About

Our Story

In 2015, after researching the foundations of effective families and reviewing the national Christian literature on father-formation (essential to thriving communities) Chip Weiant, a Christian leader in Central Ohio fused his findings with his own joy of family discipleship and began a career-capstone journey called DadLab. DadLab’s purpose built a Heartland Bible-centered peer-discipleship movement  to mentor dads within Christian schools. Together, these dads built out father-focused, parent stregnthening, home discipleship practices to equip and encourage dads to embrace the call of Husband & Dad more intentionally.

In 2023, Chip Weiant invited Mike Mattes into the Dad Lab to take the movement and establish it as its own 501c3 non-profit and serve as the first Executive Director. Upon a board being established, the name was changed to Kingdom Dads and the movement took on a God sized vision to reach dads beyond in contexts beyond Christian schools and central Ohio. In just the past year, Kingdom Dads has influenced the lives of over 100 dads engaging in small group cohorts. These dads meet regularly to encourage and exhort one another in the time tested Gospel-centered practices while engaging with other leading Christian voices and resources that encourage dads to be intentional and faithful in their calling as husband and dad.

Statement of Faith

We believe that the Bible in its entirety (Old Testament 39, New Testament 27) is divine revelation, and we submit to the authority of Holy Scripture, acknowledging it to be inspired by and to carry the full weight of God’s authority.
God made this world and all that is in it: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…. God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Gen. 1:1,27). He created human beings to be like Him and to have unhindered fellowship with Him, and when His work of creation was finished He saw that it was “very good” (Gen. 1:31).
Although the first people God created, Adam and Eve, had complete freedom to live in friendship and trust with Him, they chose to rebel (Gen. 3:1-7). Because God designed that Adam would represent the entire human race, his sin was catastrophic not only for him but for us: “one trespass led to condemnation for all men” (Rom. 5:18). Our fellowship with God was broken. Instead of enjoying His holy pleasure, we instead face His righteous wrath. Through this sin, we all died spiritually (see Rom. 3:1-20; Eph. 2:1-10) and the entire world was affected. God also cursed the world over which humanity had been set to reign as His lieutenants (see Gen. 3 :17-19). “The creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it” (Rom. 8:20). And we all individually sin against God in our own lives: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).

God would have been perfectly just to leave matters there, with all human beings under His holy judgment, but He didn’t. God instead set in motion His plan to save His people from sin and judgment and set free the entire creation from its subjugation to sin and the curse. How? By sending His Son as a true man who would bear the penalty for our sin and die in our place: “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3).

The best-known verse in the Bible summarizes the required response to this good news: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

To “believe in” Jesus includes both a wholehearted trust in Him for forgiveness of sins and a decision to forsake one’s sin or to “repent”: All who truly “repent [or turn from their sins] and believe [in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins]” will be redeemed (Mark 1:15) and restored to a right relationship with God. To “believe in” Jesus also requires relating to, and putting trust in, Jesus as He truly is—not just a man in ancient history but also a living Savior today who knows our hearts and hears our prayers.

God not only rescues lost sinners but He restores all of creation. We read in Romans 8:21: “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” The heavens and the earth will “pass away” and be radically transformed (2 Pet. 3:7-13; Rev. 21:1). We read of the glorious culmination of this in the book of Revelation, where God’s people, the redeemed, are brought into the presence of God to live (Rev. 21:1-22:6). This is life as it should be, literally as it was meant to be.

The History

2015

A group of dads recognizes the “dad crisis” in Christian families

2017

First cohort launched with Worthington Christian School in Central Ohio

2022

Movement grew organically to 42 dads and 2 school partnerships

2023

First church and marketplace cohorts launched

Formalized Kingdom Dads and hired first Executive Director

2024

KD has grown to 103 dads and 13 cohorts

The History

2015

A group of dads recognizes the “dad crisis” in Christian families

2017

First cohort launched with Worthington Christian School in Central Ohio

2022

Movement grew organically to 42 dads and 2 school partnerships

2023

Formalized Kingdom Dads and hired first full-time Executive Director

First church and marketplace cohorts launched

2024

KD has grown to 103 dads and 13 cohorts