Jerry Kirk, pastor who led national anti-porn fight, dies at 94
Jerry Kirk, an Ohio pastor and conservative Christian activist known for launching a crusade against pornography, has died at the age of 94.
The Center for Christian Virtue, a prominent Ohio-based conservative group that Kirk founded, announced last Friday that the anti-porn activist had died on March 9.
“The love of Jesus Christ overflowed from Pastor Jerry Kirk. A joyful warrior, Pastor Kirk inspired countless pastors and parents across Cincinnati to boldly stand for the safety of their communities and kids,” said CCV President Aaron Baer, as quoted in the announcement.
“While we mourn the loss of a giant in our movement and the founder of our mission, we celebrate that Pastor Kirk is hearing those sweet words from our heavenly Father, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”
“Pastor Kirk’s life is a testimony to what God can do through the faithfulness of His followers,” Baer added.
A native of Seattle, Washington, Kirk made a decision to follow Jesus Christ in high school while attending a Young Life event in Colorado. He later became an active supporter of the Christian youth organization.
According to his official obituary, Kirk earned a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Theology at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. It was at that academic institution that he met his wife, Patricia. The two were married in 1956.
After spending several years pastoring churches in Ohio and Pennsylvania, Kirk turned to activism in the 1980s, founding the National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families, which focused on combatting pornography and fostering sexual purity.
In 1983 at College Hill Presbyterian in Cincinnati, he founded the Concerned Citizens for Community Values, which later became the Center for Christian Virtue. The Cincinnati Enquirer described the CCV as “Ohio’s largest Christian policy group.”
In addition to anti-porn activism, the group is known for advocating on behalf of other socially conservative causes, including opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage.
Over the years, Kirk became known for his opinion columns in national newspapers and his periodic debates with wealthy pornographer and owner of Hustler magazine, Larry Flynt.
“If we had gotten together sooner for the battle against pornography, thousands of children would still be alive, millions of women would not have been raped, an entire generation of young people would not have been ravaged through drugs and twisted death-dealing sex,” Kirk wrote in his 1985 book The Mind Polluters.
Kirk is survived by his wife, five children, 28 grandchildren, and 66 great-grandchildren. A memorial service is scheduled to be held on Saturday at Hope Church of Mason, Ohio.
