The Times: Focusing on God’s Design
“There is a war raging between good and evil in our world, and though we might prefer the conflict to be fought somewhere else, we don’t get to pick the times in which we live. The front lines today are battles over sex, gender, and identity. We must be ready for a fight in precisely these places. Don’t underestimate the power of your opponent. The devil wants us to join him in his rebellion against God. He wants to make us cowards and traitors. He wants us to believe the myth of our own autonomy.” ―Rosaria Butterfield
Our next Prayer at the Statehouse event is on Wednesday, April 16. Register here.
Cultural Commentaries
Celebrating What Is Good - Katy Faust, a pastor’s wife and founder of Them Before Us, spoke with Jordan Peterson to defend God’s design for family. In this powerful conversation, Faust explains to one of the most influential intellectuals in the world why mothers and fathers, lifelong marriage, and biology are essential to the family, children, and society as a whole. According to Daily Citizen, Faust "learned how to become a bold truth-teller when she saw various political and ideological groups trying to redefine the family in order to serve radical adult desires."
Creating What Is Missing - According to Barna, only 5 percent of pastors surveyed say their church does outreach and evangelism well. As a key part of our Hope and a Future initiative for Ohio, we are partnering with Communio to help churches evangelize through the renewal of healthy relationships, marriage, and the family. Watch this short testimonial video from Pastor Brett Carlson to hear the impact their partnership with Communio has had on both his congregation and community.
Restoring What Is Broken - In the article The Case for Changing the Scorecard in Education, Bob Thune challenges Christian educators to refocus on what truly matters. “Without strong and intentional efforts at resistance, Christian schools drift toward upward mobility and career success and college readiness rather than virtue and character and curiosity.” This is a timely call to reorient Christian schools toward forming disciples marked by wisdom and virtue, not worldly achievement.
Ending What Is Evil - In his blog post, Don’t Talk About Yourself Like You’re a Machine, Trevin Wax warns against adopting language that frames humans as mechanistic tools. “Words create worlds, and worlds influence words. The speed with which we’ve adopted machine language suggests that, in subtle ways, we now see ourselves in mechanistic terms.” This is a crucial reminder to guard how we speak about ourselves and others, embracing language that reflects our God-given humanity.
Legislative Update
Take a moment to review where all of the CCV-backed bills currently stand in the 136th General Assembly and pray over the bills that are moving in 2025.
Ohio Prayer Guide
We have partnered with Pray For Ohio to bring you a monthly topical prayer guide that can be shared with your church. The Prayer Guide for April, along with the accompanying prayer letter, calls believers to intercede for revival, unity among churches, and protection for families and emphasizes the urgency of seeking God's guidance and spiritual awakening in Ohio.
Resources
CCV's Hope and a Future report: Center for Christian Virtue (CCV) and the Institute for Family Studies have released a report revealing the disastrous effects of marriage decline and family collapse across America. The report includes the Family Structure Index, which ranks all 50 US states based on their family culture, and a strategic plan to rebuild families with public policy and cultural solutions in Ohio.
Our 2025 Lunch and Learn Livestreams are now available online for those who were not able to attend:
The Identity Project is now FREE! This is a great biblical worldview resource to share with your congregation.
The Focused Pastor is a ministry that offers practical, gospel-centered resources designed to help pastors lead with clarity and intentionality. It provides sermon preparation tools, leadership development materials, and discipleship strategies that are biblically grounded and easy to apply.
April marks Stress Awareness Month. Heather King, Chief Operating Officer of Storehouse Wellness, invites us to consider April as a season for renewal. With spring in full bloom and Easter at the heart of it, she writes that the greatest renewal story ever told is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through Him, we’re offered more than relief from stress; we’re offered peace, restoration, and new life. Storehouse Wellness publishes a monthly newsletter to support churches so that they can achieve community wellness goals.
If you believe other pastors in your network would benefit from receiving The Times, please forward this to them and encourage them to subscribe!
Upcoming Events
Our March Lunch Hour Livestream: Equip Your Church to Stand Firm in Faith with Dr. Jeff Myers of Summit Ministries is an opportunity to gain the tools and confidence needed to help your congregation stand firm in truth. We will gather over Zoom today, Tuesday, March 25, at 12:00 pm to discover practical ways Summit’s resources can equip your youth groups and church community and get exclusive insights into new tools designed to help pastors engage culture with biblical clarity.
The Reality Apologetics Youth Conference is on Friday, April 25, and Saturday, April 26. Bring your youth and young adult groups to join Greg Koukl, J. Warner Wallace, and the team at Stand To Reason for two days of equipping the next generation. The theme of the conference is It Is Written. We’ll meet the challenges raised against God’s Word, answer the critics, and respond to the attacks. We’ll build a foundation for why we can trust the Bible. You can purchase tickets today.
Center for Christian Virtue (CCV) is excited to announce that sponsorships are now open for the Spring Celebration Galas. You're invited to celebrate with our partner ministries and enjoy fine dining, receive the latest updates on Ohio politics, and hear about CCV’s strategic efforts to strengthen marriage and family.
Pastor Testimony
"After pastoring for over 20 years, I have never experienced the level of support and opportunities for growth and challenge that I have found with the Church Ambassador Network (CAN). Through CAN, I have been empowered with relevant and fresh resources to engage effectively in this dynamically diverse culture. Their partnership has lifted a significant burden from my shoulders, allowing me to dedicate more time to shepherding" —James Schulker, Lead Pastor of Life Church at Easton
Closing Thoughts
The Gospel Coalition hosted a song and video contest in which they challenged Christian creatives to put the gospel to song or capture it in a compelling video. This was a great idea (and we need more like it) to encourage the creation of content that highlights the beauty found in The Way, The Truth, and The Life. Maybe your church can do something similar on a local level?
A number of churches have decided to support CCV and the Church Ambassador Network financially through their budget. To set up a recurring monthly donation to CCV, please visit CCV.org/Donate and make sure to click the check box at the end of the form, above the comments field, before submitting your gift.
We would be honored if you chose to invest a portion of God’s resources into our effort to serve and support churches in Ohio with resources to help them carry out the Great Commission in the spirit of The Greatest Commandments in our current cultural context.
