The Church Ambassador Network is on Mission in 2024

5/23/24

The Church Ambassador Network (CAN) is a ministry initiative of IFI that equips the church to engage government for the advance of God’s kingdom. CAN accomplishes this mission by building relationships between pastors and government officials, partnering with government to solve key problems, and producing resources to equip church leaders and committed Christians in the area of citizenship. Here’s an update on how CAN is impacting Indiana in 2024:

Building Relationships at the Statehouse. During the 2024 legislative session, Josh Hershberger, the Director of CAN, and Gerson Cardona, the Deputy Director, were at the statehouse on a daily basis connecting pastors with their state representatives and state senators with the goal of (1) ministering to those officials and (2) partnering with them for the common good.

Altogether, CAN made 1,220 shepherd-to-shepherd connections between pastors and governing officials this spring. CAN also scheduled and led meetings with members of the Executive Branch, including Governor Holcomb, Secretary of State Diego Morales, Comptroller Elise Nieshalla, and Treasurer Daniel Elliott. 

One of the highlights of the session was the first-ever Burmese pastors day as pastors that fled political persecution in their home country of Burma came up to the statehouse to pray with their governing officials. We were deeply moved by the joy of these pastors as they experienced American government firsthand, connected with their officials, and even toured the chamber of the House of Representatives.

CAN also promoted HB 1137, which requires school districts to release children to religious instruction during the public school day if that instruction is off campus, privately funded, and agreed to by the parents. This bill is now law in the state of Indiana.

Partnering with Government to Solve Key Problems. Motivated by the consistent command throughout the New Testament to “do good” (Matt. 5:16; Titus 3; I Tim. 6:18), CAN is partnering with government to impact key community needs such as foster care, the drug crisis, and mental health. If you would like to review CAN’s Community Impact Plan, here is a link. CAN is now focused on (1) a statewide Community Impact Survey designed to gather data on the number of churches impacting these issues in every county and (2) the issue of addiction recovery and identifying churches that are or are willing to impact this issue in their zip code.

Equipping the Church to Engage Government. CAN is also connecting with churches around Indiana and equipping them to engage government through speaking and resources. Josh Hershberger recently spoke to a group of pastors in southeast Indiana and led the National Day of Prevent event there, and he routinely preaches in churches or at events on Biblical citizenship and worldview. Josh also hosts the Good Citizen Podcast and recently interviewed David Closson from the Family Research Council about the Biblical Worldview Crisis in churches and how pastors can respond.

CAN has been supported for a number of years by startup grants from national ministry partners, and we now need to move this to a ministry supported by Hoosiers and especially churches in Indiana. If you feel led to give to the work of CAN or to speak to your pastor about getting involved financially, follow this link. Here is our funding goal over the next year and how we plan to achieve it.

As always, thank you for your prayers for our ministry and for your financial support!

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Recap: Hoosier Leadership Series’ First Class of 2024

5/15/24

Last month, we held the first class of the 2024 Hoosier Leadership Series. Over 30 students joined us for the inaugural session, where we heard from several IFI administrators as well as Stephanie Kreuz, Director of Sentinel Engagement at the Heritage Action for America, who spoke about legislative activism.

During the class, each student began developing a personal impact plan, which details their strengths and goals moving forward to become an active leader in their community, promoting Christian values and advancing the conservative movement. Thanks to sponsor B23 Strategies, throughout the next several months of the Hoosier Leadership Series, each class member will continue to individually develop their impact plan with the help of IFI’s trusted advisors.

We also heard from IFI’s General Counsel and Church Ambassador Network Director Josh Hershberger, who introduced a practical guide to Biblical citizenship, and former HLS Director Micah Beckwith, about why America is still worth fighting for.

We’re looking forward to the next HLS session happening this month at the Statehouse. Highlights include a tour of the capitol, a personal meet and greet with Comptroller Elise Nieshalla, and a hands-on exercise about how a bill becomes a law. We will also hear from several highly anticipated guest speakers!

While we wish that we could accept visitors during the Statehouse class, unfortunately we are restricted by space in the conference and caucus room and will not be accepting drop-ins. If you’re interested in joining next year’s class, where we will likely hold a similar meeting, please email HLS Director Valerie Swack to join the waiting list: valerie@hoosierfamily.org.

As always, we are incredibly grateful for our sponsors, who help make the Hoosier Leadership Series possible: B23 Strategies, Vertical Immersive, Americans for Prosperity, Adler Law Firm, Ash and Oak, and Samaritan Ministries.

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It’s election day!

5/7/24

It’s election day! This is your reminder to make time today to get out and vote. Check your polling location and sample ballot here, and research the candidates you’ll be voting on with iVoterGuide here.

Historically, we know that very few people make the effort to vote in Indiana’s primary elections. This means that today, your vote will have even more power and influence to change the tide of the election when you get out and vote. We need conservative voters to rise up and fill the Statehouse with like-minded Hoosiers now more than ever, with parental rights on the line.

Every vote counts – please encourage your friends and family to vote as well. It’s time for conservative Hoosiers to rise up and make a difference in their community.

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Mark your calendars for May 7th – Indiana’s Primary Election

5/2/24

Mark your calendars for May 7th! Indiana’s primary election is quickly approaching – and it’s an important one. We need every single Christian conservative in the state making it to the booths on election day or through early voting. 

This primary, we have several extremely competitive congressional seats up for grabs and it’s essential we fill them with like-minded Hoosiers in order to continue defending life, parental rights, and Christian values in the legislature.

We have several resources available to help you prepare for the upcoming election:

First, we recommend that you double-check your voter registration status through www.indianavoters.in.gov in the lead-up to election day. After you confirm everything is up-to-date, you can plug in your address to find your voting location as well as overview a sample ballot.

Once you have your sample ballot, we highly encourage you to use the resource www.ivoterguide.com in conjunction with our past legislative scorecards to determine who deserves your vote, based on past performance and overall worldview.

Voting in free, fair elections is an incredible privilege, and one we should not take for granted. We have a responsibility to ourselves, our family, and our nation to cast informed votes based on our own personal research. We hope you’ll use this time in the lead-up to the election to evaluate your ballot and decide in advance how you’ll cast your votes.

Share this with your friends and family to encourage them to get out and vote as well!

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ACT NOW: Email your legislators in support of parental rights

4/23/24

As you likely already heard, the Supreme Court recently denied the petition of Mary and Jeremy Cox to defend religious liberty and parental rights on a national level. It is now up to the state to bring justice to this family and prevent any others from experiencing the heartbreak and injustice they have endured, when their child was stripped from their custody because the parents did not support his “gender transition.” 

In 2021, the Indiana Department of Child Services initiated an investigation into the Cox family because they could not, in good conscience, refer to their son using a name or pronouns inconsistent with his biological sex. Despite the fact that they were caring for all of his medical, physical, and educational needs, the state removed him from their custody, banned them from speaking to him about the topic of sex and gender, and placed him in a home that would affirm his transgender identity. DCS specifically argued (about their son, a biological male), “She should be in a home where she is [ac]cepted for who she is.” Even after DCS dismissed all allegations of neglect and abuse against the parents, the trial court continued the removal and the gag order on the parents’ religious speech to their own child in their own home. The child was never returned to their custody, and he aged out of the foster system.

Since the Supreme Court failed the Cox family, it’s now up to our legislators, governor, and DCS to right this egregious wrong. Click here to email your elected officials now!

As legislators consider their priorities for next session, strengthening parental rights needs to be at the top of the list. Christian parents are having their children removed by the state government, simply because they believe that a boy is a boy and a girl is a girl. The legislature is the last line of defense for parents.

With that said, Governor Holcomb and the leaders at DCS are ultimately responsible for this egregious attack on parental rights, and it is their responsibility to end this practice now. Because DCS was allowed to take a child simply because the parents wouldn’t go along with woke gender theory, all Indiana parents of children who struggle with mental health are now at risk. DCS has been emboldened by the state court system to continue their abhorrent violations of parental rights. We need immediate action by way of public regulations that will prohibit DCS workers from attacking conservative, Christian families in the future. 

Will you join us in demanding parental rights are respected in Indiana? 

It’s time for our legislators and government officials to rise up in support of the Cox family and parental rights. Your calls and emails go a long way in encouraging them to do so. We hope you’ll take two minutes today to send our pre-written email to your elected officials. This terrible precedent cannot stand. The Indiana General Assembly, Governor’s office, and DCS must act.   

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