The Church Ambassador Network is a ministry of Indiana Family Institute that equips the church to engage government for the advance of God’s kingdom. We accomplish this by building relationships between pastors and government officials, ministering to those officials, and partnering with them for the common good. We also equip church leaders and other committed Christians with practical resources to help them faithfully engage in their role as citizen. Our ultimate goal is to see our cities and state transformed through the power of the gospel.
WHY THE CHURCH AMBASSADOR NETWORK?
As Christians, we are called to follow Jesus in every area of our lives, including in our role as citizen (Matt. 28:16-20; Phil. 1:27) . But, cultural pressure, partisan politics and culture warring have left many church leaders and other committed Christians conflicted about their role in the public square. We often hear these questions: “Should we engage at all?,” “Haven’t we lost the culture war?” and “How can we engage elected officials and public life without jeopardizing the Gospel?”
We launched the Church Ambassador Network to answer these questions and to equip church leaders and other committed Christians to faithfully and effectively engage public life in our increasingly polarized and plural culture (Matt. 28:16-20; Matt. 5:16).
WHAT DOES THE CHURCH AMBASSADOR NETWORK DO?
- RELATIONSHIPS. We routinely build relationships between church leaders and state and federal officials via in-person or virtual meetings. These meetings include the sharing of Scripture, discussions about how the church can help with key problems, and a time of prayer.
- PARTNERSHIPS. Through the relationships established above, we identify ways the God-ordained institutions of church and state can partner together to serve the common good. Then, we encourage churches to impact these key problems, such as foster care, the drug crisis and mental health.
- RESOURCES. We equip church leaders and other committed Christians to be gospel-centered citizens (Phil 1:27). We produce a podcast (The Good Citizen Podcast) and other digital resources, send out weekly email updates and routinely speak in churches and at events about rethinking Christian citizenship and engaging government in God’s way.
WHAT CHURCH LEADERS ARE SAYING
“The meetings Josh sets up have helped me obey Jesus’s command to pray for public officials in a more meaningful way and uncover new ways of helping our community. Some of those meetings have led to ongoing relationships that I pray will benefit the people we both serve.”
Dave Cook, Senior Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church (Greenwood, Indiana)
Josh Hershberger of the Daniel Initiative presented an extremely enlightening and informative program to our church, addressing the pressing issues of how Christians should understand and relate to government. Josh made it so clear that we cannot neglect our role and responsibilities as citizens here below. I wholeheartedly recommend Josh’s presentation to any church!
JD Traylor, Pastor of Hanover Baptist Church (Hanover, Indiana)
“I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity I had recently to meet with my state senator. I think he was pleasantly surprised that my agenda consisted of nothing more than getting to know him, asking about ideas on how the church can help meet community needs, and spending a few moments praying for him and his work. I was reminded that while it is appropriate to hold our government leaders accountable for their decisions and actions, God calls me first to pray for them. Before I do the former, I need to spend a lot more time doing the latter. I look forward to more opportunities to meet and pray with my government leaders so that together we can build a stronger community.”
Steve Yeaton, Senior Minister of First Christian Church (Columbus, Indiana)
WHERE DO I START?
The best way to get involved with the Church Ambassador Network is to join our growing network of pastors and other church leaders from around the state by subscribing below. We send out regular communications on our major initiatives and are available to help you connect with your elected officials. If you have questions, feel free to reach out to our Director, Josh Hershberger, at josh@hoosierfamily.org.