San Diego Church Vandalized, 'Step Up 2 Pray' Begins, Churches Activated!
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"We need to put godly people in office if we are going to have a godly nation.” Bishop Art Hodges
February 20, 2020
When Bishop Art Hodges and Pastor Amado Huizar spoke about Drag Queen Story Hour at a Chula Vista library near their church, they knew there would be repercussions. These came in the form of online harassment and vandalism to the church, which was spray-painted with satanic messages and sexual vulgarity.
“The intent, no doubt, is to strike fear and intimidation,” said Bishop Hodges, Senior Pastor at South Bay Pentecostal Church. “Frankly, that’s the tactic these groups have utilized for far too long. And I’m sorry to say, in my opinion, that far too many of our pastors, churches and constituents have succumbed to that.”
But, perhaps the bigger story is not the one that garnered the attention of the news covering the online harassment and vandalism controversies. Since speaking out at a government building about the inappropriateness of Drag Queen Story Hour — part of a national reading movement designed to promote tolerance among young children — the church has been receiving an outpouring of support in the form of letters and offers to help repaint the vandalized church. Chula Vista police are investigating the attack as a possible hate crime.
South Bay Pentecostal Executive Pastor, Amado Huizar, who serves alongside Bishop Hodges, said strangers have been thanking him on the streets and that donations have rolled in, including one from a family in Oregon. However, Huizar said the conversation he will never forget is the call he took from a homosexual man who thanked him for trying to stop the Drag Queen Story Hour event. He pledged to send a donation to help with repairs.
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“It’s not just church people — but an entire world that’s asking people to take a stand, and we need to do that,” Pastor Huizar said. “We felt that as church leaders we have the power to influence and a voice to speak out against the Drag Queen Story Hour.”
Although well-trained in using their voices to speak spiritual truths from the pulpit, the pastors knew little about taking their voices out into the community to help shape culture — until last year when state lawmakers were pushing Assembly Bill 2943 (AB 2943). If AB 2943 had been passed, it would have used consumer protection laws to ban Christian universities, churches and ministries from selling products or charging admission for programs promoting sexual orientation change therapy.
Hodges and Huizar joined other pastors from across the state who traveled to Sacramento to speak out against AB 2943, which was eventually tabled by its author.
“I felt like that bill was a greater assault on our religious freedom — even more than Prop. 8, the marriage bill, because it was preventing adults from seeking a certain kind of religious help that they might desire,” said Bishop Hodges.
What the pastors learned through Church United events in Sacramento and San Diego proved to be invaluable after two homeschool mothers informed them about the local library their children frequent promoting the Drag Queen Story Hour.
The Story Hour events are national reading movements that organizers bill as an avenue to promote tolerance among young children. “(It) captures the imagination and play of the gender fluidity of childhood and gives kids glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models,” the website reads. “In spaces like this, kids are able to see people who defy rigid gender restrictions and imagine a world where people can present as they wish, where dress up is real.”
Protecting Children
As in Chula Vista, parents across the country have protested these events as being inappropriate for young children.
“I think it’s the government’s role, to a large degree, to accommodate as many diverse beliefs and practices as they can,” Bishop Hodges said. “So I understand accommodation from a government standpoint, but I don’t understand the government promoting something.”
“It’s one thing to accommodate something, but it’s another to promote something. The government’s role is to protect personal rights — not to promote personal agenda.”
Hodges continued by saying, “It’s inappropriate at every level to have adult entertainers reading books to kids, promoting them as role models.”
“They are not reflective of our community, and they are not role models. A role model is someone who you should look to imitate. Is our city saying we need more drag queens?”
Prior to the library’s story time event, numerous pastors held a news conference to express their concerns and ask city officials to delay to allow for more community input. Not only did they refuse, but they moved the event to a larger library to accommodate more guests.
The event drew both protesters and supporters — Hodges and Huizar not among them. Instead, they were among a dozen or so pastors who had gathered across the street, away from the TV cameras, to pray on the steps of City Hall. The group eventually grew to about 100 believers.
“This has given birth to something,” Bishop Hodges said. “I’m stirred up. I’m engaged.”
Every Tuesday since then, Christians continue to gather at City Hall to pray as the City Council convenes inside. Hodges is in the process of creating a rotating schedule for what is now called “Step Up 2 Pray” so that at least three churches are there to represented each Tuesday.
“The Bible says a three-fold cord is not easily broken,” he said.
Putting Godly People in Office
The Bishop is also in the process of meeting with each of the council members face-to-face. He’s already had one-on-ones with the mayor and a councilman.
“I’ve looked each one of them in the eye and said, ‘I need to ask your forgiveness because I need to repent something. I have been absent from City Hall, this office and our city affairs for far too long,’” said Bishop Hodges, who oversees 120 congregations, including South Bay Pentecostal.
“In my defense, I have been absent because I feel like we elect leaders to do the job and I’m trusting them to do that job — but now, with what’s happening, I realize I’ve been giving too much carte blanche in our elected leadership,” said Hodges.
“Repentance means I’m not just sorry for what I have or haven’t done, but it means I’m going to change my ways. So get used to seeing me, get used to hearing my voice and get used to the fact that I’m going to become an activist.”
Beyond scheduling for “Step Up 2 Pray,” Bishop Hodges said he’s also committed to recruiting Christians to run for public office.
“I’m not running for office. God has not called me to be a politician,” he said. “God called me to be a preacher. I know my calling, and I know my place. But I’m absolutely going to be stirring people up who are called to be politicians. God wants His people to be kings and priests of the earth.”
“I am actively encouraging all the pastors in our city and our area — and all church members — to get involved in city leadership,” said Hodges. “We need righteous people who will stand for righteous positions in our government. We need to put godly people in office if we are going to have a godly nation.”
The Value of a Pastors Network
Pastor Huizar said he’s grateful for the Church United network, which helped develop a core group of spiritual leaders to address the Drag Queen Story Hour issue.
“We were the only church that initially stood up, vocally,” Huizar said. “As time went on — Church United helped with this — more churches came in to take a stand and pray.”
Still, there were other spiritual leaders who said they supported the activism — from a distance.
“They would say, ‘That’s a tough thing to do. I wouldn’t do it, but I agree with you,’” said Pastor Huizar. “I hope and pray that God would bring leaders to a place where they can take a stand.”
He added, “I hope this is an opportunity for them to inspect themselves personally.” “Do I really believe what I preach every Sunday? Do I really believe what I teach every day to my people? Can I take a stand in a tough time in a tough world? My plea to church leaders is to take a stand, even if they lose a notch of popularity or cool factor.”
In the meantime, South Bay Pentecostal is working on plans to beef up security in light of the vandalism.
“We’re going to take a stand on things that we feel we need to take a stand on, and if this is some of the backlash we’re going to get, we’re (still) going to go ahead and do it,” Pastor Huizar said. “People will mark us and say what they want about us, but we are going to take a stand in the appropriate manner and not back down, whether we get vandalized or not.”
Because of threatening posts to his social media accounts, Bishop Hodges said he’s had to change his setting from public to private. He’s disappointed, but not despaired.
“If we can all come together on common causes like this, I really believe we can turn our country around,” he said. “I know it looks impossible, but we all worship the God of the impossible. Many times we feel like we are all alone in the battle, but we’re not.”
“Darkness doesn’t overcome light. When we bring our light together, we’re like a city set on a hill. I haven’t always been an advocate, but I am now (starting several weeks ago). I’m not backing down from this fight.”
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