200 California Pastors to D.C. in 2022
"And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed.“And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.”
— 1 Peter 3:13‐14
157 Church United California Pastors, Washington, D.C.
We are on the cusp of a new year and we’ve got big plans, but before we unveil those, I’d like to spend a few minutes celebrating significant victories among our courageous network of Church United Pastors.
After five years of intentional foundation setting, 2021 ushered in a season of growth and influential reach for Church United, and much of that success is the result of your faithful partnership through intercession and investment. God continues to amaze me with his provision and advancement.
2021 in Review
COVID‐19 continued to remain a major focus as we guided pastors and their congregations wading through the lingering impacts of forced closures and mandates. Several of our Church United pastors took highly publicized (and sometimes unpopular) stands to keep their heart hospitals open. Pastors from around the country stood with these pastors as they challenged rules that would force them to violate Scripture. Several of them were vindicated by winning major victories through the courts, with judges sending strong warnings against religious liberty violations by ordering the government to pay significant monetary awards to the congregations. Below are story highlights from some of these Church United Pastors of Regional Influence.
San Diego: After winning a U.S. Supreme Court case overturning state‐mandated church closures, Bishop Art Hodges (who oversees over 250 Southern California Pastors and churches) and his associate, Pastor Amado Huizar, hosted a news conference under the guidance of Church United. During the media event, the Bishop publicly confessed to 28 years of inactivity in the cultural wars, lauding the work of Church United, adding, “Devil, you’ve awoken a lion.” 2021 was not the first time Bishop Hodges and his team took a stand for their beliefs. As you may recall, the Bishop sought our assistance in 2019 concerning Drag Queen Story Hour in Chula Vista.
Los Angeles: Pastor Che Ahn, Harvest Rock, Pasadena, was also successful in challenging the state closure order, winning its own suit before the U.S. Supreme Court. Even before his victory, Pastor Che supported Church United financially and continues to unashamedly stand with us. He’s twice written about the significance of our federal discrimination lawsuit against Vimeo on religious and sexual orientation grounds. The lawsuits by Pastors Che, Hodges and Huizar stopped woke California government officials from shuttering churches.
San Jose: Of the 2,000‐plus Church United pastors, no California pastor has been targeted more by the government than Pastor Mike McClure. Pastor Mike has been hounded, stalked, dragged to court, and fined over $3.5 million dollars (and counting) for defying state mandates. That has not stopped or intimidated this former Silicon Valley tech wizard who consistently models humbleness, meekness and kindness. Sound like someone else you might know (Jesus!)?
Pastor Mike holds what is believed to be the national record for fines associated with “having church”— and Church United has stood next to him through the crucible. We’ve hosted three news conferences and rallied pastors in the San Francisco Bay Area to stand with Pastor Mike at Calvary Chapel San Jose. Pastor Mike is a perpetual victim of the unrelenting hands of government officials who have set their hearts on the destruction of Calvary Chapel San Jose. Lord have mercy on these government leaders (Psalm 94).
Alameda: Although Pastor Mike holds the record of being fined the largest amount in the country for “having church,” Pastor Larry Ihrig has the largest number of government agencies trying to seize his church and school! Pastor Larry is also based in Northern California and is enduring unending Communist style harassment from city, county, and state officials who seem bent on eliminating Celebration Church and its Christian school. I have stood with Pastor Larry during countless phone calls, texts and news conferences. Our conversations seek wisdom on how best to respond to the onslaught. One thing is sure, this “small” Livermore church has had a huge impact! They’ve grown numerically and financially! Pastor Larry has been asked to represent the small secular businesses in downtown Livermore and has been nominated as their spokesperson in combating city and county mandates. As God would have it, these non‐Christian business leaders, some members of the LGBT community, are coming to Christ.
In what could have been a tragedy, state officials canceled the church’s private Christian school license. Undeterred, Pastor Larry and his congregation transitioned the school to a five‐day‐a‐week day camp, which no longer needs state approval or state licensing. Pastor Larry, Church United is with you!
Ventura: In the midst of these unconstitutional restrictions, other Church United Pastors of Regional Influence sought different approaches. Lead Pastor Sam Gallucci felt it was time to directly challenge Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ongoing attacks on the church and families. He did so by filing as one of 40 or so candidates to run in the recent recall election against the state’s CEO. The impetus for his cultural involvement was attending a CU Awakening Tour to Washington, D.C. “It really started to spark an interest in getting more involved in politics as a political mountain,” he said. “All of the things that Church United gives us—the tools to do it—really is a blessing.”
Butte: Pastor Scott Thomson also shared what the D.C. Awakening Tour did for him. He uses wisdom from these experiences—and gleaned from other CU pastors—in his role as an Oroville City Councilman. Pastor Scott and five other city council members passed a declaration to become a Constitutional Republic City to refute and protect the people of Oroville from state and federal governments mandates. It’s believed to be the first of its kind in the nation. His boldness garnered national attention, landing him live interviews on Fox & Friends, Tucker Carlson, and Glenn Beck. Pastor Scott, your leadership and prayer network with other pastors has had immeasurable influence. Uniting pastors to mobilize their networks to unseat liberals by replacing them with conservatives is just one example! As a result, your city stopped the marijuana industry from coming to Oroville. California and our nation need more statesmen like Pastor Scott Thomson!
2022 Vision
As Newsom’s COVID‐19 restrictions began to garner national headlines, it also fomented interest from pastors around the country (many of whom were already aware of Church United’s influence) as the shuttering of churches was a fundamental wake‐up call for clergy outside the Golden State’s borders. As a result, key influential pastors in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma have also joined Church United’s monumental movement!
As we look ahead to 2022, we are committed to the continual expansion of our influence. Church United’s vision is to take our largest‐yet Awakening Tour‐Washington, D.C. by providing scholarships to 200 California pastors next fall, including 2 to 3 pastors we hope to bring from each of the eight expansion states.
Also on our agenda is to hire three crucial positions: 1) Chief Operations Officer, 2) Development Champion, and 3) Marketing Team. To accomplish this, I am eagerly seeking 200 donors to each sponsor this vision with a $5,000 gift by June 2022.