Christian Virtue and the Institute for Family Studies, reveals a sobering truth: 42 percent of children in Ohio are now born to unmarried parents. This is higher than the national average and serves as a primary driver for many of the systemic issues we face as a state.
The consequences of fatherlessness are not just statistical; they are spiritual and social. Research from the Montgomery County Fatherhood Initiative indicates that children in father-absent homes are:
Five times more likely to live in poverty.
Three times more likely to fail in school.
Two times more likely to abuse drugs.
As pastors, we know that “government can’t do a lot of things” but it can acknowledge the truth. In a historic move this past summer, Ohio’s state budget included $20 million to promote the role of fathers in families. Senate President Rob McColley noted that whether you look at the data or the “biblical realm” the conclusion is the same: fatherhood is essential for a thriving society.
Restoring the “School of the Home”
Something has been missing in our cultural “imaginary”—a vision of the home as the primary place of discipleship and the father as its spiritual shepherd. For too long, we have outsourced the formation of our children to the state or even to the church’s youth program.
But a shift is happening. We see it in the explosion of LifeWise Academy, which is now in over 260 Ohio school districts, and the surge in church-planted schools. These are tools for parents, specifically fathers, to use to reclaim their role as the primary educators of their children.
As C.S. Lewis once observed, “The home is the only place where the human soul can be nurtured in the atmosphere of love.” When the father is missing from that atmosphere, the nurturing is stunted.
A Biblical Call to the “Hearts of the Fathers”
The very last promise of the Old Testament in Malachi 4:6 says that God will “turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.” This is a spiritual mandate. Rebuilding the wall of fatherhood in Ohio requires more than government grants; it requires the Church to speak with clarity and courage. We must move beyond the “taboo” of discussing family structure and begin to “re-instill and re-celebrate the beauty of fatherhood,” as CCV President Aaron Baer recently stated.
What Can We Do?
Pastors, we are the architects of this rebuilding project. Here is how we can lead:
Preach a Robust Theology of the Family: Use resources like the Minnery Fellowship to equip your leaders with a biblical worldview on marriage and the home.
Support Local Initiatives: Partner with programs like the Ohio Commission on Fatherhood to provide practical support for dads in your pews.
Create Rites of Passage: In a culture that has deleted the “map” to manhood, our churches must provide the “rituals and symbols” (as noted in recent university trends) that call boys into godly fatherhood.
The wall is in ruins, but the foundation remains. Let us pick up our trowels and rebuild.
Are you ready to join the movement of pastors standing for the family in Ohio?
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