Finally. Some real good news.

If you’re anywhere near as tired as I am of hearing stories about churches getting smacked around for doing exactly what churches are supposed to do, pull up a chair. This one’s going to feel like a breath of fresh air.

A pastor in a small Ohio town named Bryan — population around 8,000, tucked up near the Indiana line — spent the last three years in a legal knife fight with his own city. His crime? He opened the doors of his church around the clock so homeless people wouldn’t freeze to death in the Ohio winter.

That’s it. That’s the whole offense.

His name is Pastor Chris Avell. The church is called Dad’s Place. And the city of Bryan came after him so hard that they hit him with more than two dozen criminal charges — and actually got a misdemeanor conviction on a fire code violation, with a 60-day jail sentence (stayed for appeal).

For opening the doors of his church to the homeless. In winter. In Ohio.

Let that sink in for a second.

This case has been a slow-motion avalanche of prosecutions. First Liberty Institute — the religious-liberty legal team representing the church — has been documenting it the whole way:

Pastor Chris Avell of Dad's Place Church is facing criminal charges AGAIN. Here's the update: pic.twitter.com/XTaKQSt4U2

— First Liberty Institute (@firstliberty_) April 26, 2024

Eighteen criminal zoning charges. Middle-of-the-night fire inspections. Criminal and civil fire code prosecutions. All to stop a little church from letting folks come in out of the cold.

Well, a few days ago a judge finally had enough. And the ruling is a doozy.

Here’s the update, from Standing for Freedom:

An Ohio court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by City of Bryan officials seeking to permanently enjoin a local church’s around-the-clock ministry, which means the congregation can continue offering overnight shelter services. Judge James D. Bates ruled that the City of Bryan’s effort to block Dad’s Place Church from feeding and sheltering the homeless during Ohio’s harsh winters was both discriminatory and blatantly unconstitutional. As a result of Bates’ order, the church is now free to continue “to live out its faith by serving the vulnerable population of Bryan” without interference from the government.

Dismissed. With prejudice. That means the case is done. Not paused. Not appealable. Done.

And the reasoning the judge used to get there is the part every Christian in America should pay attention to. The city was handing out 24-hour fire code waivers to hotels. Hotels! But they refused to give the same waiver to the church sheltering the homeless. The judge called that out directly — “fatal under strict scrutiny” — which is legal-speak for you cannot treat a church worse than a Holiday Inn and pretend you’re being neutral about religion.

Not. Even. Close. To. Neutral.

Pastor Avell’s response will preach

Here’s what Pastor Avell said after the ruling came down, in a statement reported by CBN:

“We praise God for this decision and the work it allows this church to continue in Bryan, Ohio. I consider it no coincidence that this decision comes during Holy Week as our church joins Christians worldwide to celebrate Christ’s victory over death.”

I mean — come on. Tell me that isn’t the perfect response.

He didn’t gloat. He didn’t do a victory lap on social media. He didn’t go after the mayor (who, by the way, is still publicly insisting this was never about religious freedom). He just gave God the glory and pointed out the timing.

Holy Week. The week we celebrate the empty tomb. The week the Bride of Christ around the world remembers that the grave could not hold Him. And in a little corner of northwest Ohio, a three-year campaign to shut down a church that was literally keeping people alive finally got rolled away like a stone.

You can’t script stuff like that. You really can’t.

The lawyer’s statement is even better

Jeremy Dys, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute — the legal team that fought this one all the way through — had this to say after the judge handed down the ruling:

“Religious exercise — including serving the most vulnerable in our communities at their time of greatest need — deserves the highest protection afforded by the First Amendment. Today’s decision sends a clear message to city officials: Pastor Chris and Dad’s Place are free to continue living out their faith by keeping the church open to serve the people of Bryan.”

Read that first sentence again. “Religious exercise — including serving the most vulnerable in our communities at their time of greatest need…”

That, right there, is the whole ballgame.

Because somewhere along the way, a lot of folks in government got it in their heads that “religion” is just what happens inside the four walls of a building for an hour on Sunday morning. Sing a song. Say a prayer. Go home. As long as you keep it in the box, they’ll leave you alone.

But Jesus — the actual Jesus, the One we read about in the Gospels — didn’t exactly live that way, did He?

He fed people. He healed people. He touched lepers. He ate with people polite society wouldn’t be caught dead with. And in Matthew 25 He straight-up told us that the way we treat “the least of these” is the way we’re treating Him.

“I was a stranger, and ye took me in.”

That’s not a metaphor for a fundraising banquet. That’s Pastor Avell unlocking the doors of Dad’s Place at 2 a.m. when the wind chill is 15 below zero.

One more fight left

I don’t want to wrap this up without being honest — Pastor Avell isn’t out of the woods yet. His criminal appeal over that fire code conviction is still sitting with the Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has filed a brief in support of the church. First Liberty is still in the fight, and they’re not shy about asking the Body of Christ to pray them through:

Pastor Chris Avell and Dad’s Place church in Ohio need our support! On Wednesday, our legal team had a crucial court date: https://t.co/ht5bI9QC85#FirstLiberty #court #Ohio #DadsPlace #religiousdiscrimination #courtofappeals pic.twitter.com/5kLNoc6XFq

— First Liberty Institute (@firstliberty_) May 4, 2025

If you’ve got a prayer list, get Pastor Chris and Dad’s Place on it. This isn’t finished.

But the civil case — the one the city was using to try to permanently shut the ministry down — that one is over. And it’s over in the church’s favor, during Holy Week, with a judge’s order written in the kind of language that should make other city halls around the country think twice before they try the same playbook.

This is the kind of story we’re going to keep telling around here. Because if the pulpit isn’t preaching the gospel of caring for the homeless, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger — it’s not preaching the gospel.

And if you need a reminder of what that looks like in 2026, look no further than a little brick building in Bryan, Ohio that refused to lock its doors.

God bless Pastor Chris. God bless Dad’s Place. And God bless every believer out there who’s quietly doing the work nobody in the world is going to give them a trophy for.

What do you think about this one? Is there a ministry in your own town that’s catching heat from the local government for doing what Scripture commands? Sound off in the comments below — and if this story encouraged you, share it with someone who needs a little good news today.