Fall isn't the only thing coming to the Midwest -- so is the Values Bus! This weekend, our team is rolling through a part of the country I know well: Ohio. I was born there and spent part of my growing-up years in the Buckeye State, and now I have the chance to go back and encourage people to pray, vote, and stand before next month's elections.
The FRC Action crew had a great time earlier in the week at Southeastern Baptist Tabernacle in Indianapolis talking to young people about the tour and what we're hoping to accomplish. After they spoke to one youth group, two students came up to our team and wanted to know how they could start a Culture Impact Team in their church! Talk about encouraging. The next generation has a heart and a passion for serving the Lord in their local communities -- and the FRCA staff is seeing that almost everywhere they go.
Out in California, our staff can't believe the impact their tour is having. At Calvary Chapel of the Harbour, they met a man named Steven, who told the team that he was once a liberal Democrat until he started "listening to Tony Perkins on YouTube." He went to Calvary Chapel Chino Hills when I was in town and we met in person. The team says he's become a "big fan" and grateful for all he's learned about politics and biblical worldview from FRC. By the end of the day, he ended up being one of the 30 people who signed the pledge!
The next day, the West Coast team drove to the Houses of Light Church, a mostly Spanish-speaking congregation. But thanks to translators, the language didn't seem to matter. Most people spoke our language when it came to issues like life, marriage, and religious liberty. Once the service ended, the congregation poured out of the room into the hallway where the FRCA team set up a couple of tables. There were so many people that the staff had to hand out stacks of materials for them to be passed out to those in the back of the group. Nine people registered to vote, and several took applications home for family members. There was a substantial amount of material distributed -- with the Party Platform Comparison being the most popular.
Outside, the congregation helped each other to stand on the tires of the bus so that they could reach unsigned sections of it. The bus now has messages written in Spanish, besides the messages from previous stops that were written in Latin, multiple messages in Asian, and of course, English. Overall, the congregation at Houses of Light Church showed the California team their enthusiasm and fantastic response to the Pray, Vote, and Stand message.
You can see what all of the excitement is about by logging on to the Values Bus website. This weekend, I'll be in Ohio at a number of events, including the world-famous Circleville Pumpkin Show and Parade on Saturday. On Sunday, the 21st, I'll be preaching at the Faith Life Church's 9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 12:30 p.m. Sunday services. And then, later that day, the bus crew and I will be set up at the "For God and Country" Harvest Festival, hosted by Victory in Truth Ministries from 5-7 p.m. Stop by and say hello! For more information on all of these events -- and what our California team is up to at the Huntington Beach Air Show, click over to our website!
To hear from our team on the ground, check out this interview from FRC Action Director Brent Keilen.
