Capitol Ministries

Local Government Ministries 19 "A few years ago, I had the privilege of leading the first Local Government Ministries (LGM) Bible study to elected leaders in greater Sacramento, California, and the experience was exhilarating to say the least! We studied Ralph's book, Oaks In Office: Essential Bible Studies for Political Leaders, which includes the same Bible studies Ralph teaches to national leaders in Washington, D.C. None of us had any idea that the Bible had so much to say about immigration, parenting, racism, deficit spending, and other contemporary issues. One elected official had planned to leave politics, and now he says, 'No wonder God has me in this position!' I'm continuing to lead that original Bible study. And I'm also leading the effort to recruit and train ministry leaders to launch LGM to their local leaders across America and in foreign nations. I invite interested men who truly want to make a difference in this world to join us and get involved!" Dr. Dan DeShong Local Government Ministries Global Director T he political leaders of tomorrow are serving in the city halls and county chambers of small town America today. at is what studies show, and that is why we are committed to creating Bible-study based discipleship ministries to local leaders. rough CapMin's Local Government Ministries (LGM), we are working to reach the 500,000 local elected and appointed public servants in the 40,000 incorporated municipalities in the U.S, as well as local leaders in nations around the world. Dr. Dan DeShong, a retired business owner with decades of ministry experience, was named director of Local Government Ministries this year and charged with developing, growing, and administering LGM efforts world-wide. Dr. DeShong holds the distinction of leading the very first LGM study for city and county public servants in greater Sacramento, California. is year, distinguished statesman Rick Perry who has served as U.S. Secretary of Energ y and Texas gover- nor, spearheaded our national effort to recruit biblically reliant men to lead ministries. Hundreds of candidates responded to Secretary Perry's call-to-action: "With the nation in turmoil, why are our political leaders the most neglected mission field in America today?" As a result of the successful appeal, Dr. DeShong is leading efforts to vet and train hundreds of candidates in communities around the United States. So far, 21 local government Bible- study ministries have been launched in neighborhoods in California, Texas, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Oregon, Idaho, Missouri, and Ohio. Many more will soon begin. is year during the Covid crisis, CapMin leadership staff concentrated on building the infrastructure to con- tact, inform, and recruit 50,000 Bible-believing churches to consider championing a ministry to the members of their local government. Amongst those efforts, we created a database of 500,000 elected local government leaders in the U.S. at list is continually being updated. Secretary Perry is using that database to invite local leaders to read the same Bible studies that he and other national leaders are reading in Washington, D.C., every week. Efforts to reach local leaders in foreign nations also took a large leap this year. In their extensive travels around the world, Ralph and Danielle Drollinger have developed strong relationships with pastors and others in the faith community, as well as believers who are serving in public office, many of whom have already become officially af- filiated with Capitol Ministries. rough these contacts, Capitol Ministries has recruited biblically reliant Bible teachers to launch an additional 40 local government ministries to local government public servants in foreign nations. Local government ministries Faith comes om hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. R o m a n s 1 0 : 1 7

• Cover