March 23, 2025
ATLANTA — Georgia Baptist pastors and ministry leaders gathered at the state Capitol on Thursday for a time of prayer, encouragement, and education.
Mike Griffin, public affairs representative for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, spoke to the assembled pastors about the legislative efforts and priorities during the 2025 session currently underway. Griffin explained, “One word that describes the priority of the Public Affairs ministry is evangelism. There is no way to decrease the darkness in this state without the light. And the light doesn’t come without the gospel.”
Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns told pastors about his grandchildren and said, “My vision is clearly on the future because without our children and doing the right thing for them we’re not doing our job.” He said that in this session he would promote legislation to ensure school safety and protect women in sports.
Burns was in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday for President Donald Trump’s signing of an executive order banning athletes born male from participating in women’s sports. The order, Burns said, “clearly defined that men don’t belong in women’s sports.”
Before praying over Burns, W. Thomas Hammond, Jr., executive director of the GBMB, said, "The enemy is not going to sit back and watch this happen without bringing forth everything that he has against all those who are standing up for what's good. This is a spiritual battle, and we need to go to the Lord."
Benjamin Watson, a former University of Georgia and NFL tight end who is currently vice president of Strategic Relationships for The Human Coalition, described the coalition's efforts to support pregnant women and fathers. "Our whole purpose," he said, "is serving the 76%." He explained that "76% of abortion-determined women say they would prefer to parent their children if circumstances were different."
Watson challenged his listeners to support those women by doing "what God has called you to do. God has called you to be a prayer warrior, God has called you to fund nonprofits, God has called you to preach about this from the pulpit, God has called you to adopt, God has called you to use your business so you can help others to gain opportunities, God has called you to march, God has called you to write, God has called you to sing to the glory of God, God has called you to teach your children about the importance of life. What has God called you to do?"
Watson concluded, "Do your job, and when that happens, that’s when we see lives saved."
Ed Setzler, Georgia state senator for the 37th district, addressed the issue of religious liberty. "I think there's nothing that affects us as people of faith more than our ability to practice our faith outside the four walls of our churches," he said.
Setzler is the author of Senate Bill 36, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The act would provide people of faith the same protections from state and local government actions that they now have from federal government actions.
Setzler called on the pastors to educate their congregations on the issue and to engage with their state legislators to express their support for the bill.
Brad Hughes, chairman of the GBMB's Public Affairs Committee and director of Field Services for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, stressed the importance of the gospel in any efforts to engage with the legislature. "You hear a lot of things that are bad and discouraging," he said, "The reality is none of this stuff gets fixed without the gospel, which is central to what we all do as Christians. But once we have that, we've gotta take action."
Hughes laid out some specific things pastors can do to support the efforts of the public affairs committee at the Capitol. He asked pastors to pray specifically by name for their political representatives, engage intentionally with politics, and to endorse intelligently when appropriate.
Hughes said the most important thing pastors can do is teach theology "to the people in your pews, to the children under your care, to the families around you, by preaching verse by verse through the Bible
The assembled pastors heard moving testimony from Lauren Eden, national ambassador and Georgia advocate for the Abortion Survivors Network. Eden described the experience of her mother, who was determined to get an abortion while pregnant with Lauren, and God's miraculous interventions to save her life. Time and again as her mother sought an abortion, the Lord intervened to thwart her desires until she relented and gave birth to a daughter.
When her mother shared the story with her for the first time, Eden said, her mom "was honestly afraid that I was going to hate her and never speak to her again, and it took her a very long time to share this story with me." Eden encouraged her listeners to think about people they know who may be carrying the pain of abortion. "The secret of abortion is very real, and very traumatic, and very hard," she said.
"There are so many people sitting in our churches who are dealing with this same pain, this same shame, this same regret," she continued, "and we, the church, have the opportunity to come alongside of them and walk them to a place of freedom, and redemption, and healing."
As part of the day, Georgia Baptists also honored Sen. Chuck Payne, R-Dalton, and Rep. Matthew Gambill, R-Cartersville, as "Legislators of the Year." Each year a Senate and House member are recognized with an award, thanking them for their service. W. Thomas Hammond, Jr., executive director of the GBMB, Griffin, and Hughes presented the awards.
