Father-Daughter Purity Ball Changing Culture

by Caia Hoskins, YourHub Contributor

At a time when fathers are often ridiculed or dismissed by the entertainment culture, some of the most counter-cultural men in Colorado Springs gathered at The Broadmoor Hotel on September 14 for the annual Father-Daughter Purity Ball (www.fatherdaughterpurityball.com).

My husband was one of them.

These fathers stood before their daughters and recited this pledge together:

"I, (daughter's name)'s father, choose before God to cover my daughter as her authority and protection in the areas of purity. I will be pure in my own life as a man, husband and father. I will be a man of integrity and accountability as I lead, guide and pray over my daughter and my family as the high priest in my home. This covering will be used by God to influence generations to come."

The Father-Daughter Purity Ball was created in 1998 by Briargate parents Randy and Lisa Wilson. They have five daughters and two sons.

Hundreds of fathers and daughters have attended this revolutionary event. It has birthed a "purity ball" movement across the nation that has attracted international media attention.

Journalists from the United Kingdom, Canada, Finland and Norway traveled to Colorado Springs to see what The Father-Daughter Purity Ball is all about.

The New York-based Tyra Banks Show also filmed the event and will have the Wilson family as guests--as well as Kevin and Julia Moore from Black Forest--later this month for an upcoming program.

This year the Wilsons have been interviewed on the NBC Today Show, ABC's Good Morning America, CNN's Glenn Beck Show and The Dr. Phil Show. Feature articles on the Ball have appeared in Oprah Winfrey's O magazine, Glamour, Marie Claire, The Economist, USA Today and other publications.

"This event is about restoring fatherhood--one of the most critical issues facing our culture today," said Ball founder Randy Wilson. "Research shows that the most important man in a daughter's life is her father."

The formal dinner dance featured ballet performance, live chamber music, a covenant signing ceremony for fathers, a procession of daughters laying white roses at the foot of a huge wooden cross, and ballroom dancing until midnight.

"There is no place in our culture that celebrates the power and beauty of the father-daughter relationship," said Wilson. "We created an extravagant celebration to affirm a father's place of protection and authority and a daughter's incredible worth and dignity."

"When a father's heart is engaged with his daughter, she is more likely to be strong, confident, and able to resist peer pressure," said Wilson. "The research shows that the emotional and physical purity of the daughter rests on the shoulders of the father."

According to pediatrician Dr. Meg Meeker in her book Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters (Regnery, 2006), a daughter's connection with her parents--especially her father--is the number one factor in preventing girls from engaging in pre-marital sex, taking drugs and alcohol, attempting suicide, suffering from eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression.

Girls are also more likely to stay in school and do better academically.

"The significance of the Ball is enormous," said Ball co-founder Lisa Wilson. "When fathers and daughters are closely connected, these girls grow up into women who expect respect from men because they have seen it modeled by their fathers."

"My dad is my greatest advocate who wants to launch me into a healthy relationship with a man who will honor and respect me as a woman," said Khrystian Wilson, age 19. "He is there to answer my questions and help me understand life and relationships."

"I am not just a body; I am a being," said Jordyn Wilson, age 18. "I have a heart, emotions and a soul that I want to be cherished and known before I give my body away to the man I'm going to spend the rest of my life with. I am too valuable to be disposable."

Khrystian, Jordyn and their newly-married sister Lauren are currently pursuing publishers for a book they have written entitled Purely Woman: Awakening the Heart of God Through Pure Living in This Generation.

The Wilsons started a ministry to families called Generations of Light ( www.GenerationsofLight.com). Randy and Lisa speak throughout the nation on the power of fatherhood and motherhood. They are authors of the book Celebrations of Faith: Tying Our Children's Heartstrings to the Truth (Cook Publishing, 2001).

Caia Hoskins is the mother of two daughters (and two sons) who adore their father.