Prayer for New PA Ministry: Christians From all Parties Legislate According to Biblical Tenets

Capitol Ministries is seeking prayers from supporters and prayer partners as we launch a discipleship ministry to members of the Pennsylvania Legislature – an effort we’ve been working to accomplish for years.

“I ask our friends to please join the CapMin team in praying for God’s blessing over this new ministry,” said Ralph Drollinger, President and Founder of Capitol Ministries.

“We pray that the Word of God would move powerfully through the halls of the Pennsylvania Capitol and that many would come to know Him through this discipleship ministry that is being launched.”

Dr. Joseph Green, senior pastor of the St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Harrisburg, PA, will teach the weekly in-depth Bible study. Study sponsor PA Rep. Cris Dush, District 66, will provide a meeting room inside the capitol as soon as restrictions ease on the COVID-19 lockdown.

Dr. Green said he hopes to spark an understanding of why it is important for legislators who profess Christ to legislate according to the tenets of the Bible.

“My prayer is that Christian legislators on both sides of the aisle will unite under a biblical worldview because I strongly believe that the foundational principles of the Bible represent humanity’s only hope for success.”

Dr. Green has taught a biblical foundations class over the years and discovered that people are confused by the topic of “apologetics” and what holding a “biblical worldview” means.

He explained that the Bible compels believers to “contend for the faith” which is also known as Christian apologetics. Holding to a biblical worldview means that the faith that we confess should also shape how we perceive the world.

Dr. Green has seen a disconnect in this concept among people in the church as well as in some Christian legislators.

“In my humble opinion it is because a lot of them have not had spiritual leaders to help them connect the dots,” he said.

“It is important for us to get back to the basics of the faith. Simply holding the title of Christian is not enough. It is the actual manifestation of Christ in our lives that is our saving grace. Jesus said if we love him, we will keep His commandments. He also rebukes those who are hesitant in professing Him in front of men.”

CapMin has tried for years to create a legislative ministry in Pennsylvania with mixed success. Pennsylvania’s discipleship Bible study was founded due in great part to the efforts of Jon Cassel, CapMin’s Africa Director who is on an extended visit to his home state of PA.

Drollinger tapped Cassel because he has been so successful in planting CapMin ministries in Africa where he has worked and ministered for decades.

Taking on the task, Cassel asked Pennsylvania friends for recommendations and met with two PA Christian legislators who were interested in a weekly Bible study. Many people suggested Dr. Green as the Bible teacher and all gave him “two thumbs up,” Cassel said. Within days the PA ministry was launched.

“I have been passionate my entire adult life in working to have our biblical and Christian values represented in the public arena and that includes the political arena,” Cassel said. “It is important that those legislators who profess to be Christian have a firm foundation in the Word, otherwise how can we expect them to stand up under political pressures?”

Drollinger said Cassel’s “boldness and enterprise are remarkable.”

“Jon has a unique gift and an innate understanding of how to identify and bring together strong believers for the purpose of building Christ’s kingdom,” Drollinger said. “We are grateful that his gifts have so benefitted the efforts of Capitol Ministries to create disciples of Jesus Christ among the political leaders of the world.”

Dr. Green will begin teaching on the “image of God,” in Latin, the “Imago Dei,” which examines the significance of human beings understanding what it means to have been created in the image of God.

“We see the tenets of biblical Christianity under attack in the public sector and in the political realm. We are called to be ambassadors of the faith and ministers of reconciliation. We are obligated to fellow believers and to the world at large to be the mouthpiece for the kingdom of God,” Dr. Green said.

“My desire is to give Christian legislators the opportunity to help them fulfill their God-given mandate as ministers of Christ.”

If you would like to support Dr. Green’s ministry in the Pennsylvania Capitol, learn more at capmin.org/pennsylvania.