News from NC Faith & Freedom Coalition

He has challenged Harvard University for discrimination against Asian Americans, worked as the Director for Media Outreach against California Proposition 16 (race preferences) and written for national publications like City Journal, The Federalist, The Daily Signal, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and The Washington Examiner. He has been interviewed by The New York Times, NPR, the Epoch Times, Fox News, and others.

In his book, An Inconvenient Minority: The attack on Asian American excellence and the fight for meritocracy, Kenny takes on Ivy League discrimination cases and the lasting consequences of the Left’s diversity ideology. He appeared on Fox New's Tucker Carlson Tonight in July to talk about his book and the dangers of critical race theory. As a former Development Officer for Young America's Foundation, Xu worked at The Heritage Foundation and JAARS Missions before serving in his current role as President at the Washington-DC-based think tank, Color Us United, where he advocates for a race-blind America.

Bishop Patrick L. Wooden, Sr. is a soul-stirring gospel preacher, singer, and prolific visionary leader of the 2,000-member, Upper Room Church of God in Christ in Raleigh, NC. 

Bishop Wooden served in the Greater North Carolina Jurisdiction as Superintendent of the Greater Central District for 20 years and currently is the Jurisdictional Prelate of North Carolina's Third Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ.  

Bishop Wooden’s heart and passion is for the unborn who have no voice. He can be seen on any given Saturday at an abortion clinic fervently trying to convince the hearts of women and the men accompanying them to let their babies live. As a result, numerous minds have been changed and many babies have been saved.

Bishop Wooden attended Fayetteville State University and obtained a Doctorate of Divinity from the North Carolina College of Theology. Bishop Wooden has been married to his wife Pamela Wooden for 37 years.

American Actor and Director, Kevin Sorbo, is known best for his lead role in the television series, 'Hercules: the Legendary Journeys' (1993-1999) and most recently for his roles in the movies, 'God's Not Dead', 'Let There Be Light' and 'One Nation Under God'. He is a steadfast warrior for conservatives and an outspoken Christian. Sorbo has been ostracized by Hollywood and this year Big Tech targeted him over his social media posts and viewpoints on faith & freedom. 

He has produced the Breathe Bible, a dramatic audio reading of the New Testament. His latest book, 'True Faith: Embracing Adversity to Live in God's Light' was co-authored with his wife, Sam Sorbo. Together they share their journey of working, learning, grieving, and living an abundant life in Christ.

In 2012, Sorbo released his memoir, True Strength: My Journey from Hercules to Mere Mortal and How Nearly Dying Saved My Life. The book chronicles his near-death experience when he suffered three strokes and the battle back to regain his life.

Kevin has had the pleasure of starring in many guest spot appearances on TV shows, such as “Hawaii 5-0”, “Gary Unmarried”, “Just Shoot Me”, “According to Jim”, “Hope & Faith”, Two and a Half Men”, and USA Network’s “Psych”, with recurring appearances on “Dharma & Greg” and “The OC”. 

In real life, Kevin leads "A World Fit for Kids,” a successful mentoring model that trains inner-city teens to use school, fitness, sports, and positive role models for themselves, and then become the coaches and mentors for younger children.

Rep. Ted Budd is in his third term as U.S. Representative for North Carolina’s current 13th Congressional District and is the Republican candidate for US Senate to replace retiring Republican Senator Richard Burr. 

Ted brings an outsider’s perspective to Washington, having never held elective office. When an opportunity presented itself after redistricting opened up North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District in 2016, Ted decided to run and bring a businessman’s outlook to our nation’s capital.

Ted sits on the Financial Services Committee, where he uses his real-world experience to roll back the restrictive regulations that strangle job creation in our country. Working at a young age on his family’s cattle and chicken farm and for their janitorial and landscaping business, Ted learned the importance of work ethic and common-sense decision-making. He brings his strong belief in God, family, and country to his job each and every day.

Ted and his wife Amy Kate have three children and live in Davie County, NC. He holds an MBA from Wake Forest University and a Masters of Theology and Educational Leadership from Dallas Theological Seminary.

Rewatch his remarks at the 2021 Salt and Light Conference. 

Pat McCrory served as North Carolina's 74th Governor from 2013-2017. In April, Pat left his popular radio show on WBT-AM in Charlotte to run for the US Senate seat currently held by Senator Richard Burr.

McCrory was raised in Guilford County, North Carolina. He earned degrees in education and political science from Catawba College. McCrory was elected mayor of Charlotte in 1995 and went on to serve a record seven terms.

Pat received a presidential appointment to the Homeland Security Advisory Committee. He also founded the Mayor’s Mentoring Alliance in 1995. Additionally, he has worked for the Charlotte-based law firm Moore & Van Allen and Duke Energy.

Pat has testified before Congress and has been an expert guest on several national media broadcasts, including National Public Radio, ABC World News, Lehrer News Hour, CBS This Morning, MSNBC News, CNN, CNBC, and Fox News, among others.

He resides in Charlotte with his wife Ann.

Mark Walker served as North Carolina's 6th district Congressman from 2015 until 2021. In December Mark announced his run for the US Senate seat currently held by Senator Richard Burr.

In Washington, Walker served as the Vice Chairman of the House Republican Conference, the top Republican on the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism, the Chairman of the Prayer Caucus, and the Chairman of the Republican Study Committee.

Before serving in Congress, Mark served in various pastoral roles including executive and senior pastor positions. He served as a guest lecturer on mentorship and administration at Liberty University. 

Prior to his time in ministry, Walker worked in finance management for the Flow Automotive organization and graduated from Piedmont International University. Mark and his wife Kelly reside in Greensboro, NC.

Joe Arpaio served as the 36th Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona for 24 years. (1993-2017). Joe became known as "America's Toughest Sheriff" for his outspoken and unapologetic tough stance on illegal immigration to protect our borders.  

For years Sheriff Joe ignored a federal judge’s order that barred his department from detaining undocumented immigrants so, in 2016, the Obama administration’s justice department prosecuted Arpaio for criminal contempt of court. President Trump issued his first presidential pardon to issue relief to a man who has worked so tirelessly to protect our nation's borders. 

Joe's new book, "Sheriff Joe Arpaio: An American Legend" was released last fall. Joe was married to his wife, Ava, for 63 years before she passed away earlier this year. 

Born and raised in North Carolina, Bo Hines is a former All-American freshman wide receiver at NC State and a recent Yale University graduate. Bo Hines returned to North Carolina to pursue his law degree at Wake Forest. 

Hines interned with Indiana governor Eric Holcomb and U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota. U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger of North Carolina’s 9th District and former North Carolina Lt. Governor. Dan Forest.

In February, Bo announced he was running for a seat in the US Congress. Bo married his wife Mary this summer.   

Texas State Senator Bryan Hughes is serving his second term representing 16 counties in Northeast Texas. Before his election to the Senate in 2016, he was a Texas State Representative for 14 years. 

Hughes has a law degree from Baylor University and he practices law in Tyler Texas.

Hughes is the architect of the famous “Texas Heartbeat Bill”. The bill allows private citizens to take legal action against abortion providers after a fetal heartbeat is detected. Earlier this month the Supreme Court refused to intervene to stop the Texas law from going into effect. The Texas bill has nearly closed down all Texas abortion centers and earned the attention of lawmakers from around the country.  

As the Senior Pastors at Freedom House Church, they are not the sort of pastors who have a lineage of ministry. They both grew up in ungodly homes. God turned their pain and drama into a message and testimony of their tests. With only a word from God, they packed up in the spring of 2002 and made Charlotte their new home after serving in a church in Richmond, VA. They knew no one. They had no jobs, no money, and no church planting team. What they did have was a vision, and that vision was to equip people to experience Christ’s freedom in their everyday lives. That is how they founded Freedom House. 

Watch Penny Maxwell's remarks at the 2021 Salt & Light Conference.

Trey began his legal career as a judge advocate in the United States Marine Corps. His military service included a deployment to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Prior to being named partner at Tharrington Smith LLP in Raleigh, Trey completed a clerkship with Justice Paul Newby in the NC Supreme Court and practiced education law. 

Trey has served as an Associate Professor of Public Law and Government at UNC Chapel Hill and currently serves as the General Counsel for the NC Administrative Office of the Courts. In that capacity, he provides legal guidance on a broad range of subjects to court officials across the state. Trey is married to Teryn and they have five children.

Ron has been connecting with audiences ever since he started preaching Sunday nights in a Cleveland church when he was sixteen years old. The issue of pro-life is personal to him because his mother was a victim of sex trafficking as a young teenager. His personal story of surviving three abortion attempts is a relevant testimony of the miraculous mercy of God.   

Archer now travels the globe with a message that remains the same: that God can use anyone, including someone like him—the unwanted child of a seventeen-year-old call girl—to share the hope that comes from believing in Jesus Christ, who came to this earth to redeem our sins and give us eternal life with Him.

U.S. Congresswoman Lauren Boebert is serving her first term as the Representative for Colorado’s Third Congressional District. She is a 36-year-old citizen-legislator who never held public office prior to her 2020 victory. She is the first woman, first mother, and youngest ever to represent the District.

Congresswoman Boebert is active in her church and spent years as a volunteer, counseling and assisting at-risk women at the local jail. She has worked as a natural gas product technician, GIS technician, and pipeline integrity coordinator. Lauren is married and a mother of four boys, ages 9-17.

Leah Church is a former UNC Women's Basketball player and current three-point world-record holder. She has been featured on the Today Show, ESPN, Sports Center and more for viral trick shots and is privileged to have her name inscribed in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Leah is a 2020 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a degree in Exercise and Sport Science and a minor in coaching. She is presently coaching, training, and telling her incredible testimony of how she was offered a full scholarship to her dream school, but later had to choose her faith over basketball. Leah is passionate about sharing her story of God’s faithfulness and His miracle-working hand.

As a national leader on school choice, his published research primarily focuses on the benefits & effects of school choice programs on non-academic outcomes such as criminal activity, character skills, mental health, political participation, and schooling supply.

He is a senior fellow at the American Federation for Children. He is also the executive director at Educational Freedom Institute, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, a senior fellow at Reason Foundation, and a board member at Liberty Justice Center. He was named on the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his work on education policy and received the Buckley Award from America’s Future in 2020. 

Jeremy Dys, Esq., is Special Counsel for Litigation and Communications for First Liberty and host of the First Liberty Briefing. He earned his law degree from West Virginia University College of Law in 2005. After law school, Dys clerked for the Hon. Russell M. Clawges, Jr., chief judge of the Circuit Court of Monongalia County in Morgantown, West Virginia. For six years prior to joining First Liberty Institute, Dys led a public policy organization where he led research and advocacy efforts on matters of life, marriage, and religious freedom.

In support of his clients, Dys has made numerous appearances in local, state, and national television, print, and radio outlets. His written commentaries have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, The Hill, Daily Signal, Washington Examiner, The Federalist, and others.

Brian Echevarria was born in Miami, Florida. His career experience includes working as a financial advisor, missionary, local business owner, and building contractor.  While being a committed and successful husband and father; nothing short of the grace of God can be credited for Brian’s successes as he works across the nations. His focus areas include churches, mentoring groups, feeding operations, conferences, and seminars and building valued relationships. Brian and his wife, Cynthia has three children. Brian is a candidate for the North Carolina State House in District 73.

A “firebrand” according to “Daily Variety,” Elder is an American libertarian talk radio host, author, attorney, and documentary filmmaker who hosts The Larry Elder Show. The show began as a local program on Los Angeles radio station KABC in 1993 and is now nationally syndicated. 

Larry Elder has a take-no-prisoners style, using such old-fashioned things as evidence and logic. Larry shines the bright light of reasoned analysis on many of the myths and hypocrisies apparent in our system of government, our society, and the media itself. He slays dragons and topples sacred cows using facts, common sense, and a ready wit. He was most recently a gubernatorial candidate in California’s recall election.

After speaking at the Iowa Faith & Freedom dinner on Saturday, September 17th, 2022, Larry told the Des Moines Register that he is considering a run for president - regardless of whether former President Donald J. Trump decides to seek the office again. "I don't feel I'm running against him," Elder said, "I'm running for president. And I'm not running against Joe Biden if he runs, or Kamala Harris if she runs."

Trey Gowdy is an attorney, television news personality, politician and former federal prosecutor who served as the U.S. Representative for South Carolina’s 4th congressional district from 2011 to 2019. His district included much of the Upstate region of South Carolina, including Greenville and Spartanburg. He served on the Judiciary Committee and chaired the two and half year select committee investigation into the Benghazi attack. 

Trey is currently a Fox News Contributor and host of Sunday Night in America on the network. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Baylor University and received his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina. In 2019, Gowdy returned to South Carolina to practice law and teach classes. He is a #1 NY Times bestselling author of Doesn’t Hurt to Ask and co-author of Unified, with Senator Tim Scott. Trey Gowdy is married to Terri Gowdy, a first-grade teacher in the Spartanburg School District.

DR and his wife Laura have been married for 17 years and have one daughter. In May of 2016, God gloriously saved DR & Laura from a life of alcohol and drugs. Over the last 5 1/2 years God has truly transformed their lives from the inside out; DR has preached to millions of people around the world and has seen nearly 118,000 people trust Christ as their personal Savior! This is the vision and driving force behind the Voice of Hope ministry he leads.

Pete Hegseth currently serves as a co-host of FOX & Friends Weekend on Fox News. He joined the network as a contributor in 2014. At Fox, Hegseth provides analysis and commentary across the network's daytime and primetime programming. His recent book, Battle for the American Mind: Uprooting a Century of Miseducation was released in June as a #1 NY Times Bestseller. His FOX Nation companion special, The Miseducation of America is a series examining the current state of the classroom and the shift to more progressive content in today's curriculum. He studies how the American education system has evolved over the last hundred years.

Prior to his broadcast career, Hegseth held the position of CEO for Concerned Veterans for America. He was an infantry Captain in the Army National Guard, and has served in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay. He holds two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman Badge for his time in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Richard Hudson is serving his fifth term in Congress.  He currently represents the 8th Congressional District and serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee and in House leadership as the Republican Conference Secretary. Richard is the Republican candidate for the newly formed 9th Congressional District. 

Richard grew up in Charlotte, graduated from Myers Park High School and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, while serving as Student Body President. Richard, his wife Renee, and their son reside in Moore County.

Chris is the founder and Chairman of Citizens for America, one of the nation’s leading advocacy and grassroots public policy organizations. He hosts The Christian Perspective with Chris Hughes, a daily radio show and podcast that encourages Christ followers to live their lives and engage the culture through the lens of the Bible. Every week, he provides believers with content that cuts through the fog of our culture and the news cycle with truth and compassion. 

Chris Hughes is a Fellow with The Colson Center and serves as a member of the Board of Governors of the Council for National Policy and serves on the National Steering Council of the Conservative Baptist Network. He currently serves as the vice president of the North Carolina Association of Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisors. In 2021, Chris Hughes was appointed by the Governor of North Carolina to serve as a commissioner for the North Carolina Soil and Water Conservation Commission. You can listen to past episodes of his show on the Truth Network.

Bishop Jackson is the founder of The Called Church, headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia, and STAND–Staying True to America’s National Destiny, a national nonprofit organization with a mission to bring Americans together across racial and cultural lines to preserve our Judeo-Christian values and heritage. 

Jackson is the host of The Awakening, a national radio talk show on American Family Radio, with 200 radio stations and live-streamed around the world. He is an author and frequent contributor on Fox & Friends, Neil Cavuto, ABC Radio Network, National Public Radio and other media. Bishop Jackson has been a candidate for the U.S. Senate and the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor of Virginia. He and his wife, Theodora, have been married for 50 years.

Watch his remarks from the 2021 Salt & Light Conference.

Glenn Jacobs, better known by the ring name Kane, is an American politician, actor and professional wrestler. Before becoming Knox County Mayor in 2018, Glenn Jacobs had a successful professional wrestling career that spanned nearly 25 years. He has performed in front of millions of fans across the United States and in over 40 countries around the world. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021. He has been named a three-time ‘World Champion,’ 12-time ‘Tag Team Champion,’ two-time ‘Intercontinental Champion,’ and one-time ‘Money in the Bank’ champion.

He is a former elementary teacher and has served on the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital advisory council and the board of the Halls/Powell Boys and Girls Club. Additionally, his small business, Jacobs Insurance Associates, became the local champion of the Kindness Revolution, a national anti-bullying initiative. He, along with his wife Crystal, founded Kane’s Crusaders, a non-profit organization with the mission of bringing joy to chronically ill teenagers in East Tennessee.

Inspired by the film, Facing the Giants, Coach Joe Kennedy waited until the players cleared the field at Bremerton High School in Washington State, then took a knee in quiet prayer after coaching his very first football game in 2008. This continued after each game for seven years—and no students, coaches, or parents ever complained. One-by-one some students joined him in prayer at the 50-yard line. Eventually, his team invited the opposing team to pray after the game. It was just what he did. 

After initially being told by a school administrator how grateful they were for his leadership and example, Coach Kennedy received a letter from the school district ordering him to stop praying on the field. After his request for religious accommodation was denied, the district ultimately suspended and then fired Kennedy. Although he won his religious freedom case at the US Supreme Court in June, he still has not been able to return to coaching football.

Learn more about Coach Kennedy. 

Born in the projects of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Nikita was the youngest of four and raised by a single mom. While training for a pro football tryout, he was introduced to professional wrestling in 1984. Known as “The Russian Nightmare" and “The Russian Road Warrior” in the ring, his Hall-of-Fame World Championship Professional Wrestling career would take him around the world for the next eight years. 

More than accolades on a football field or wrestling championship belts, he says his journey with Jesus is the true highlight of his life. Soon after he retired, he surrendered his life to Christ. His men’s ministry has taken him to over 1200 churches in 28 different denominations in all 50 states and 30 countries.  

Pastor Greg Locke is the Founding and Lead Pastor of Global Vision Bible Church in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, just outside Nashville. The social media firebrand is the author of the #1 Best Selling Spiritual Warfare Series and is the host of On Point with Pastor Greg Locke. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Biblical Studies, a Master’s Degree in Revival History, and is a popular revivalist and speaker in churches and political circles alike. The Lord has blessed him with one of the largest social media platforms in the nation, and Global Vision has the most broad-reaching livestream ministry in the world.

While raising six kids of their own, Pastor Locke and his wife Taisha work hand in hand in the ministry and have a heart to reach those who are broken and have been forgotten by the Church.

James O’Keefe founded Project Veritas and Project Veritas Action after he led some of the most consequential undercover journalism coups in a generation. His nonprofit news organizations are dedicated to reviving the craft of undercover journalism to investigate corruption, dishonesty, waste and fraud in public institutions and the private sector.

Working with Andrew Breitbart back in 2009, O'Keefe used a hidden camera and a disguise to topple ACORN, the 40-year community organizing group funded with federal dollars that focused on voter engagement in low-income communities responsible for driving millions of first-time voters to the polls for President Obama. The videos unleashed one of the biggest political scandals on Capitol Hill in 2010 and ultimately caused the ACORN to file bankruptcy. 

Over the last twelve years James O'Keefe and his team of journalists at Project Veritas have exposed Google, Facebook, Pinterest, Big Tech, Public Funding of NPR, Obamacare, election fraud, corrupt politicians, the DNC, ABC News, CNN, The US Post Office and many more organizations.

Father Frank Pavone is one of the most prominent Catholic pro-life leaders in the world. He currently serves as the National Director at Priests for Life, the largest pro-life ministry in the Catholic Church. He served on the Pro-life and Catholic advisory boards of both of President Trump’s election campaigns and in 2020 was National Co-Chair of Pro-life Voices for Trump. He currently serves on former President Trump’s National Faith Advisory Board. He is the author of four books including, Ending Abortion, Not Just Fighting It.

Sandy Smith is a successful business executive, entrepreneur, and real estate investor. Sandy and her husband William happily reside in Nash County. While raising a family, Sandy finished her education and graduated from East Carolina University.  She is now a proud USMC military mom and the Republican candidate for North Carolina’s newly formed 1st Congressional District.

A Pacific Northwest native, Ryan Stevenson, was once a paramedic and worship minister at Vertical Church. He captured the attention of TobyMac by co-writing the Number one and GRAMMY® nominated single Speak Life in 2013. Since then he has distinguished himself as a talented Christian artist. He is best known for some of your favorite songs on Christian radio including Eye of the Storm, With Lifted Hands, The Gospel and his new single, I Cry Jesus. K-Love Fan nominee, Billboard Music Award and Dove Award winner, Ryan Stevenson will be leading us in praise & worship to kick off the 2022 Salt & Light Conference on Friday night. Listen to a few of his top songs.

Originally from Watauga County, Michael Whatley has served as the Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party since 2019. He earned a History degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Masters in Religion from Wake Forest University before graduating from the University of Notre Dame in 1997 with both a Law Degree and Masters in Theology. Whatley was a member of George W. Bush’s Florida Recount Team in 2000 and went on to serve in Bush’s Energy Department. He worked in the Senate, including a year as former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole’s Chief of Staff. Since 2007, he’s been a partner in the energy consulting firm HBW Resources. In 2016 he helped organize rallies in North Carolina for Donald Trump.

Brett Winterble is a veteran radio and television broadcaster. He can be heard daily on the Brett Winterble Show broadcast weekdays on WBT Radio in Charlotte (1110AM & 99.3 FM). After spending nearly a decade as a producer on the Rush Limbaugh Show, Brett began his own show back in 2008 on Sirius XM.  He has been a drivetime on air personality at The Beast 980 in Los Angeles, KFMB television in San Diego and an on-air Host at Newsmax Media. 

He is a graduate of Emerson College and American Military University with degrees in Political Communication and Homeland Security/Intelligence Studies. 

Chelsey Youman, Esq., serves as the Texas State Director & National Legislative Advisor at Human Coalition Action. Chelsey’s professional experience includes working as Senior Counsel and Chief of Staff for First Liberty Institute and worked in private practice, where she successfully litigated corporate fraud and consumer rights issues in both federal and state jurisdictions. She played an active role in drafting the Texas Heartbeat Bill with Texas State Senator Bryan Hughes. Chelsey is happily married with three children. Her family is active in their church, serving in the premarital and pro-life ministries there.

Human Coalition Action is the public policy advocacy arm of Human Coalition, advocating for preborn children by assisting governing officials in advancing pro-life policies, informing voters about pro-life candidates, and supporting pro-life legal arguments in the Courts.

Mark Harris serves as the Senior Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church. Mark has served as Senior Pastor of three other Southern Baptist churches over the last 30 years and in many leadership roles at the NC Baptist State Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention. He currently serves as the Vice President at Family Research Council. Mark and his wife Beth have served in ministry for 32 years.

First elected to the General Assembly in 2002, Speaker Tim Moore is currently serving his fourth term as the presiding officer of the North Carolina House of Representatives.  He represents Cleveland County and is now the longest serving Republican House Speaker in North Carolina history. The Speaker is a lifelong resident of Kings Mountain where he currently practices as an attorney. He is a member of First Baptist Church.