Forty percent of children in this country are raised in a family where the father is absent. This statistic is what first opened Bobby Nix’s eyes to the problem of fatherlessness in the country and what encouraged him to open Right Stuff Ministries. For the past 25 years, Nix has worked to help advocate for the cause, as well as become a mentor for those who need it.

“The mission statement of the ministry is to ‘champion the cause of fatherless children in the greater Leeds community’,” Nix said.

And this is precisely what he strives to do. Talking to Nix, it is clear how much he cares about his mission and the boys he works with.

He says the inspiration that struck him was twofold; having his eyes open to the problem of fatherlessness as well as seeing his own father’s loyalty to his family growing up.

“I used to be a teacher and a coach and I would see what was going on with these kids lives.” Nix said, “I felt like this was something I could do. I was blessed to come from a home where I had a faithful father and I felt like I should try to pass on some of these values.”

It’s fair to say that loyalty is the most important lesson his own father taught him. After Nix’s mom had a stroke, he recounted how his dad remained by her side. He remembers his dad commenting that taking care of his sick wife was a privilege, not a burden.

Seeing his dad remain committed motivated Nix to pass this moral responsibility of remaining faithful and loyal on to the next generation, he said. Most of the kids that come into the center are searching for this kind of positive figure in their lives.

“It’s an epidemic,” Nix said, “I think it’s a crisis in America that hardly anyone talks about and it’s the root cause of so many problems.”

He believes that crime, teenage pregnancy and so many other problems plaguing our society would be eradicated if we had more loving, supportive fathers in the home. Fathers that can teach their kids the same message Nix is working to teach the boys that come to him in need of a mentor and father figure.

“Most of the kids we work with have little or no relationship with their father ever. A lot of them never met their dad or their dad’s in prison. It’s not their fault, but I try to show them there’s a better way.”

Nix used a metaphor of a pin in a pinball machine. He said his responsibility is to help them find their purpose, having a place to go instead of living their life like a ball in a pinball machine, just bouncing around forever.

“When you come from generational brokenness and all you’ve ever known how to do is survive, then the principles of delayed gratification, education and building a career are largely foreign concepts that the kids have no vision for. They’ve never seen anything like that.”

The idea is that, by giving these boys stability and introducing them to these things, Nix can also foster an environment where they learn to be loyal and upstanding men.

“A lot of what we do is let them know what’s out there. I’ve taken them to business owners and let them meet, take them to church weekly, helping them get jobs. We kind of do whatever it takes to try to fill the gap that the fatherlessness creates.”

When great men pass away their kids don’t stand around the casket and say ‘I’m glad my dad was a great business man’ or that they’re glad he’s smart or handsome, Nix said.

“They say, ‘I’m glad my dad was there for me.’”

And, from the amount of passion that exudes from him as he discusses his mission and the boys he works with, there are already plenty of boys saying this about Nix.

Essentially being a father to the boys he mentors, Nix emphasizes the difficulty of the situation. He said that, often, the kid who’s acting out the most is really crying out for help and you don’t want to encourage the behavior, but you also don’t want to alienate them. And not all the boys accept the help.

“The ones who receive it have benefitted tremendously,” Nix said, “I’ve seen kids grown, now raising their own children and becoming leaders.”

Much like parenting, being a mentor to these kids involves providing opportunity and having faith that they’ll make it through.

“Sometimes the ones who struggle the most wind up coming back around and doing fine,” Nix said. “The main thing is being consistent and encouraging them. If you can just encourage kids to do the right thing, it has a tendency to stick with them.”