I’ve been teaching Christians about pursuing righteous government in Australia for at least 15 years. God called me into doing this full time after the 2016 federal election and I started immediately, launching a video show in 2017 and annual Church And State conferences in 2018. Everything lost momentum in 2020, but we never missed that annual CAS Summit and found a way through the “regulations”.
Since then speaking invitations, demand and audiences have massively increased, and by the end of this year I will have held close to a dozen events around Australia, and what I’ve heard and witnessed cannot – must not – be ignored any longer.
Long before 2020, the largely Baby Boomer audiences have often asked during Q&A, “Why aren’t there more people here, and how do we get more young people here?”
The last few years have shown them turning up in greater numbers. It’s nothing new or clever I did – it was God, and it was Gen Z themselves showing more interest in Truth and action, and more disdain and disillusionment with feminised churches and woke culture.
This year, I can’t count the times I’ve been approached by teens and young adults after CAS conferences just buzzing with inspiration and an insatiable appetite for more of God’s undiluted Truth about debated issues.
“We need more of this.”
“Do you have resources I can share with my friends – they’d love this!”
“I’ve been to the excellent, one-off courses that are available, but once isn’t enough. I want ongoing discipleship about all these issues!”
“I want something like the Alpha course, but for Christian politics.”
Pastors too, at the Preachers’ Roundtables I’ve been convening in Parliaments across Australia, hosted by grateful, pro-faith MPs and Senators, have asked what resources CAS has for the first time voters in their church who come to them and ask, “Who do I vote for? How should I vote?”
And it takes no prophet to know that since Charlie Kirk was martyred on 10 September, the hunger in Gen Z has seen them taking themselves to church to hear God’s Truth about debated issues preached without apology or pussy-footing around the confronting, exclusive nature of it.
It’s time for CAS to double down on what we’ve been doing all along, and sharpen our focus on those first time voters and others under 30 who are in prime position to do what previous generations have neglected to do, and arrest the demolition of Christianity in this nation.
“Seeker sensitive” Christianity may have been well intentioned, but it spectacularly failed over the past few decades to create much more than pew-warmers if not false converts by turning the Gospel into a product and congregations into a customer base that had to be appeased.
If someone leaves your church because the pulpit challenged them and made them uncomfortable, they were never wanting discipleship from you, and have no understanding of the meaning of “Lord” or what “Take up your cross and follow Me” means. You’ve lost a waste of space, that’s all. Let them go to a luke-warm church with better-than-average coffee and an Acknowledgment of Country or a rainbow flag.
Next Saturday night, 8 November in Logan Qld, with a bunch of young, zealous Christian conservatives, I’m launching CAS NOW! – a national movement for the political discipleship, equipping and engagement of under 30s.
The following month on 4-6 December, we will be launching in Newcastle, Illawarra and Sydney as well with evening rallies to fill the need in this nation and answer the generation crying out for “MORE!” authority and wisdom from God’s Word.
Anyone can attend, but under 30s get to go to the front of the line during the long Q&A after time for worship, inspiration and an interview on a debated topic.
These events are high energy and fun, but the strength of the movement is the practical engagement strategies that it aims to provide Gen Z.
Political Discipleship course modules will grow rapidly, presented by scores of high calibre Church And State conference speakers, complete with study guides, group discussion questions (and answers) for the hosts and facilitators.
Not only will these people be CAS NOW! movement members, but pastors, youth leaders, CAS NOW! church rep’s, micro churches, house churches, minor party organisers, home school communities, missions/evangelistic ministries, Christian schools and anyone who’s in a position to disciple young people.
CAS NOW! Will help them join political parties and empower mass membership of political parties – any political party – to levels not seen since the years of Menzies, to create an unignorable constituency of common sense demanding representation and holding bad government accountable.
No more will this generation sit idly by and wonder what happened to once-Christian Australia. They will actually be salt and light in the public square, preventing rot and decay, adding good flavour and repelling the darkness to illuminate Truth.
CAS NOW! will help communicate the excellent, strategic opportunities provided by many pro-family, pro-faith, pro-freedom, pro-life, pro-Australia lobbyist and activist organisations who we’ve always championed and promoted at CAS conferences to be politically, culturally and evangelistically effective in their local area.
CAS NOW! chapters will continue the great work of the amazing Gen Z’ers in far flung regions away from the cities to make Political Discipleship events successful right there in their hometowns.
The vision is enormous, but the mission is bigger, yet God has been preparing us for this day, for this generation, to communicate and equip one simple message: “You’re not just the leaders of tomorrow – you’re the leaders NOW!”
YOU can help inspire, educate, empower and equip people aged 16-30 with Political Discipleship to be the leaders of today and take their place in the vacuum left by older generations in the national conversation. Spread the word; invite everyone to visit casNOW.au and join the movement or attend the launch events (open to all ages).
May God open the eyes of this generation to rebel like no other generation before them against woke uni’ professors, the Lying Harlot Media and oppressive government. God bless Australia!
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Add your comments below…
Dave Pellowe is a Christian political educator & writer who gives priority of philosophy to God’s Word. He founded Church And State ministries in 2016, which has grown to include annual teaching conferences in Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart and regional Australia by invitation.
Specialising in what God says about complex ethical and social issues, Dave Pellowe is a sought after guest speaker at churches, Christian schools, TV, radio and podcast interviews and other secular and Christian forums where love of Truth and nonpartisan thinking are valued. [more]
