Hundreds of Christians Are Running for Office, Inspired by Leaders on the Left Coast

Bethany Blankley | ReligionToday.com Contributor | Updated: Jun 07, 2016

Hundreds of Christians Are Running for Office, Inspired by Leaders on the Left Coast

Several hundred Christians pastors and leaders are running for office this fall, in addition to those who’ve already run for local office. One of their biggest encouragers and inspiration is a pastor from the Left Coast state of California. Calvary Chapel’s Pastor Rob McCoy ran for City Council in Thousand Oaks, California, and won, and is running for reelection this fall.

Of his conservative values and commitment to socially and fiscally responsible principles he told CBN News, “I’m in exile in my own state and my own nation and this is a directive that God gave me, praying for the peace of the city locally.” He offers encouragement to other Christians to be leaders in their local communities as well:

“You can change the city council. You can change the school board. You can make a difference right where you are. You can affect your schools; you can affect your sports teams. You have the ability to affect your Kiwanis, your rotary. Change your bean patch. Quit whining.”

McCoy points to Psalm 11:3 as one reason why Christians must get involved and not stay on the sidelines. He reasons:

“The answer to the question that the Psalmist asked that if ‘the foundations are destroyed what can the righteous do?” is very simple: rebuild the foundation.”

Another encourager is Assemblywoman Shannon Groves from Bakersfield. She raises the issue of the transgender bathroom nonsense by asking:

“Do you think that if people on your deacon board or pastoral board were serving on the school board that you would be discussing same-sex bathrooms?”

Christians are also getting encouragement from the American Renewal Project’s David Lane, another resident of California. Through 11 Issachar Training events last year, the American Renewal Project initially reached over 600 attendees and estimates that roughly 150-200 people are running for office this year.

Those first 600 attendees spread the knowledge of what they learned to their friends, family, and neighbors. As a result, some of them already ran for school board or other local office positions in their home state. Some ran for political positions in states where Issachar Training events were not held. In 2015, two attendees won state house seats in Louisiana, and one pastor who attended an event, helped elect a slate of candidates in his hometown in West Virginia.

Bethany Blankley is the Senior Editor for Constitution.com. Her syndicated show, "America's Betrayal," can be heard on Conservative Review Radio, WAAR Radio, and other talk radio stations. Her columns have been published by The Washington Times, Newsday, Western Journalism, Townhall, The Christian Post, Charisma News, and others. She was a former communications strategist to four Senators, one Congressman, one New York governor, and several nonprofits. She holds graduate and undergraduate degrees in Theology and Political Science. Follow her: @bethanyblankley & www.bethanyblankley.com.

Publication date: June 7, 2016



Hundreds of Christians Are Running for Office, Inspired by Leaders on the Left Coast