May 6, 2022

Dear John,

While the far Left tirelessly attempts to stop God's Word from being shared, pastors, believers, and concerned citizens like you are daring to stand all across America for biblical truth.

For months, local leaders in West Lafayette, Indiana were trying to pass a radical ordinance that would restrict "unlicensed counselors"--which was aimed at churches and ministries providing biblical counseling on issues relating to gender and sexuality.

For 45 years, Faith Church in West Lafayette, led by Senior Pastor Steve Viars, has been compassionately providing free biblical counseling to all people for various reasons.

With the introduction of Ordinance 31-21, their ability to spread the practical wisdom and direction found in God's Word to people voluntarily seeking help was under attack.

Under the proposed ordinance, anyone who tried to "change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity...or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions to people of the same gender" would be found guilty and subject to a $1,000 fine per violation.

Rather than raising a white flag of surrender and accepting this proposal, Pastor Viars, his congregants, and the residents of West Lafayette fought back. They created a website called FreedomLafayette.org and organized a petition to send to the city voicing the citizens' opposition to the ordinance.

They also recruited the help of lawyers to defend their constitutionally-protected religious liberty that was at risk from this ordinance. When Pastor Viars joined me on Washington Watch earlier this year, he shared what he had voiced to the city council: "I love you folks, but we already have a God and it's not you...So you're going to have to figure out what you're going to do with people who are not ashamed of the Gospel."

As a result of Pastor Viars and Faith Church's actions, the city eventually withdrew this outrageous ordinance in order "to spare the city the expense of defending against a lawsuit." In West Lafayette, religious liberty won a victory and we saw how freedom can be defended when believers dare to stand. Contrary to what the world wants us to believe, when believers stand firm and hold local officials accountable, we have a bigger impact than we think. How many outrageous, godless, far Left policies have been passed simply because Christians didn't dare to stand?

In our culture where we're told love equals affirmation and the concept of sin is hateful, Christians like Viars and the residents of West Lafayette, Indiana are taking a bold stance for true love, biblical love, love that "does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth" (1 Corinthians 13:6). As Pastor Viars said, "We're not mad. We're taking a positive stand for the Word of God, a positive stand for the power of the Gospel, a positive stand for parents' rights, [and] a positive stand for what God's Word can do in each one of our lives."

By refusing to cave to the Left's efforts to silence biblical truth, they inspire and encourage us to dare to stand for truth out of obedience to Christ and love for our neighbor.

Just as the residents of West Lafayette are daring to stand for biblical truth in their community, we at FRC have dared to stand for faith, family, and freedom in the nation's capital since 1983.

As we engage in the public square, we do so in obedience to Ephesians 6:13 where Paul charges us to "take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm."

Will you join with FRC and believers across America and dare to stand in your community like the believers at Faith Church in West Lafayette, Indiana? A gift of $3.65 today signifies your commitment to stand for biblical truth 365 days a year. When you do, you'll also be signing the Dare to Stand Declaration to take up the full armor of God, resist evil, and do everything you can to advance a biblical worldview in your home, workplace, school, and community to the glory of God.

Your gift will also help FRC encourage more believers to dare to stand and provide critical resources to equip spiritually active, governance engaged conservatives (SAGE Cons) as we stand firm together against the growing hostility to religious freedom and the exercise of our Christian faith.

With your Dare to Stand commitment, you'll receive a digital copy of FRC's America's Founding Principles booklet that includes our nation's founding documents and inspiring quotes from the Founders. We hope this resource encourages you and reminds you of the biblical basis for our cultural and political engagement.

Will you dare to stand with FRC today as we advance faith, family, and freedom, out of obedience to Christ, for the love of our neighbors, and for the sake of America's future?

Standing (Eph. 6:13),

Tony Perkins
President