Powered by Fathers in the Field
Raise Them Right™ is championed by Fathers in the Field, a 501c3 charitable organization founded on the biblical directive to “Defend the cause of the fatherless…”
The organization’s mission is, “To rekindle and establish the spirit of boys who have been abandoned by their fathers; mentoring them one-on-one in life skills through outdoor activities, and by sharing a Christian understanding of our Heavenly Father’s love and sacrifice for His children.”
Fathers in the Field’s outreach addresses the unfortunate consequences of when youth are not raised right and boys suffer abandonment wounds due to disengaged parents, lacking mentors, divorce, and broken homes.
Learn more about Fathers in the Field.
About John Smithbaker, Fathers in the Field’s CEO and Founding Servant
The first four decades of John’s storyline reads like most men’s. He fought hard in his quest for peace and contentment through success, financial gain and accomplishments. And, like many people today, he came from a broken home. There was a break in the cup. It didn’t matter how hard and fast John tried to fill it up.
He built a distinguished career as CEO of Brunton Group, a leading manufacturer of outdoor adventure products.
As an avid outdoorsman working in the industry, it was a perfect intersect of John’s passions and pursuits. Although he held the reigns of an international conglomerate, he couldn’t get a grip on his insatiable longing to reconcile the pain, rejection and lack of approval from a father that deserted his family.
John endlessly struggled to make sense of his father choosing to leave the family when his mom was pregnant with him and his sister was three-years-old. The consequences of his father giving up his role as pastor, provider and protector of the family wreaked havoc in John’s boyhood and manhood. Outwardly, his success was envious, but inwardly, his struggles were not. He desperately wanted to leave the bitterness and anger behind and learn to forgive. It took until his 40th year.
That milestone year, John stopped chasing temporal things and embraced God’s eternal truth about love and forgiveness for the first time.
In 2005, John launched Fathers in the Field to share God’s love with hurting boys dealing with the same abandonment issues he dealt with for so long. His goal is to help prevent the devastating cycle of earthy father abandonment before these boys become men by sharing their Heavenly Father’s staying power, forgiveness and faithfulness.
John’s desire is to be a catalyst for the Kingdom by “defending the cause of the fatherless.” He knows he cannot be compassionate from a distance. John’s all in, ready to roll up his sleeves and get to work encouraging the church and men to make a stand for the fatherless in their community.
The Raise Them Right™ movement seeks to rally the support and participation of adult Americans who share a love for this nation and a commitment to Reach, Teach, and Connect with youth to instill values and virtues that promote patriotism and healthy families. With your help and fellowship, our greatest hope is that someday soon there will be no more need for organizations like Fathers in the Field.
You can reach John Smithbaker at jsmithbaker@fathersinthefield.com.