WASHINGTON, March 14, 2019 –– A closed-door address by Vice President Mike Pence capped-off the fifth annual Justice Summit held yesterday by the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference yesterday in Washington, D.C. The summit was attended by more than 300 faith leaders from across the country who collectively represent tens of millions of Americans from across the nation.
The vice president received a prolonged, standing ovation by promising that once the southern border was secure, the Trump Administration would fix “this broken immigration system.”
The summit also included the adoption of a historic “Justice Manifesto”—a declaration of unity on how to apply biblical justice to issues including the sanctity of life, education equality, racial reconciliation, and immigration reform.
“Regardless of ethnicity or background, when you gather that many men and women of God all in one space, you should expect God to move, and that’s exactly what happened,”says Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the NHCLC.“We devoted ourselves and our ministries to addressing, seriously, issues of life, racial reconciliation and immigration reform. These are areas where faith leaders, including the many Hispanic American pastors who were present, are uniquely positioned to bind up the wounds of this country. We are very grateful to Vice President Pence for joining us and honoring all Hispanic Americans and Americans of faith by doing so.”
Hosted at Museum of the Bible, other Justice Summit speakers included:
- Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference
- Dr. Rod Parsley, senior pastor of World Harvest Church, Canal Winchester, OH
- Steve Strang, founder of Charisma Media, Charisma Publishing, Ministry Today and Vida Cristiana
- Kelly Rosati, CEO of KMR Consulting on Child Advocacy and Adoption
- Daniel Garza, president of the LIBRE Initiative
- Bishop Harry Jackson, Presiding Bishop of the International Communion of Evangelical Churches
- Alfonso Aguilar, executive director of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles at Alliance Defending Freedom
- Rev. Tony Suarez, executive vice president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference
Rev. Tony Suarez, EVP of the NHCLC, who emceed the event, believes the Justice Manifesto marks an inflection point for the church. “When leaders like Bishop Harry Jackson admonishes the church to lead the way in racial reconciliation, you can’t help but be galvanized and inspired by his unique authority on the topic. When Kelly Rosati tells you that if just one-third of American churches adopted a child, there would be no more orphans, you realize all over again how we are the solution the country needs. That’s what the Justice Summit and the manifesto is all about. It’s better than social justice. It’s biblical justice.”
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Rev. Samuel Rodriguez is president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, executive producer of “The Impossible” with 20th Century Fox, and bestselling author of “Shake Free.” He has been named by CNN and Fox News as “the leader of the Hispanic Evangelical movement” and TIME Magazine nominated him among the 100 most influential leaders in America.
Twitter | @nhclc Website | PastorSam.com
The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference is recognized and identified by Time Magazine, New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Christianity Today, Charisma Magazine, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, Fox News and CNN as America’s largest and most influential Hispanic/Latino Christian organization with 40,118 certified member churches in the United States and chapters in Latin America.
Website | NHCLC.org
