Amazing Dad: Virgil Savage

Virgil Savage treats every child in his life the same way.

“If they’re in our home, they’re in our hearts forever,” he says.

That mindset shapes everything he does—from mentoring youth at John 3:16 Mission’s Family and Youth Center to fostering and adopting children with his wife, Tori, an emergency room nurse practitioner.

Virgil is this year’s TulsaKids Amazing Dad winner, selected from more than 100 nominees. His friend and co-worker at John 3:16, Ian Atchison, described him as “the calm in everyone’s storm… a rock for everyone around him.”

Much of that work happens at John 3:16, where Virgil has served as youth pastor for nearly seven years, working with about 60 kids during the school year. In the summer, that number climbs to nearly 95, with a waiting list behind it.

“I tell them all the time, I’m going to treat you guys like you’re my own,” Virgil says. “I’m going to give you advice. I’m not your parent—I’ll work with your parents—but I’m going to love you like my own while you’re here.”

Not every child in his program has a father at home. Some send him Father’s Day cards, and some call him Papa Savage.

“Every time I think about it, I start to choke up,” he says.

One of those kids is Corey, who came through the program from kindergarten through high school graduation and took full advantage of the opportunities along the way. Over the years, he traveled to Washington, D.C., and to Europe through a leadership program and joined mission trips with John 3:16 to Guatemala.

“He’s taken hold of the opportunity,” Virgil says. “He’s not let his circumstances stop him from being great.”

Every other spring break, Virgil takes students to Guatemala to serve at an orphanage called Eagle’s Nest. For many, it’s their first time out of the country—and their first look at a very different way of life. They dig trenches by hand, carry supplies and see how other families live, often without running water or modern conveniences.

“It changes your perspective,” Virgil says.

Back in Tulsa, the lessons Virgil teaches the youth in his program are more everyday: how to change oil, cook a meal, raise chickens or tend a garden.

“These are things you don’t learn in school,” he says.

The goal is simple—help kids build a life that keeps them from needing the recovery programs John 3:16 offers later.

“My job is to show them how we don’t get to that situation,” he says.

Some days are harder than others, especially when the needs of the kids are high and the situations are complicated.

Virgil shakes his head. “There are times I’m like, ‘I have the right answer for you, I promise, if you’ll just listen,’” he says. “But then I think about kids like Corey, and I remember—it’s worth it.”

At home, Virgil and Tori have opened their door to children who need a loving home, fostering nine babies and toddlers since 2021.

One little girl stayed for two years before being reunited with her father.

“That one was hard to let go of,” Virgil says.

Today, they are raising 2-year-old Rudy and 2-year-old Naomi—the two are just four months apart.

“You can’t tell them they’re not brother and sister,” Virgil says. “He calls her sister. She calls him Bubba.”

Life with two toddlers is busy, filled with small routines—like starting every car ride with The Lion King soundtrack already playing. It’s the kind of everyday moment Virgil doesn’t take for granted. He smiles and laughs when talking about the morning routine with his kids.

For Virgil, fatherhood is the role that means the most.

“I tell people all the time my favorite label so far is dad,” he says. “I love being a youth pastor. I love being a husband. But being a dad—there’s nothing like it.”

Virgil’s own father, who died in 2021, shaped that view. Growing up in Oklahoma City, his dad coached his teams and showed up for him in big and small ways.

“We did everything together,” he says.

Now, Virgil sees firsthand the difference that kind of presence makes.

“You can tell who has a father figure in their life and who doesn’t,” he says. “It makes a difference.”

He’s also quick to downplay the idea that involved dads are doing something extraordinary. He’s noticed people often praise him for doing day-to-day things like taking the kids to the park or fixing his daughter’s hair.

“I’m not babysitting,” he says. “I’m just being their dad.”

Whether he’s mentoring students, leading a mission trip or rocking a toddler to sleep, Virgil is there for the kids who need him most.

“I wouldn’t do anything else,” he says.