Capitol Ministries

26 CM 2018 | State Ministries NEBRASKA M INISTRY LEADER PERRY GAUTHIER POSED THIS QUESTION AS HE LAUNCHED HIS "GOOD GOD, GIVE US GOOD GOVERNMENT" BIBLE SERIES FOR THE NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE THIS YEAR: FROM AN AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH AT NIGHT, WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA? "North Korea is black as coal and twice as cold—it's dead. South Korea, where freedom and faith are honored, lights up like a Christmas tree—it moves with light and life. e dif- ference is government." Pastor Gauthier believes, as the Bible teaches, that righteous leaders lead righteously. e king gives stability to the land by justice, but a man who takes bribes overthrows it. Proverbs 29:4 As well, to paraphrase the 17th-century statesman Wil- liam Penn, good hearts make good laws. It all starts with the heart. For the 11 years he has served as Ministry Leader, Pastor Gauthier has taught a weekly Bible study to members of the unicameral (one-house) law-making body whose members are called Senators. is year nearly a third of the 49 Senators reg- ularly attended the weekly Bible studies with catered breakfasts arranged by Faith Gauthier, Pastor Gauthier's wife and min- istry partner. e same Bible study is taught separately every Wednesday to legislative staff. Pastor Gauthier's 13-part Good Government series was in- spired, in part, by the recent trend of Evangelical Christians to shun involvement in government, and the demeaning attitudes that are being displayed toward the God-ordained institution of civil government. "Government is God's idea and one of five institutions that He designed for earth. Church and state are supposed to cooperate wonderfully and push culture forward," Pastor Gauthier said. "I like to say civil servants are societal sav- iors — sort of. If the church injects God's ethics and morality into government leaders, they will do what they are biblical- ly supposed to do — curtail evil and promote good." In the coming year, Pastor Gauthier will work to begin ministries to Nebraska's executive branch and strengthen a ministry he has begun to judges. If successful, he will have a ministry presence in all three branches. And he will continue to bolster the min- istry to Senators. "e Bible gives a lesson on ethics on every page. I tell the Senators, having biblical ethics will not only make them better people and better spouses, but also better lawmaking leaders to move our great state forward. If they don't avail themselves of God's Word, they won't vote right; they have to know Bible truth to do their job well." A Nebraska farm at peak growing season capital: Lincoln population: 1,929,268 governor: Pete Ricke s legislature: 49 Perry Gauthier Ministry Leader Nebraska State Capitol

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