Religious liberty is under attack across America.
City officials are weaponizing fire codes and zoning regulations to shut down churches.
And an Ohio pastor faced jail time for this unthinkable reason.
Bryan, Ohio Tried to Destroy a Pastor for Feeding the Homeless
Pastor Chris Avell opened Dad's Place in Bryan, Ohio in 2018 as a non-denominational Christian church.
In March 2023, he made a decision that would put him in the crosshairs of local government tyrants: keeping the church open 24 hours a day to shelter homeless people.
Eight people on average stayed each night along with two volunteers, receiving bedding, meals, and spiritual support.
Bryan city officials watched this ministry unfold and decided it had to be stopped.
In November 2023, as winter approached and temperatures plummeted, city officials issued an ultimatum: close the 24-hour ministry or face crippling penalties.
Bryan Mayor Carrie Schlade and her allies in city government launched what First Liberty Institute attorney Ryan Gardner called a campaign to "use petty tools of government to shut down a disfavored ministry."¹
The city demanded Dad's Place install an expensive fire suppression system but doesn't require motels, most apartment complexes, or even a senior living facility to have them.²
Just the church helping homeless people.
When Pastor Avell refused to throw vulnerable people onto frozen streets, Bryan officials hit him with 18 criminal zoning charges, middle-of-the-night fire inspections, and criminal and civil fire code prosecutions.³
In January 2025, a judge found Avell guilty of fire code violations and slapped him with a $200 fine and a 60-day suspended jail sentence.
The message was clear: stop helping the homeless or go to jail.
Ohio Attorney General Calls Out the Persecution
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost watched this persecution unfold and had seen enough.
Yost filed three separate legal briefs supporting Dad's Place and Pastor Avell.
"This case is about religious liberty," Yost wrote in the very first line of his brief.⁴
Yost argued that the church's shelter operation is inherently religious expression and Bryan's fire code enforcement impedes those religious liberty rights.
The Attorney General pointed out that charity to the poor is a historically religious practice going back thousands of years.
Yost demanded the trial court apply "strict scrutiny" under the Ohio Constitution's Conscience Clause rather than the weaker "rational basis" standard.⁵
Strict scrutiny is the highest level of judicial review.
It requires the government to prove it has a compelling interest and is using the least restrictive means possible to achieve that interest.
That's a much tougher standard for government bureaucrats trying to shut down a church.
Meanwhile, Mayor Schlade insisted this was about "public safety" and claimed three court rulings found no religious freedom violations.⁶
But those rulings all used the wrong legal standard.
Appeals Court Delivers Crushing Blow to City Tyrants
Ohio's Sixth District Court of Appeals reversed the injunction and sent a clear message to the trial court: you got this wrong, now do it right.
The appeals court ordered the lower court to reconsider using strict scrutiny under the Ohio Constitution and properly address Dad's Place's free exercise claims.⁷
"Because the trial court erred in failing to address [Dad's Place's] arguments under the Ohio Conscience Clause we must remand the case to the trial court for further proceedings," the court wrote.⁸
First Liberty Institute attorney Ryan Gardner explained the significance.
"The law requires the least restrictive test possible when dealing with religious organizations," Gardner told The Daily Signal. "You have to infringe on religious liberty with as light a touch as possible."⁹
Gardner stressed that fire codes give officials "vast discretion" in enforcement.
Along with zoning codes and nuisance laws, these "highly discretionary" regulations can be weaponized against disfavored organizations.
The court's holding is "monumental for religious ministries" not just in Ohio but "across the country," Gardner explained.
This Fight Isn't Over
The appellate victory means Dad's Place can continue its ministry while the trial court reconsiders under the correct legal standard.
But Pastor Avell still faces an appeal of his criminal conviction.
First Liberty Institute attorney Jeremy Dys called the victory "a turning point in the case."
"We are grateful that the court recognized the weighty issues of Constitutional law at hand and ensured that Dad's Place can continue operating its vital ministry as temperatures begin to drop in Bryan," Dys said in a statement.¹⁰
The timing couldn't be better.
This victory came right before Thanksgiving, allowing vulnerable people to have shelter during the holiday season.
"The turkey is going to taste a little better," Gardner noted, given how close the victory came to Thanksgiving.
But make no mistake about what's happening here.
This case exposes how radical leftists in local government use bureaucratic weapons to destroy religious ministries they don't like.
They can't openly say "we hate Christians helping homeless people."
So they hide behind fire codes and zoning regulations to achieve the same result.
Bryan officials treated secular motels, apartment buildings, and senior facilities with one standard.
They treated a church helping the homeless with another.
That's not safety enforcement.
That's targeted persecution dressed up in administrative language.
And thanks to the Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals, Dad's Place just proved that religious liberty still means something in America.
What This Means for Every Church in America
This victory sends shockwaves far beyond Bryan, Ohio.
Every city official eyeing churches with "discretionary enforcement" just got put on notice.
The strict scrutiny standard means bureaucrats can't hide behind fire codes to target ministries they don't like.
They have to prove a compelling government interest and show they're using the least restrictive means possible.
That's a nearly impossible standard to meet when you're giving motels and apartment buildings a free pass while hammering a church.
Think about what would've happened if Dad's Place lost.
Cities across America would've gotten the green light to weaponize codes against any church doing work the government doesn't approve of.
Feeding the homeless? Building code violation.
Running a crisis pregnancy center? Zoning problem.
Holding Bible studies that teach traditional marriage? Fire hazard.
The playbook writes itself once you let bureaucrats decide which ministries deserve "safety enforcement" and which ones get ignored.
Bryan officials thought they could bully one small church.
They picked the wrong fight.
Now every church in America has a roadmap for beating back government persecution dressed up as public safety.
And cities like Bryan are going to think twice before launching crusades against churches helping people the government would rather forget.
¹ Rebecca Downs, "Ohio Church Secures a Win Against 'Petty Tools of Government,'" The Daily Signal, November 24, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ "Ohio Attorney General files another brief in support of Bryan church, pastor convicted of fire code violation," WTOL, January 2025.
⁵ Rebecca Downs, "Ohio Church Secures a Win Against 'Petty Tools of Government,'" The Daily Signal, November 24, 2025.
⁶ "Ohio court grants motion to stay sentence against pastor of Dad's Place in Bryan," WTOL, 2025.
⁷ Rebecca Downs, "Ohio Church Secures a Win Against 'Petty Tools of Government,'" The Daily Signal, November 24, 2025.
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ Ibid.
¹⁰ "Ohio Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Ohio Pastor as City Treats Him 'as a Criminal,'" CBN News, November 2025.
