Is ‘Essential Church’ a Phrase or a Mandate for Action?

We are living in unprecedented critical times in America that warrant the voice and vote of the essential church. The adversary, the devil, knows his time is short and that the trumpet of God will soon sound and Jesus Christ will crack the clouds.

Gripped by fear and intimidated by the power of God’s people, the enemy has attempted to retaliate by launching calculated assaults against the United States of America. If you could look down the spiritual scope at the hordes of hell, you would find that every crosshair has its sights set on seizing our religious liberty.

The enemy is committed to waging war against the powerful covenant between God and America known as the United States Constitution. Though we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, we must understand that the enemy uses people—especially those in government—to weave a deceptive web of destruction against the church. His focus is to dramatically shift the spiritual atmosphere of America.

The only hope America has to remain a Christian nation, where the Word of God remains the moral compass, rests in the authority of the essential church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I’ll never forget the phone call I received in April of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic when the governor of our state used law enforcement to communicate via voicemail, “We received a couple of complaints that your church is still open; the church is nonessential and should shut down until further notice from the governor.”

I want you to consider the weight of this statement that the church is “nonessential.” “Nonessential” means absolutely not important. The kingdom of hell in that moment had used elected officials and was working to use the full extent of the law to declare the church of Jesus Christ in America “not important!”

My wife and I refused to close the doors of our church and, on Mother’s Day, were met at the doorsteps of our own home by law enforcement and were served a cease and desist order. Regardless of the enemy’s tactics to intimidate the church, we refused to close the doors of the essential church.

My heart’s prayer is that as you read the intensity of this encounter, you would see the urgent need for the church to stand up, get engaged and vote biblical values in the 2020 election.

A Historic Example

The essential church has always played a transformational role in impacting government. While state governments attempt to shut down churches across America, I remind you of Benjamin Franklin’s actions during the Constitutional Convention.

Records state that Independence Hall smelled like a sweaty gym as the Founding Fathers dialogued and debated the U.S. Constitution. The debates were so heated that the Constitutional Convention was almost lost, but Benjamin Franklin called the people to make sure God was building the house so their labor would not be in vain. He involved the essential church by asking clergy to come daily to pray over the Constitutional Convention.

The church played an essential role in establishing government in America.

If the essential church was responsible for helping birth the U.S. Constitution, the essential church will remain responsible for saving the U.S. Constitution in the 2020 election. The devil knows the historical power of the essential church’s involvement in establishing government, so he has attempted to use people in government to shut down the essential church by trying to redefine it.

I thank God for the remnant of Jesus Christ which cannot and will not be shut down in this hour. They will let their voices speak of biblical values, echoing across every ballot box in the nation.

Beyond What We See

America is on the verge of the greatest revival awakening the earth has ever seen. We must take lessons from revivalists of old such as Charles Finney, the catalyst of the Second Great Awakening.

As you consider the essential church’s responsibility in the 2020 election, listen to Finney’s words: “The time has come that Christians must vote for honest men and take consistent ground in politics or the Lord will curse them. … Christians have been exceedingly guilty in this matter. But the time has come when they must act differently. … Christians seem to act as if they thought God did not see what they do in politics. But I tell you, He does see it, and He will bless or curse this nation according to the course that Christians take in politics.”

Spiritual warfare is on the soil of every state in America. Embrace the importance of the 2020 election.

The enemy knows that the power to shift the spiritual atmosphere of America lies within the essential church, as we have a moral responsibility to vote biblical values.

In my book, Jesus Focused: Awakening Endtime Prophetic Strategy, I quote President Donald J. Trump as he reveals his support for the essential church by saying, “My administration is also defending religious liberty, and that includes the constitutional right to pray in public schools. In America, we do not punish prayer. We do not tear down crosses. We do not ban symbols of faith. We do not muzzle preachers and pastors. In America, we celebrate faith. We cherish religion. We lift our voices in prayer, and raise our sights to the glory of God!” {eoa}

Dr. Caleb Cooper is senior pastor of New Hope Revival Church and author of Pioneering Prophetic Patterns of Purpose, Jesus Focused: Awakening Endtime Prophetic Strategy and The Convergence of Revival and the King’s Arrival.