On This Rock, I Build My Church!
Mark Your Calendar!
Prayer, worship, and exhortation will continue in 2022 at the Ohio Statehouse!
10:00 am – 11:30 am
Ohio Statehouse, Columbus
January 19 | March 10 | June 15 | November 10
Join us for these "hour of power" encounters where pastors and ministry leaders come together in the Atrium of our Ohio Statehouse to pray over state lawmakers and executive branch officeholders. You don't want to miss this—bring your pastor network or congregation!
After the encounter, there will be opportunities for you to tour the Statehouse, sit in on a committee hearing, or visit and pray with your State Representative or Senator.
Light refreshments are provided, and registration for January is now open!
Registration for all 2022 "Prayer at the Statehouse" dates will be opening soon.
Our territory is being enlarged!
Our culture today requires the light of the Lord to shine bolder and brighter than ever from Christians, those of us who call ourselves by His name and who proclaim the Gospel good news. Center for Christian Virtue (CCV) has not only been shining bolder, but also speaking up stronger in advocating for public policy that reflects the truth of the Gospel. As a result, God is enlarging our territory!
Recently, we announced that—with the incredible support of generous Ohio families—we have purchased a building directly across from the Statehouse. Like Nehemiah's wall, we have a lot of rebuilding and renovation work to do before we can possess the territory. But as we make our asks, we are believing for Matthew 27:17 blessings that the coins will be in the fish's mouth. Please pray that in agreement with us.
In the meantime, I invite you to watch the video below to see the vision and learn more.
Resourcing your congregation
COVID was a wake-up call to the Church that religious freedom and liberties are not off-limits to some in government leadership. This reality has stirred a passion for many Christians to put feet to their faith walk. What tends to hinder these inspired faith believers is that they don't generally feel equipped on current matters to stand up.
Faith & Works is a half-sheet printed bulletin resource for your Church congregation to strengthen their faith by keeping them informed of current events from a biblical worldview, and to inspire them to do good works starting with directed prayer and partnering in action with a CCV initiative.
This resource is available monthly to your Church at no cost just by placing an order online today at CCV.org/FaithAndWorks.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? ... For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
James 2:14, 26
Strengthening the 'Ear Gate'
Ephesians 2:2 describes Satan as "the prince of the power of the air." As a Shepherd of God's Church, it can be daunting to find biblical worldview commentary to listen to, much less to also recommend to those in your congregation who want to honor the scripture to be "in the world but not of it."
The Narrative Podcast with CCV’s President Aaron Baer and Policy Director David Mahan is spirited topical conversation from a biblical worldview on local issues from local leaders as well as international and national experts that you can pull from to integrate into your Sunday Sermons, as well as recommend to your congregation.
Catch up on the episodes now and watch for Volume III on CCV.org/TheNarrative.
Pastoral Resources
First, we have from the Family Research Council's study on U.S. abortion law in comparison to the rest of the world.
The Heritage Foundation re-released a Cultural Policy Studies Report on the impact of religious practice on social stability.
Finally, we have a short blog from Tony Evans about distractions, and how they take us away from the Kingdom of God.
Pray for Our Leaders
Join us this month in honoring 1 Timothy 2:1-2 by praying for the Ohio House Finance Committee.
Currently, The Backpack Bill, backed by CCV, is waiting to receive its first committee hearing. Committee Chair Scott Oelslager is in charge of scheduling these hearings, so we pray that his heart will be moved to begin debate on this important piece of legislation.
Committee Chair Scott Oelslager
State Representative District 84
Additional House Committee Members:
Phil Plummer District 40 (Vice-Chair)
Bride Rose Sweeney District 14 (Ranking Minority)
Paula Hicks Hudson District 44
Cindy Abram District 29
Stephanie Howse District 11
Brian Baldridge District 90
Catherine Ingram District 32
Jamie Callender District 61
Dontavius Jarrells District 25
Rick Carfagna District 68
Brigid Kelly District 31
Sara Carruthers District 51
Michael O'Brien District 64
Jon Cross District 83
Allison Russo District 24
Jay Edwards District 94
Michael Skindell District 13
Haraz Ghanbari District 3
Dan Troy District 60
James Hoops District 81
Thomas West District 49
Darrell Kick District 70
Jeff LaRe District 77
Scott Lipps District 62
Tom Patton District 7
Tracy Richardson District 86
Bill Roemer District 38
Jean Schmidt District 65
Jason Stephens District 93
Reggie Stoltzfus District 50
Douglas Swearingen District 89
Shane Wilkin District 91
For more information on the members, check out their bios here.
