The FAMiLY LEADER has added Gary Bauer, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds to the list of confirmed speakers for the 7th annual Family Leadership Summit at the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday, Sept. 14.
The three additions join previously announced speakers Dr. Jack Graham of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, Marjorie Dannelfelser of Susan B. Anthony List, Michael Farris of Alliance Defending Freedom, and Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The FAMiLY LEADER.
“This year’s lineup features leaders at the forefront of some of the nation’s biggest issues, including life, religious liberty, and the futures of Israel, Iowa, and the U.S. Supreme Court,” says Vander Plaats. “But while the world around us debates these issues in a politically charged media frenzy, the Summit is a refreshing opportunity to think bigger than politics, to look higher for the help we need, for Christians to come together and join God in the ministry of cultural transformation!”
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The annual Family Leadership Summit brings to the Midwest prominent, national leaders from a variety of fields, including government. The Summit encourages and challenges Christians to engage in Christ-centered cultural transformation that “thinks bigger” than politics and elections to impact not just government, but also churches, families, and individual lives.
Confirmed speakers for the 2018 Summit include:
Gary Bauer is Washington director of the Christians United for Israel Action Fund. Previously Bauer served as President Ronald Reagan’s undersecretary of education and chief domestic policy advisor. After leaving the White House, Bauer worked with several family-oriented advocacy organizations. Bauer serves on the board of the Emergency Committee for Israel and as president of American Values. In 2010 he received the Defender of Israel Award from the Zionist Organization of America.
Marjorie Dannenfelser is president of Susan B. Anthony List, a national pro-life organization focused on electing pro-life leaders and advancing life-saving laws and policy. SBA List has helped elect more than 111 pro-life leaders to federal and statewide office. Dannenfelser served as National Chair of then-candidate Donald Trump’s Pro-life Coalition during the 2016 election and has been named one Washington Examiner’s top ten “Political Women on the Move” and among Newsweek’s top ten “Leaders of the Christian Right.”
Michael Farris is president, CEO, and general counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom, a national, non-profit alliance of attorneys defending life, religious liberty, and marriage, an organization the Washington Post recently dubbed “the Christian legal powerhouse that keeps winning.” ADF made national headlines most recently by winning the landmark Masterpiece Cakeshop case at the U.S. Supreme Court. Farris is also the founder of the Homeschool Legal Defense Association and Patrick Henry College.
Dr. Jack Graham served two terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in America, and has served as a member of the president’s evangelical advisory council. Graham is the pastor of the 42,000-member Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, and author of numerous books, including Angels: Who They Are, What They Do and Why It Matters; Man of God; and Unseen.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley is a lifelong family farmer and has served as Iowa’s elected U.S. senator since 1970. At the U.S. Senate, Grassley serves on several key committees, including Finance, Budget, Agriculture, Joint Tax, and more. And as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Grassley serves a prominent role in the confirmation of judges to U.S. courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.
Gov. Kim Reynolds is a fifth-generation Iowan who previously served as a county treasurer, state senator, and lieutenant governor before becoming the first woman to serve as governor of Iowa. She is particularly known to pro-life Iowans for signing into law the “Heartbeat Bill,” which protects children in the womb from abortion after their heartbeats can be detected.
Bob Vander Plaats inspires others from his experience and leadership successes in education, health care and human services, politics, business, and ministry. Today he is president and CEO of The FAMiLY LEADER, and his leadership and voice for the family are frequently sought after by national and international media outlets. The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and many others have referred to Bob as an election “kingmaker,” while Bob prefers the designation of “standard bearer” for Christ.
