Brothers and Sisters in Christ
Today I am writing to you from the 2023 Family Policy Council conference. I am so excited to be attending again, reconnecting and exchanging ideas with my colleagues from across the nation. I don’t go to conferences very often, since I’ve found over the years that many are not particularly productive, so going would not honor being a good steward of your financial support. However, this one is different.
This year we have Family Policy Councils (FPCs) from 40 states represented, the most recent being Oklahoma, who just last week became the official FPC for their state. Each state has their own organization, similar to North Dakota Family Alliance, and there is a vetting process before you are recognized as the state’s FPC. We want to ensure that we are all Christian organizations and that we share the same basic values on key issues. We always have a great time of Christian fellowship and comradery at these conferences. To gather with these leaders is truly a privilege.
One particular benefit we receive by connecting with other state directors is sharing best practices. They often face some of the same challenges we face in North Dakota and we can provide guidance on how to best tackle an issue. Similarly, they share model legislation to show what worked in their states and to give us ideas on how to turn challenging issues into successful legislation. And it doesn’t stop there. We also discuss ideas about church engagement, conferences, how to help new legislators integrate their faith with public policy, and much more. Finally, we share challenges and victories from each of our states. I think they will be hard pressed this year to find another FPC that worked harder or got better results than NDFA, and it's all because of you!
However, the most important aspect of the conference has always been the unity of faith. Here are 40 state directors who share the same Christian beliefs. They value families and want to ensure that pro-family and pro-life legislation is passed, as we do in North Dakota. Our unity of faith is what binds us together. Whether I’m talking to someone from Washington, Georgia, or Nebraska, we all share the passion to make our states ones where God-honoring faith, family, and freedom flourish.
Finally, the one thing we always agree on is that we can’t do our work without the help of our state partners, such as yourself. If you want to help us advance our pro-life and pro-family values in North Dakota, I encourage you to become a ministry partner. There are many ways to do this.
It may mean responding to our action alerts, praying for our ministry, or helping financially support our work (or all three!). It’s great to receive the good ideas and help from our brothers and sisters in other states, but we can only be successful and fight the good fight here in North Dakota with your help. Thank you for your continued support for us as we advance our Christian values at the Capitol in Bismarck and across the state!