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Pastors Meet at Capitol Building to Support Legislators

By March 31, 2017No Comments

DES MOINES, Iowa—Pastors from Regular Baptist churches joined in an effort March 14 to meet and pray with legislators at the Iowa Capitol Building. The event was part of the Iowa Capitol Project, which spiritually supports legislators, lobbyists, and state employees at the Capitol Building.

“The heartbeat of the Iowa Capitol Project,” says its director, Greg Baker, “is to restore the Biblical relationship between church and state. . . . Our goal is to bring pastors to the Iowa capitol to minister to legislators through prayer, encouragement, and Biblical counsel following the example we see in Scripture.”

Mike Augsburger, pastor of Willow Creek Baptist Church in West Des Moines, has participated in the past and invited others to join him March 14. Joining him were Dan Lamgo, pastor of Grace Baptist, Corning; Roger Crawford, retired pastor of Calvary Baptist, Union; Trey Perrott, pastor of Redeemer Baptist Church, Norwalk; Josh Byers, connections and communication pastor of Willow Creek Baptist, West Des Moines; Dr. Ken VanLoon, pastor of Immanuel Baptist, Newton; Mark Baker, pastor of Berean Baptist, Davenport; Kerry Hatfield, youth and evangelism pastor of Berean Baptist, Davenport; Dan Eloe, pastor of First Baptist, Waverly; Philip Kramer, pastor of Norwoodville Baptist, Des Moines; Joshua Spencer, pastor of Faith Baptist, Knoxville; and Jim Tillotson, president of Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary.

The men “were able to offer needed encouragement and prayer to many weary legislators and found encouragement themselves meeting men and women of God in our legislature,” Greg Baker says. “Many commented that this was a valuable use of their time.”

“Once in a while an opportunity sprouts affording us the chance to blend together politics and gospel impact,” Augsburger says. The Iowa Capitol Project “is allowing us to have gospel impact in the lives of those setting the political direction for our state.”