Friends,
2020 has been a year that has marked all our lives in both good and bad ways. It makes you wonder if anything good came from this year. We firmly believe that God did work in our ministry, in this state, and our nation.
We believe 2021 will be an exciting year for us, and all of Kansas, and we look forward to it with great anticipation. But before we move into the new year, we thought it was important for you to hear from the team about their highlights from the year:
Brittany’s Reflections on 2020
2020 started off with such energy and then just seemed to just stall out from a legislative perspective. But we did see some big wins for families this year:
- Our most important victory this year, was the flip we saw in the make-up of the Kansas legislature. In Kansas, there was a Kansas conservative tsunami in both the Primary and General elections. Every Republican that voted against Value Them Both was booted out of office in the primary and we added to the number of conservatives in both chambers paving the way for this life saving amendment to pass this session. This sets us up to get some incredible work done in promoting life, religious freedom, school choice, and families.
- We helped protect freedom in our state by pushing back against Governor Kelly’s attempt to target churches during the pandemic. We also helped protect local control of COVID-related restrictions, something Governor Kelly is still trying to undo.
- This year has given us the opportunity to build an even stronger alliance of pro-family, pro-life, and pro-freedom Kansans who are fighting to protect the values that have made Kansas a wonderful place to live and raise a family. So many of you reached out to your elected officials and fought alongside us. Join us as we grow in the coming year. We’ll need your voices again to keep fighting for truth.
David’s Reflections on 2020
It would be so easy to simply want to “write off” 2020. For goodness sake, let’s move on to 2021! Well, I offer the following amazing things that have happened in 2020:
- Your Kansas Kansas Family Voice team has embraced aligning with the Church Ambassador Network with a mission of “Inspiring the Church to Engage Government for the Advance of God’s Kingdom.” We have done much foundational work, learning from our partners, especially from The Family Leader in Iowa, and we are really excited about mobilizing the Church in Kansas. The foundational work is critical as we look toward thousands of Kansans eventually joining us in this mission.
- The Church has had to embrace technology in ways that they have never done before. On-line giving is way up. On-line participation in churches is way up. The efficiency of the Church has grown as many pastors and church members embrace video meetings. Even the Church Ambassador Network is relying on Zoom to have meetings between people who live hours away from each other.
- Even as turmoil has rocked our nation, Jesus followers have recommitted to following Jesus in every circumstance. God never promised His followers a life absent of strife. As Christians, we have the advent focuses of hope, peace, joy, and love because we know that this life is temporary, with all of its struggles, and that Jesus is still on His throne. World events are continuing to unfold just as God knew they would.
Jeff’s Reflections on 2020:
As this year comes to an end, a verse that has consistently come to my mind through the 2020 ups and downs is Romans 8:28. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.” Anyone who said following Christ is easy was pulling your leg, but when we consistently pursue him and his righteousness, whether individually or organizationally, God will indeed cause all things to work together for good. Many “good things” are in the works for FPA of Kansas in 2021. In the weeks and months ahead, we will begin to share some of these things with you.
We are so thankful for how the Lord has seen us through this year. Our promise to you is that we will continue to work with diligence, joy, and hope in the coming year. We pray that you will see God’s goodness in the coming year and we look forward to working with you, in the days to come!
Standing for the family of believers,
 |
 |
 |
| Jeff Bennett Executive Director |
Brittany Jones Director of Advocacy |
David Beauchamp Church Outreach Director |
