On March 29, 2016 Mr. Jeff Springer, Founder and Chairman of Suit Up Ministries, spoke to the Magnolia Rotary Club about a men's ministry that he will be leading full time as soon as he retires as Principal of Magnolia High School at the end of this school year. Mr. Jeff Springer is pictured in the above photo.
 
Mr. Springer told everyone that he has been the Principal of Magnolia High School for 14 years and has loved every moment of it. Jeff has a total of 34 years of experience in education that includes 11 years of classroom teaching and coaching along with 23 years in education administration.
 
However, he is now ready to take on something new that he is equally passionate about and that is the job of Minister of Discipleship at the Wildwood United Methodist Church where he is also a current member. In his new role, Jeff has decided to take on full time a ministry he created in 2008 to address the many problems created by absentee fathers in our society.  He calls this ministry "Suit Up Ministries".
 
Jeff explained that as Principal of MHS over the years, he has seen first hand many of the problems created by families where the father is not in the picture. He has seen the big difference between high school kids who have a father who is involved in their lives and the kids that don't have a father involved in their lives. Jeff explained that he recently read a book called the "Fatherless Generation" but felt that it should have been called the "Dadless Generation" as there are no problems with men being fathers but with men being dads to their kids. Many men for numerous reasons have decided to leave their families causing more damage then most of them know. Jeff cited the following statistics concerning households without dads:
 
  1. 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes (U.S. D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census).
  2. 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes.
  3. 85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes (Center for Disease Control).
  4. 80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes (Criminal Justice System).
  5. 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes (National Principals Association).
  6. 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes.
  7. 70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes (U.S. Dept. of Justice).
  8. 85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home (Texas Dept. of Corrections).
Jeff explained that "Suit Up Ministries" has the vision of "Equipping Men For Victory" and that the ministry's foundational Bible Verse is from Romans 13:12; "The night is almost over, the dawn is almost here, so put away the deeds of darkness and put on the ARMOR of Light". Jeff currently serves as the Men's Minister and Discipleship Coach at his church but has previously served as Pastor, Youth Director, Chairman of the Council on Ministries Board, Nominations Committee Member and as his church's Lay Leader.
 
Jeff explained further that he has taken men on camp trips for DAD training where DAD stands for Daily, Active, and Devoted to help men find the true meaning of what it means to be a dad. He has a goal of buying a bus and taking his ministry on the road around the state of Texas and other states if possible. Jeff further explained that all men need to understand that they are undefeated through the love of Christ and that no matter how bad their situation is, Christ can make them whole again if they choose to let him.
 
Jeff than showed a video showing 4 high school kids talking about their dads. Two of the kids loved their dads and told how much they were involved in their lives and two of the kids had absentee fathers that caused them a number of personal problems. However, thanks to Jeff and other parents, all four of these kids are now going to college with a potential bright future ahead of them.
 
Jeff showed a 2nd video that talked about the many societal problems caused by absentee fathers.
 
Jeff showed a 3rd video that equated the success of a dad to winning a sport. It all begins in the locker room (analogy) with a plan on how to win the game.
 
Jeff then told everyone that Suit Up Ministries has two main goals:
 
1. To celebrate men who are good dads and involved in the families.
2. Encourage other men to get in the game of being a dad; hence the name "Suit Up Ministries".
 
The last thing that Jeff told us was:
 
"Schools are a reflection of the community.
Communities are a reflection of local churches.
Local churches are a reflection of local families.
Local families are a reflection of the dad in that family."
 
For more information about Suit Up Ministries, go to www.suitupministries.org.
 
After Jeff Springer spoke, new member Dorian Nero got up and told everyone a little bit himself as part of his red badge requirements. A photo of Dorian giving that talk about himself can be seen below:
 
 
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