Students Travel to D.C. For Leadership in Action Symposium
Over 100 Liberty students traveled to the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. April 11 for the “Leadership in Action Symposium,” hosted by Liberty University’s Standing for Freedom Center to hear from a variety of conservative leaders who have strived to be agents of change in their communities by defending Christian faith in the public sphere.
The speaker selection included U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas); former high school football coach Joe Kennedy; former NFL player and minister Jack Brewer; Heritage Foundation Research Fellow in the Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Life, Religion and Family Delano Squires; Senior Pastor of Pathway Church Travis Johnson; President of the Family Research Council Tony Perkins; U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.); State Rep. Jenna Powell (R-Ohio); President of Build Up Korea Mina Kim; physical education teacher Tanner Cross; founder of Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) and former U.S. Special Agent Tim Ballard; President and CEO of Concerned Women for America Penny Nance; and Senior Pastor of 180 Church Lorenzo Sewell.
Students briefly explored the museum before the event’s opening, and subsequently convened in the museum’s Gathering Room, which enabled attendees to overlook the skyline of D.C. and gather at banquet tables positioned under a series of crystal chandeliers. Once everyone was seated, the conference opened with a video declaring that American freedom becomes endangered when Christians are not willing to pair their faith with action.
Vice President of Communications and Public Engagement and the Executive Director of the Standing for Freedom Center Ryan Helfenbein then took the stage and read from Judges 6:28 to explain how Christians today should follow Gideon’s example of tearing down the altar of Baal and contending for the faith no matter the consequences. Helfenbein prayed for all the attendees to have the courage to continue pursuing the faith before welcoming Roy to the podium.
Roy, who represents Texas’ 21st congressional district, highlighted the need for Christians to engage their faith in partnership with civic duty, and said holding public office should be viewed as a service position, rather than an opportunity for selfish ambition.
“I fundamentally believe that God gave us the ability to live free, God blessed this nation with founders that paid homage to God, understood God, entwined our Christian perspectives, our Christian beliefs and principles into the founding of this nation and created a nation that through that freedom would allow us to spread the gospel to more people around the world than any other nation in history,” Roy said.
Roy said it is paramount to safeguard American freedom because, if destroyed, the question of “who’s out there fighting for the huddled masses around the world to be able to crack through what history bore out as the inability for people to know and be able to know the truth?” quickly arises.
He said it is vital not to idolize those who hold public office or political prestige. Instead, he said it is key to put God first in order to begin to meet the needs of the nation. He criticized the notion of employing “big government to solve problems” and urged attendees to “help their neighbor” and remain active in their faith by engaging with those within their reach.
Next, Kennedy was introduced to the stage and shared his experience of growing up in foster homes, being expelled from school and eventually signing up for the Marines with the goal of building a new reputation for himself.
He served in the Marines for 20 years and later converted from atheism to Christianity after encountering Christ in an unlikely situation.
Kennedy said everything changed when his faith was put to the test during his time as an assistant football coach for Bremerton High School in Bremerton, Washington. At the end of each game, Kennedy said he would pray with his team and the opposing team on the football field. However, the school district disapproved and told him he would lose his job if he did not stop.
While Kennedy said he ceased praying with his students, he decided to continue praying by himself on the field, which appeared to intensify the situation.
“I continued on doing it (praying) because it got to the point of, when I was a Marine, I stood for something and that was the Constitution, and now they’re telling me the Constitution doesn’t apply to me and it was only a 15 second prayer and they said ‘Well, you need to choose between your faith and your job’ and I had a real hard time with that, that’s where I really drew the line,” Kennedy said.
Since he continued to pray at the 50-yard line, Kennedy said he was fired, which prompted him to engage in a court battle with the Bremerton School District. He said he repeatedly lost his case in the lower courts before later appealing to the Supreme Court twice.
“Finally, we made it to the Supreme Court, we ended up winning, we won 6-3 and now we have more religious freedom here in America than we have had in the past 50 years … ,” Kennedy said.
Following Kennedy, Squires, Brewer and Johnson gathered on stage for a panel titled, “Building Biblical Men,” which focused on defining what biblical manhood should look like in a public context. Each of the panel’s speakers reiterated how men of God should be humble leaders committed both to prayer and being intentional witnesses of the gospel.
After the panel, Perkins shared how he has witnessed a radical change in the nation’s capital recently as more individuals in public office have outwardly expressed their faith. He cited House Speaker Mike Johnson as one prime example of a Christian in office who has been bold in the faith, often praying openly before his peers.
“So here’s my message, what I would encourage you, is to be bold in living out your faith, we’re in a window of opportunity, where we can influence others not necessarily by our words … but by our actions, by being authentic and truly following Christ even when there’s opposition and there’s going (to) be opposition, but people take note when you believe something strong enough to live it out in the face of opposition,” Perkins said.
Then, Cotton was welcomed to the stage to describe his new book, “Seven Things You Can’t Say About China,” which was provided to each student in attendance. He said the purpose of the book was “to ring an alarm bell about communist China and the threat they pose to our freedom and freedom around the world.”
Cotton said the key to protecting American freedom is to be willing to stand firm in the faith.
“As Christians, we don’t believe in vast, impersonal forces that are immune to human choice and free will. … ,” Cotton said. “It is up to all of us individually and collectively as a nation to chart our course and … chart our course with a continued guidance of the hand of divine providence who … has always guided this nation from its very beginning.”
After Cotton’s speech, the event paused for the attendees to partake in a catered lunch and resumed with a second panel titled, “Faith in the Public Square,” with Powell, Cross and Kim.
Powell, who has served in Ohio’s general assembly for over six years, said she never planned on pursuing a career in politics until one of her friends encouraged her to consider it. After prayerful examination, she decided to run for office at the age of 24 and won the general election before taking the oath of office at 25.
She said one of the most rewarding aspects of her job is that she gets to defend the faith and seek biblical truth in the political arena.
“There is no place too dark or no place too evil for the gospel to be preached and for truth to be spoken and so that is what I have been able to do in the public square and I have loved it and I would just challenge … everyone one of you … don’t be afraid to go into dark places and speaking truth, because the light will shine all the brighter when Jesus is on your side there,” Powell said.
At the end of the event, other speakers concluded by commenting on the need to be bold and vigilant when experiencing spiritual warfare, as well as the importance of always being prepared to pursue God’s plan — no matter the time or setting. The students then had the opportunity to explore the museum’s second floor which includes various exhibits about the Bible’s influence on the world.
Freshman Bailey Hash, who is majoring in interdisciplinary studies, said the event changed her position on politics and encouraged her to “shift her perspective” and to “try to get more involved” in the future.
Senior Blake Bennet, who is also majoring in interdisciplinary studies, said he wanted to attend the event because he wanted to hear from “people who are making an impact for the Kingdom.”
“The one thing that I really got from everybody here is that, when they took a step out in faith for God, God honored it and God took care of them and protected them even when people came against them, God always had them in his hand, so it gave me confidence to be bold in my faith wherever I go,” Bennet said.
Davis is the Editor-in-Chief for the Liberty Champion. Follow her on X.
