For so many children, love is defined as time

“It takes a village to raise a child. It takes the whole community to be present and engaged in our children’s lives,” said Pastor Eli Williams, in quoting the famous proverb.

After being pastor of Fountain of Life Ministries in Springfield, Williams founded Urban Light Ministries with his wife, Judy, in 1987. Now he is stepping up into a new role as the director of the Clark County Fatherhood Initiative.

Williams has been known since 1996 for his children’s ministry called the Son-Shine Club, which is an after-school program serving more than 1,000 kids per week in 14 locations.

“It became evident that no one focused on the father of these children,” Williams said. This is why in 2006 he was inspired to create Nurturing Fathers for Life (N.F.L.).

What is N.F.L?

• Free program

• Lasts three hours a session

• 13-session classes

• Help fathers develop skills on how to nurture themselves, the children and the moms of the children

• Help fathers develop attitudes toward being nurturers

In 2009, it became very clear to Williams that “in order for a community to address the fatherhood absentees’ issue, the whole community needed to be mobilized for the well-being of families to be given a priority,” he said.

Members of this fatherhood initiative include community leaders Joseph N. Monnin, juvenile court judge; Marilyn Demma, executive director of Clark County Family and Children First Council; Robert Suver, director of Clark County Department of Job and Family Services; Dr. David Estrop, superintendent of Springfield City Schools; Warren R. Copeland, mayor of Springfield; and Richard Lohnes, Board of Commissions of Clark County. John Detrick, Board of Commissions of Clark County, serves as an advisor.

Partnering champions within communities who promote responsible fathers will take time.

Scott Griffith, who owns multiple franchises of Lee’s chicken, is partnering with Urban Light Ministries and the Fatherhood Initiative. He had seen a high turnover with staff who owe child support. “Soon as the employees’ checks became garnished, the employee quit and goes underground to work. That way their money is not garnished. They could not make a living on what was left after the garnishment,” Griffith said. Griffith is paying the employees’ wages to go through these classes.

Another partner is Dana Engle, director of Rocky House Community Health Care, who understands the importance and value of fathers being engaged in the first three years of a child’s life. Early engagements influence the fathers to stay engaged in their children’s lives, she said.

Williams believes that the chief primary prediction of higher crime in neighborhoods is due to the absentee fathers. “Fathers are P.O.P.S., which are protectors, order keepers, providers and stabilizers. When men are committed and supportive within their roles, neighborhoods are safer and the most vulnerable: the children and the elderly are least likely to be abused and neglected.”

In Williams’ “pops” 101 classes, many of the principles are taken from the Masai tribe in East Kenya, Africa. The mighty warriors, fierce in battle, are asked daily, “How are the children?”

The response is “all the children are well.”