Kirk’s Turning Point USA has seen more chapter requests, and attendance was up in churches this past Sunday.
Lucas Miles, a pastor and senior director of TPUSA Faith, spoke with Jenna Ellis on Jenna Ellis in the Morning about Kirk’s legacy.
“I don't know if there's ever going to be another Charlie Kirk. We had stolen from us in this world, perhaps, one of the greatest minds and, in many ways, one of the greatest examples of a follower of Christ that I've certainly ever known in my life,” Miles told Ellis.
TPUSA Faith is a division of Turning Point USA that focuses on encouraging Christians to direct their faith into action. As Miles describes it, the purpose of the organization is “to eradicate wokeism from the American pulpit” and “to unite the church around primary doctrine.” The idea was to bring the church together and dispel infighting among Christians.
“We see it all the time. If people don't think exactly like I do, then I can't fellowship with them in any capacity. And I think that's one of the things that's so great about Charlie's legacy is that nobody could claim him or own him. Charlie had the ability to be friends with so many different types of people that often disagreed with one another, says Miles. “He just loved that aspect of bringing the church together in order to figure out how to move forward as one.”
Miles and other senior staff remain at the group’s Phoenix headquarters planning out the next steps in moving forward, the way Charlie would have wanted, he said.
According to Newsweek, Turning Point USA has seen an influx of interest in starting new chapters on high school and college campuses. Over 37,000 chapter requests have been submitted in response to Charlie Kirk’s death.
Miles says that charter requests are not the only thing that has increased.
“I'm getting reports from pastors that this Sunday, their church attendance doubled. We certainly saw that at our church. I would guess that we had more people at church on Sunday this week than ever in human history on one day. I think that that's pretty safe to say,” Miles speculated.
Miles comments that it is encouraging to see many students and pastors get involved, embracing Isaiah 6:8. This verse, which Miller says inspired Charlie, answers a question from the Lord, stating, “Here am I, Send me!”
Pastors, be bold
Critics are questioning the validity of pastors who did not speak of Charlie Kirk this past Sunday. Miles says that it’s not about telling a pastor what to preach but understanding that Kirk died as a believer testifying to Jesus, not as a conservative thought leader.
“If pastors are just glossing over this, and they're not willing to talk about it, it says something about their character. I'm not trying to cancel anybody but knowing that we have some of the biggest pastors in this nation that are household names to everybody, and they're not willing to talk about this, it's really disgusting,” Miles says.
Furthermore, Miles says that people should not stand for water-downed preaching because they enjoy other aspects of the church, nor should pastors preach a watered-down message. Instead, pastors should preach the truth and that should be what the congregation wants to hear.
Pastor Joe McTarsney of Calvary Chapel of Montclair, California spoke with Jody Hice on Washington Watch spoke about the message he shared on Sunday.
“Yesterday, I shared how I was deeply internally impacted because of Charlie Kirk. I would say that it was because of his life that I was infused with courage,” says McTarsney. “It was through Charlie and his ministry that we were awakened to the call to go to the public square and speak biblical truth in a world that's filled with confusion and darkness.”
Furthermore, McTarsney said that Kirk was an example of 1 Peter 3:15: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
“In John chapter 12, verse 24, Jesus says, ‘unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit,’” quotes McTarsney. “There's a lot of fruit that's going to be taking place now. I see young people not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They're going to speak the word with clarity and with love and kindness and truth, just like Charlie Kirk did.”
Kirk’s influence even reached Vice President J.D. Vance, who was a close friend of Kirk’s, reports PBS. While Vance was co-hosting The Charlie Kirk Show, Vance stated that he was going to honor his friend by being a better husband and a better father.
Because of things like this, Miles says that he is optimistic for the nation.
“I don't want the church running the state, but I want the church being so alive that even the highest leaders in the land are impacted by that revival and that their hearts are touched and pricked. I think that we saw that taking place yesterday. I think we've seen that happen in a lot this past few days,” states Miles.
Turning inspiration into action
However, Miles does think that the church needs to have an action plan going forward.
“Although we're seeing these revivals and I'm optimistic about it, there's still very much a contingency in this nation that is living opposed to and contrary to the Lord and they hate everything that is good,” warns Miles.
Miles says that one of the last projects that he worked with Kirk on was a book titled Pagan Threat. Miles further points out that it was a pagan threat that took Kirk’s life. The book contains a seven-step plan on how America moves forward.
“It was written before everything happened, and Charlie wrote the forward for this book. It's an honor in my life to have been able to partner with him on that project,” says Miles. “I hope that America can really grab a hold of, as cliche as it is, that turning point right now as we figure out how to move forward and really be able to once and for all put a stop to godlessness in this nation.”
