An Ohio pastor wanted to help. Now, he has been found guilty over running a homeless shelter.

A judge has ruled that a northwestern Ohio pastor violated fire codes by running a shelter for those suffering from homelessness.

Bryan Municipal Court Judge Kent North issued the ruling Tuesday against Pastor Chris Avell, confirming that Dad's Place, a church in Bryan, Ohio, about 65 miles southwest of Toledo, violated the fire code.

“The City of Bryan has consistently emphasized that public safety regulations, including fire codes, must be adhered to, regardless of any other circumstances,” Mayor Carrie M. Schlade said in a news release. She added that Dad’s Place can still serve as a church.

First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit public interest law firm, is representing Avell and shared its thoughts on the ruling this week. The nonprofit plans to appeal.

“Pastor Avell was fined $200 and given a 60-day suspended jail sentence,” the nonprofit shared on its website.  “The judge stayed his decision for 30-days to allow the Avell’s attorneys to appeal.”

Ryan Gardner, Counsel for First Liberty Institute, said in the news release that pastors in America should not be found guilty of providing shelters for those in need.

“Only government officials could say with a straight face that people are safer in the sub-zero temperatures on the street than inside the warmth of a church,” Gardner said in the release.

The institute also added that during the proceedings, city officials demanded the church install a fire suppression system that can be costly but does not require motels and some apartment complexes to have such systems.

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Ordinance violation ruling dates back to 2023

Dad’s Place opened in 2018 and began operating 24 hours a day in March 2023. In addition to housing those in need, the Evangelical church also provides free haircuts, bible study nights, a warming center for those suffering from homelessness, parties, and other service nights.

The case against Avell dates back to May 2023, when multiple people called Bryan city officials about activity at Dad's Place, including trespassing, overdosing, larceny, harassment, disturbing the peace, and sexual assault, the city said in a news release

In late fall 2023, the city found out Dad's Place had allowed people to live at the church, violating a zoning code that allows the building to be used for church activities but not for residential purposes, the city said.

Avell applied for conditional use of the property in 2020, which the city approved, according to the press release.

"Pastor Avell never requested, nor was approval given, to use Dad's Place as a residence or homeless shelter,” the city wrote.

The city notified Avell on Nov. 3 2023, that people were not allowed to live there, granting the church 10 days to stop housing people, a zoning administrator wrote in a November 2023 memo.

According to the administrator who inspected the facility, there was a woman sleeping in a chair, an older man said there was a bedroom in the back of the church, a young man walked in and fell asleep in a chair and one other person inside the church told the administrator that behind a closed door at the church was a bedroom.

The Bryan Fire Department also inspected the building on Nov. 21, 2023 and noted violations such as non-functional doors, a laundry room conversion without approval, and outlets that needed to be reinstalled, according to records the city shared online.

Lawsuits and dropped charges

The city of Bryan eventually pressed 18 criminal charges against Avell and said the church lacked a proper kitchen and laundry facilities, had unsafe exits, and improper ventilation. 

That same month, First Liberty Institute and law firms Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP and Spengler Nathanson PLL filed a federal lawsuit against Bryan, Ohio, and city officials, arguing that the city was trying to shut down religious activities at the church.

“Instead of prosecuting a pastor in an effort to drive his congregation from her sight, Mayor Schlade should be supporting a church trying to care for the marginalized in her community,” said Jeremy Dys, Senior Counsel for First Liberty in a statement. “The Constitution and the law demand nothing less.”

In February 2024, city officials dropped the criminal charges against Avell and Dad’s Place agreed to stop housing people at the church. The church also agreed to secure proper building certifications and zoning permits, the city said in a news release.

But just a few months later in April 2024, city officials announced another citation against the church for “violations that represent serious safety risk.” According to officials, the fire department again inspected the building and this time, found 15 people sleeping in the church’s main room.

And about eight months later on Dec. 6, 2024, the Court of Common Pleas of Williams County ordered that Dad’s Place stop using its facilities as a residence until the violations were taken care of.

“In the name of religious freedom, Dad’s Place and its pastor, Christopher Avell, are putting the very people they are trying to help and comfort at significant risk of injury or death,” Common Pleas Judge J.T. Stelzer wrote in the order. “The desire for both ‘religious freedom’ and ‘public safety’ is not mutually exclusive and the two goals can and should easily co-exist.”

Attorney General steps in to support pastor

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost got wind of the legal proceedings and stepped in to support Dad’s Place, writing an op-ed that was published on Dec. 17.

“Pastor Chris keeps his church open to anybody, all the time, because he believes the words of Jesus as recorded in the 25th Chapter of Matthew’s Gospel: ‘What you do for the least of these, you do it for me,’” Yost wrote. 

He also submitted a brief supporting Dad’s Place after a state judge issued a ruling that would’ve closed the church.

After Tuesday’s ruling, Gardner, a First Liberty Institute attorney, said Avell is now facing two choices: "Continue to follow his sincere religious convictions of keeping people out of this deadly cold or losing his very liberty by going to jail."

“We will be appealing and we will continue fighting for Pastor Chris until his rights are secured and he is able to live out his faith," Gardner added.

Contributing: Ahjané Forbes

Saleen Martin is a reporter on Paste BN's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at @SaleenMartin or email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.