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| Pastor Mathias | | Ms. Brunell - Executive Director | | Mr. Gaffney - Managing Director | | Ms. Helmers - Managing Director | | | |
| Mr. Flynn - Senior Director | | Mr. Bolton - Director | | Ms. Irwin - Director | | Mr. James - Director | | Mr. Levine - Director | | Ms. Radewicz - Director | | Mr. Rodgers - Director | | Mr. Shea - Director | | Mr. Widmyer - Director | | | |
| Ms. Avery | | Ms. Baird | | Ms. Baker | | Ms. Bray | | Ms. Burns | | Ms. Coffey | | Ms. Crane | | Mr. David | | Ms. Drew | | | |
| Mr. Dunlap | | Mr. Ewing | | Mr. Farley | | Ms. Finley | | Mr. Friedman | | Ms. Gay | | Ms. Hahn | | Ms. Hobbs | | Ms. Holder | | | |
| Mr. Horton | | Ms. Lee | | Mr. Maddox | | Ms. Perez | | Ms. Rollins | | Ms. Smith | | Ms. Smith | | Ms. Weslin | | Mr. Wilkerson | | | | | | M.R. Mathias - Ambassador |
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| |  | | | 2028 Pastors | Impacting The Culture | Vision America Action and 20:28 Pastors partners with several Pro-family organizations who are dedicated to encouraging and equipping the church to engage government and culture as Salt and Light.
Vision America Action – Our mission is to inform, encourage and mobilize pastors and their congregations to be proactive in restoring Judeo-Christian values to the moral and civic framework in their communities, states, and our nation.
20:28 Pastors – Our Mission is to mobilize and equip pastors with practical tools to lead their church to impact the culture.
Watchmen on the Wall – Our mission is to champion pastors to transform America as the Watchmen on the Walls of their communities, state, and our nation (Isa. 62:6-7).
Family Research Council - Our vision is an American culture where Human Life is valued, Families flourish, and Religious Liberty thrives
Vote Under God - Equipping people to make their voice heard with their vote, under God.
National Black Robe Regiment – The Modern National Black Robe Regiment is a network of national and local pastors that equips and empowers pastors to engage in their Biblical and historical role to stand boldly for righteousness and transform society through spiritual and cultural engagement.
United in Purpose – Our mission is to unite and equip like-minded conservative organizations to increase their reach, impact, and influence through the latest technology, research and marketing strategies for the purpose of bringing about a culture change in America based on Judeo-Christian principles.
SEND MEMBERSHIP LIST TO: info@2028pastors.com [More] | |  |
| |  | | | Family Research Council | When Family Research Council opened its doors in 1983, official Washington paid it little attention. After all, cause-oriented nonprofits are a dime a dozen in the nation's capital, new policy shops come and go, and most wither away over time.
Not Family Research Council. FRC would prove to have lasting influence on the affairs of the nation. In time, FRC became one of America's most creative and effective policy organizations.r>
The Early Years
The seeds for FRC's growth were planted in a time of turmoil and watered with work and prayer. After attending a research planning meeting for President Carter's 1980 White House Conference on Families, Dr. James Dobson met and prayed with a group of eight Christian leaders at a Washington hotel. From that beginning resolve was formed to establish Family Research Council, and one of those present that night, Gerald P. Regier, became our first president. FRC's immediate goal was to counter the credentialed voices arrayed against life and family with equally capable men and women of faith.
Drawing upon his experience at the Department of Health and Human Services in the Reagan administration, Regier developed fresh means to link pro-family experts with government research and policy making offices. He arranged for Congressional testimony, provided reports to elected officials, amassed evidence for legal briefs on family issues, helped secure appointments on government panels, and offered media commentary. This foundational work formed the core for FRC's long-term success.
Rolling Up the Sleeves
In 1988 FRC merged with and became a division of Focus on the Family. Gary L. Bauer, former Under Secretary of Education and domestic policy adviser to President Reagan, assumed leadership of FRC. With an infusion of funding from a generous family, he immediately helped raise its public profile and impact. With new battles over a national child care system and the arrival of the Clinton administration, FRC was thrust into the midst of several social issue debates that gripped the nation.
In response, Bauer gave close attention to building a national network of concerned citizens and educated activists eager to engage the national issues. Throughout the 1990s FRC's expert and grassroots networks grew exponentially.
FRC moved to establish permanent bases from which to fight for "the permanent things." Thanks to the generosity of the DeVos and Prince families of Western Michigan, a home office was established in the heart of a revitalized Washington, D.C., and a dynamic distribution center was opened in Holland, Michigan. This strategic presence distinguishes FRC and its intention to make a lasting difference for timeless values across our land. Today our Washington home at Gallery Place stands at the hub of a thriving city, a sign of our determination to preserve and advance the heritage of religious belief and family values handed down from generation to generation.
In 1992, FRC made another strategic decision that afforded it greater scope, once again becoming an independent nonprofit. An independent board was created, sharing three members, including Dr. Dobson, with the board of directors of Focus on the Family.
Standing Strong in a New Era
In 2000, FRC's board of directors appointed Kenneth L. Connor -- a prominent Florida attorney and national pro-life leader -- as our third president.
During his time at the helm, Connor sought to sharpen FRC's public policy agenda, with special focus on the sanctity of human life, defense of man-woman marriage, humane elder care, religious liberty, parental choice in education, and family tax relief.
Connor also sought to ensure that FRC would be better known for what it advocated than what it opposed. He attracted prominent scholars to partner with FRC, spoke passionately for the most vulnerable members of society, and promoted the highly respected Witherspoon Fellowship. Under his leadership the Fellowship rose to new influence as a Biblically-based, semester-long academic and practical training ground for future cultural and civic leaders.
Emboldening Pastoral Voices for Faith and Family
FRC welcomed Tony R. Perkins in 2003 as our fourth president. He had served for eight years in the Louisiana legislature, where he pioneered measures like the nation's first covenant marriage law.
Tony began his tenure at FRC just as the nationwide struggle to preserve man-woman marriage exploded. With the unprecedented decision of Massachusetts' highest court, a new issue was joined and the stakes in the judicial confirmation process at the federal level were raised another notch. To all this Tony brought the profound conviction that campaigns to protect the family and the church could not succeed without a renewal of cultural engagement among the pastora [More] | | |
| | | | | Watchmen Pastors: vision for Transforming America - YouTube | Allow me to introduce you to "Watchmen on the Wall," our ministry to pastors. Why would Family Research Council invest in pastors? After all, FRC is a Washington, DC based non-profit ministry that is focused on shaping public policy and informed civic activism. Good question.
Simply put, we believe that the problems we face in our communities and our nation are not just political and cultural, they are spiritual in nature (Eph. 6:10-13). Consequently, these problems ultimately require a spiritual solution administered by spiritual leadership. That is why we are championing pastors to transform America.
What are we hoping pastors will do? Simply this: 1) Pray for our nation, 2) Preach the whole counsel of God without apology, and 3) Partner with other pastors who will lead their churches to become the salt and light Jesus spoke about and make a positive difference in their communities, state, and our nation.
As you walk out your calling as a pastor, we want to serve you, stand with you, and be an encouragement to you, just as the Bible teaches:
"Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work." - 1 Thess. 5:12-13a.
I sincerely hope you will prayerfully consider joining with Watchmen Pastors all across America as we stand for Faith, Family, and Freedom.
Tony Perkins
President, Family Research Council
[More] | | |
| |  | | | No Greater Love - The Heroic Act of Arland Williams Jr. | Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church | No Greater Love - The Heroic Act of Arland Williams Jr.
On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 smashed nose-first into the rock-solid ice covering the Potomac River just outside Washington, D.C. To horrified onlookers, it seemed impossible that anyone could be alive inside the mangled steel carcass slowly vanishing into the water. But one by one, six survivors gasped to the surface and grabbed desperately at the tail of the plane.
<br>They had to swim up past their dead friends and seatmates and spouses to escape. They knew that unless they were pulled out fast, they'd soon be sinking back down to join them. Just hanging on was agony: The six survivors had fractured arms and shattered legs, and their hands were freezing into claws that slipped from the wet steel.
"Help us!" they screamed. "We're going to die out here!" They were only 40 or so yards from the Virginia shore but surrounded by an arctic nightmare of jagged ice. Pushing a rescue boat into those shards would be suicide. Piloting a chopper into the whipping snowstorm would be nearly as risky — that's what brought the plane down in the first place.
Would-be rescuers yanked ladders off utility trucks and tried stretching them across the ice. They knotted scarves and fan belts into makeshift ropes and dangled them from the 14th Street Bridge. One man even tried dog-paddling through the ice chunks, hauling a jury-rigged rescue rope along with him. He couldn't get close and was nearly unconscious by the time he was dragged back in.
Twenty minutes after the crash, the sun was going down, and no one had been able to reach the six survivors. They were doomed...until suddenly, miraculously, a rescue chopper came whisking across the darkening sky. It dropped a life ring right into the hands of one of the survivors and plucked him from the water. Then things turned really strange.
The next person to receive the ring handed it over to someone else. The chopper lofted her to safety, then wheeled back. The man gave away the ring again. And again a third time.
Arland Williams Jr. even gave it away when he knew it was his last chance to live. He must have known, because when the chopper thundered back seconds later, he was gone, vanished beneath the ice. (“The Hidden Cost of Heroism” NBCNews.com by Christoher McDougall)
What a story to read about an all too human bank examiner, who in the moment of life’s greatest challenge became an immortal hero, sacrificing his life to save the lives of three other people! Jesus emphasized that there is “no greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for a friend.” In the case of Arland Williams Jr., however, he most likely didn’t even know the people he was saving, and yet, he still offered his life to help those in desperate need right in front of him!
In today’s Gospel reading, we hear Christ say “just as you want others to do to you, you should do to them likewise.” We can talk in many theoretical ways about what divine love is, and how we are called to live out the Golden Rule of Love with all people. In Arland Williams Jr.’s last minutes of life, though, we witness a most beautiful and memorable example of love in life’s most desperate moment.
What I found interesting when I read this story at NBCNews.com, was how the journalist tried to comprehend this heroic act. He tried to understand and then explain why someone would sacrifice his life for complete strangers. In the article, he even noted how Charles Darwin himself found it quite confusing to rationalize how someone who was ready to sacrifice his life for others could fit into his “survival of the fittest” theory. “He who was ready to sacrifice his life,” Darwin observed in a bewildered manner, “would often leave no offspring to inherit his noble nature.”
We Christians, however, understand such heroic acts as having their source of heroism and love in the source of Jesus Christ Himself, who set the ultimate example of sacrificial love when he offered His perfect, sinless life for the entire world. As St. Paul described, “While we were still sinners, Christ willingly died for us.” God came to earth and died for the salvation of all people, including those who didn’t know him, and even those who hated him. Christ personified divine love in the most supreme way, and our faith teaches that this potential of divine love is what God has placed in each and every human being. It is from such love in which we were created, and with such which He wants each of us to live out in our own lives.
We believe that we were created in the image of this Divine Love of God, and such love has unlimited potential. The true mark of an authentic human being, one who has reached this potential, living out the divine likeness in which he or she was created, is to love the world around us in an extreme manner – not only loving our family and friends and those who are close to us, but als [More] | | |
| |  | | | Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) | The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was established on the American frontier in the early 1800s, through the coming together of two movements: the "Christians" who were associated with Barton W. Stone in Kentucky, and the "Disciples" who were associated with Thomas and Alexander Campbell in western Pennsylvania. Both groups were established as Christian unity movements, seeking to overcome the historic divisions transplanted from Europe and the British Isles to the North American continent, through an appeal to the restoration of the New Testament faith. In 1832, representatives of the two groups came together in Lexington, Kentucky, to form a single movement with a strong evangelistic witness and committed to weekly celebration of the Lord's Supper, to a rational faith, to congregational leadership, and to Christian unity expressed in freedom and diversity.
As a mainline Protestant church in the North American context, much of the life of the Christian Church is focused upon the broad societal and international issues facing all Christians and churches. Wherever possible and appropriate, the programmes of the church are carried out through ecumenical channels and organizations.
At its 2000 General Board, the church adopted the following statement of its Mission Imperative for the coming years:
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
In our quest to embody Christian unity, led and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we believe God calls us.
OUR VISION:
To be a faithful, growing church, that demonstrates true community, deep spirituality and a passion for justice. (Micah 6:8)
OUR MISSION:
To be and to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, witnessing, loving and serving from our doorsteps "to the ends of the earth". (Acts 1:8)
OUR IMPERATIVE:
To strengthen congregational life for this mission. (Ephesians 4:11-13, 15-16)
OUR COVENANT:
In accepting our Vision, Mission and Imperative, we affirm our need to be an anti-racist/pro-reconciliation church, strengthen relationships among all manifestations of the church, share mutually and more fully the stewardship of God's gifts of our life in Christ, encourage our growing diversity within our church family and community, work with our many ecumenical and global partners to heal the brokenness of the body of Christ and the human community. [More] | | |
| | | | | Religious Society of Friends: Friends United Meeting — World Council of Churches | Quakerism arose out of the religious ferment of the mid-17th century in England. Its founder emphasized the immediacy of Christ's teaching and held that for this, consecrated buildings and ordained ministers were irrelevant. By 1655 Quakers had spread throughout Great Britain and Ireland and to the continent of Europe, and in 1682 Pennsylvania was founded on a Quaker basis. From the paramount importance given to the Inward Christ of the new covenant derives the rejection of the outward sacraments, ordained ministry and all set forms of worship. The Society does, however, firmly believe in a spiritual baptism and a spiritual communion, and recognizes the gifts in ministry of all believers.
The Friends United Meeting (FUM) was established in 1902 as a gathering of American yearly meetings. Each yearly meeting remains autonomous in its governance, but joins together through Friends United Meeting for common witness and service. FUM has grown to include 29 yearly meetings around the world, with concentrations of membership in the United States and East Africa. Three quarters of its members are Kenyan. FUM's purpose statement commits it to "energize and equip Friends, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to gather people into fellowships where Jesus Christ is known, loved and obeyed as teacher and Lord." FUM currently has four strategic priorities: evangelism, leadership training, global partnerships and communications.
In the 19th century, Quakers were leaders in the movement to abolish slavery in the United States, and supported it by becoming a part of the underground railroad network. Continuing through the 20th century to live in the deep-rooted belief that all people are the children of God, Quakers have been active in relief work throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and South America in times of war and anguish, working through such agencies as the American Friends Service Committee. FUM is one of the founding organizations of Christian Peacemaker Teams, seeking to follow the way of Jesus by offering non-violent resistance to violent conflict. FUM Friends have also developed programmes of alternatives to violence, which have been implemented in diverse situations of conflict around the world. FUM is active in mission and evangelism. Its historic missions include schools, theological colleges, hospitals and orphanages in Kenya, Palestine, Jamaica, and Belize. Outreach in new areas includes Russia and the pastoralist people of northern Kenya. In North America FUM holds conferences for pastors and for emerging leaders.
FUM holds a world-wide triennial conference every three years, and is governed by a general board appointed by all its member yearly meetings. It has offices in Richmond, Indiana, USA and Kisumu, Kenya. [More] | | |
| |  | | | National Baptist Convention of America International, Inc. - About Us | Historian L. B. Jordan records that in 1880, there were nearly two million former slaves in Baptist churches which created a need for a national aggregation of African-American Baptists. On Wednesday, November 24, 1880, one hundred fifty-one (151) messengers, representing eleven states throughout the United States, met at the First Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama and organized the Foreign Mission Baptist Convention of the United States. The Reverend W. H. Alpine of Alabama was elected as the first permanent president.
In 1886 the American National Baptist Convention was organized in Saint Louis, Missouri, and in 1893 the Baptist National Educational Convention was organized in the District of Columbia. There was the recognition for unification among our African-American brothers and sisters; therefore, on September 28, 1895, in Atlanta, Georgia, at the Friendship Baptist Church, these three great conventions united and formed the NATIONAL BAPTIST CONVENTION, making it the largest African-American Baptist organization in America with a membership in the millions.
In order to carry out the mission of the National Baptist Convention, three boards were created: The Foreign Mission Board, the Home Mission Board out of Little Rock, Arkansas; and the Educational Board located in Washington, D.C.
The preamble affirms:
Whereas, it is the sense of Colored Baptist of the United States of America, convened in the City of Atlanta, Georgia, September 28, 1895, in the several organizations known as ‘The Baptist Foreign Mission Convention of the United States of America,’ hitherto engaged in mission work on the West Coast of Africa, ‘The National Baptist Educational Convention,’ which has sought to look after the educational interest, that the interest of the kingdom of God required that the several bodies above named should unite in one body. The Name of the new organization is given as "The NATIONAL BAPTIST CONVENTION of the Unites States of America."
Article II gives the objective as follows:
The objective of this convention shall be to do mission work in the United States, in Africa, and elsewhere abroad; to foster the cause of education and to promote the publication and circulation of religious literature.
In 1919, controversy surfaced regarding a charter of incorporation for the Convention and the ownership of the National Baptist Publishing Board. The end result was the emergence of The National Baptist Convention of America (Unincorporated) and The National Baptist Convention U.S.A., Incorporated. In 1987, The National Baptist Convention of America was incorporated in Shreveport, Louisiana under the new caption, THE NATIONAL BAPTIST CONVENTION OF AMERICA, INCORPORATED.
In September, 1988 the National Baptist Convention of America, Incorporated and the National Baptist Convention U.S.A., Inc. met in their annual sessions in Dallas, Texas and Fort Worth, Texas, respectively. A joint worship service convened in the Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas, celebrating their togetherness and protesting apartheid in South Africa.
Following the joint worship service, the National Baptist Convention of America, Incorporated re-convened in its 104th Annual Session in Fort Worth, Texas. The controversy over the ownership and control of the National Congress prevailed and caused division among the Convention messengers. The heart of the controversy was whether the National Convention would operate its own Congress with the status of an auxiliary like all of the other auxiliaries, or whether the Convention would continue to relate to a National Congress chartered, owned, and controlled by the National Publishing Board with no responsibility to the Convention. After spirited debate and a democratic vote, the National Baptist Convention of America, Incorporated voted to operate its own National Congress. As a result of this decision, a new National Missionary Baptist Convention was born in November 1988.
Today the NATIONAL BAPTIST CONVENTION OF AMERICA, INCORPORATED has made tremendous growth in numbers, ministries, and in honoring its commitment to education, evangelism and mission at home and abroad. The National Baptist Convention, Incorporated continues to support mission fields in the Virgin Islands, Panama, Haiti, Country of Jamaica, and Ghana in West Africa.
The National Baptist Convention of America, Incorporated, continues to honor its commitment to its nature and function as articulated in its constitution which states:
The National Baptist Convention of America, Incorporated is organized and operated exclusively for religious purposes; to foster unity and efficiency of Foreign Mission, Home Mission, and educational work throughout its membership constituency and the world; to serve as an agency of Christian Education, Missionary and Church [More] | | |
| | | | | National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. — World Council of Churches | Records show that in 1880 there were nearly two million former slaves in Baptist churches in the USA. The need for a national congregation of African-American Baptists led to the creation of the Foreign Mission Baptist Convention of the United States (1880), the American National Baptist Convention (1886), and the Baptist National Educational Convention (1893). These three united and formed in 1895 the National Baptist Convention. Controversy over the adoption of a charter and the ownership of the National Baptist Publishing Board led in 1919 to a split and the formation of two separate bodies, the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc. and the National Baptist Convention of America (Inc.); the latter was incorporated in 1987. The matter was discussed again in the annual session of the NBCA, Inc. in 1988, after a joint worship service with the NBC USA Inc., but the controversy prevailed.
The National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. has made tremendous growth in numbers, ministries, and in honouring its commitment to education, evangelism, and mission at home and abroad. It continues to support mission fields in the Caribbean, the Virgin Islands, Panama, Haiti and Ghana. Its mission statement reads: "The National Baptist Convention of America shall serve to promote and support Christian education, Christian missions, and church extension through the combined efforts of Baptist churches, and shall seek to cause the gospel, as understood and practiced by our Baptist faith, to be spread throughout this nation and to the foreign nations. The Convention shall seek to positively impact and influence the spiritual, educational, social and economic conditions of all humankind." [More] | | |
| |  | | | History - Rural Home Missionary Association | RHMA was conceived in the mind of Rev. C.J. Rediger while pastoring a church in Central Illinois in 1942. America was experiencing the early years of World War II and there was a major movement of population and emphasis from rural areas to the cities. Seemingly rural America was being abandoned by the Christian community. The spiritual health of the rural church suffered and church expansion in rural areas virtually came to a standstill.
Rev. Rediger was one of the few Christian leaders of that day who saw the problem and began to do something about it.
history
history
He resigned from his pastorate and, together with his wife, began Bible studies, Sunday Schools, and Vacation Bible Schools. It soon became obvious that the time had come to form a permanent organization. In November, 1942, Rural Home Missionary Association was officially established and headquartered in Morton, Illinois.
Closed churches were reopened and restored to an effective ministry. New churches were started. In time the number of workers grew and the ministry spread from the Midwest to other parts of the USA. As RHMA was developing into an effective mission, it was one of the few reaching out to this overlooked part of American society.
Through the years RHMA has been able to have an impact on many different communities across the USA. Yet it remains true, and even more so today as many Americans are moving back to the small towns, that the need is still great. Thousands of communities across America are lacking an evangelical
church. [More] | | |
| |  | | | Andrew Wommack Ministries | It all began when Andrew was born again at just eight years old. Although he avoided the rebellious phase often associated with adolescence, he believed that through his own righteousness, he could develop a relationship with the Lord. Then, on a Saturday night in 1968, everything changed. Andrew realized he had fallen into the bondage of legalism and began confessing his self-righteousness, expecting the wrath of God to fall. But instead of wrath, God’s presence flooded him with love. “God’s love consumed me,” he says. “When I was at my worst, God’s love was the strongest.” This encounter changed his life forever and motivated him to follow God’s leading in his life. He decided to leave college, even though that meant losing his student deferment. Drafted into the Army and shipped to Vietnam, he served as a chaplain’s assistant. Despite how difficult and dangerous things were on the front lines, God used that time to ground Andrew in His Word and begin establishing the course of his life.
Upon his return, Andrew submitted to the call of God to be a teacher of His Word. He and Jamie were married in 1972, and together they began teaching Bible studies. Over the next six years, they would pastor three small churches and complete their family with two sons, Joshua and Jonathan Peter.
In 1976, Andrew broadcast his first Gospel Truth radio program on a little country-and-western station in Childress, Texas. By 1980, Andrew and Jamie had moved their ministry to Colorado Springs. Their vision was becoming quite clear: to teach the truth of the Gospel to the body of Christ throughout the United States and the world with special emphasis on God’s unconditional love and the balance between grace and faith. They were fulfilling that vision by traveling to speaking engagements, producing radio broadcasts, and distributing audio cassette tapes, which were provided at no cost to those who could not afford them. [More] | | |
| | | | | A Short History of Grace Communion International | Grace Communion International | A Brief History of Grace Communion International
In the early 1930s, Herbert Armstrong began a ministry that eventually became our denomination. He had many unusual doctrines. These he taught so enthusiastically that eventually more than 100,000 people attended weekly services. After he died in 1986, church leaders began to realize that many of his doctrines were not biblical. These doctrines were rejected, and the church is now in full agreement with the statement of faith of the National Association of Evangelicals. To reflect these doctrinal changes, in April 2009, the denomination changed its name to Grace Communion International. This name better reflects who we are and what we teach. For a press release, click here. For a letter of further explanation, click here. [More] | | |
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M.R. Mathias 
