We equip the church to faithfully and confidently engage in public life in Indiana.
We accomplish this by building relationships between pastors and government officials and by equipping committed Christians with practical resources to help them faithfully engage in their role as citizen.
3 Guiding Principles for Christian Citizenship
#1 We are Christians
As followers of Jesus, our first and ultimate allegiance must be to Christ and his kingdom rather than a political party or candidate (Matt. 5:33; 22:21). Further, the church’s Biblical role is to make disciples of all nations and to do good works that point to Jesus (Matt. 28:16-20, 5:16).
#2 We are Caesar
In Rome, Caesar wielded ultimate authority. In the United States, we the people are vested with ultimate authority and, therefore, responsibility for our country. Therefore, we should engage in the public life of our nation with a focus on the gospel (Matt. 22:21).
#3 We are Citizens
As citizens, we should seek the peace and prosperity of our cities, states and nation rather than our own self-interest (Jer. 29). And, we should promote Biblical principles in public life because those principles will lead to true flourishing (Prov. 29:2).
What We Do
RELATIONSHIPS. We routinely build relationships between church leaders and state and federal officials via in-person or virtual meetings. These meetings include the sharing of Scripture, discussions about how the church can help with key problems, and a time of prayer.
PARTNERSHIPS. Through the relationships established above, we identify ways the God-ordained institutions of church and state can partner together to serve the common good. Then we encourage churches to impact these key problems, such as foster care, the drug crisis and mental health.
Resources. We equip church leaders and other committed Christians to be gospel-centered citizens (Phil. 1:27). We produce a podcast (The Good Citizen Podcast) and other digital resources, send out weekly email updates, and routinely speak in churches and at events about rethinking Christian citizenship and faithfully engaging governing in quickly changing times.
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Who are your elected officials?
Need information on your local, state and federal officials? Here’s a link with an address search function.
What church leaders are saying.
“The meetings Josh sets up have helped me obey Jesus’s command to pray for public officials in a more meaningful way and uncover new ways of helping our community. Some of those meetings have led to ongoing relationships that I pray will benefit the people we both serve.”
- Dave Cook, Senior Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church (Greenwood, Indiana)
Josh Hershberger of the Daniel Initiative presented an extremely enlightening and informative program to our church, addressing the pressing issues of how Christians should understand and relate to government. Josh made it so clear that we cannot neglect our role and responsibilities as citizens here below. I wholeheartedly recommend Josh’s presentation to any church!
JD Traylor, Pastor of Hanover Baptist Church (Hanover, Indiana)
“I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity I had recently to meet with my state senator. I think he was pleasantly surprised that my agenda consisted of nothing more than getting to know him, asking about ideas on how the church can help meet community needs, and spending a few moments praying for him and his work. I was reminded that while it is appropriate to hold our government leaders accountable for their decisions and actions, God calls me first to pray for them. Before I do the former, I need to spend a lot more time doing the latter. I look forward to more opportunities to meet and pray with my government leaders so that together we can build a stronger community.”
- Steve Yeaton, Senior Minister of First Christian Church (Columbus, Indiana)
