Buses
If you are organizing a bus, PLEASE call us ASAP. We have been told that the City of Springfield wants to coordinate with one person from our office to determine the number of buses, where to have buses drop off people, park for the day, and pick them up. We will pass all pertinent information to the bus organizers. Please call us right away if you have a bus coming to Springfield on the 20^th. Thank you!

Instructions for Pro-Life Rally/Lobby Day
Before you arrive in Springfield, you will want to know what your lawmakers look like plus their Springfield office addresses. Go to Officials Finder at www.illinoisfamily.org.  Your state senator and state representative are the last 2 officials on the state list. Print their pictures and addresses to bring with you or look them up on your phone and take a snapshot.

Parking
If you are driving, there is parking west and south of the Capitol. Parking meters are on the west streets. Bring quarters.

Once You Arrive
Visit your state rep and state senator. Most state representative’s offices are on the second floor in the Stratton Building, directly to the west of the Capitol. Only a few are in the Capitol Building. All senate offices are in the Capitol Building. Go see them before or after the rally, which will be 1:30-2:30. We will also have a few people on laptops to look up lawmakers, but if you already know where to go and who to see ahead of time, it will make the lines much shorter. The information booth people in the Rotunda can help with directions.

Buttons
If you don’t have a Pro-Life button, we will have some at the IFI table in the hallway.

Why a Business Card?
If lawmakers go into session, which they likely will, you’ll go to the second floor where the House and Senate Chambers are located and give a business card to the door man to call them off the floor. That’s why it’s important to know what they look like so that when they come out, you’ll recognize them. This is done all day, every day, and it’s the best way to speak with them if you can’t catch them in their offices. (If they aren’t in their offices, ask the secretary what time they will be available or in session.) On the business card, write your name and address on one side and the lawmaker’s name on the other, then hand it to the door man. He will bring it to that lawmaker and he/she may come out to talk with you. If you don’t have a business card, we will provide them. Stop at the Illinois Family Institute table.

Lunch
The are cafeterias in the lower levels of the Stratton Building (just west of the Capitol) and the Howlett Building (just south of the Capitol).

The official General Assembly web site is www.ilga.gov.

We will see you in Springfield!

Thank you for your willingness to speak up for those who are not able to speak for themselves!

This warning delivered by the prophet Hosea is true not only regarding knowledge of God’s existence, nature, and redemptive purposes but also regarding knowledge of the world in which we live and move and have our being. Right now, the bodies of children are being destroyed by lack of knowledge about human sexuality, and Christians who should know better largely say and do nothing. The foundation for right action is knowledge, which far too many Christians lack regarding the stunning “trans” revolution—a revolution the likes of which the modern world has never seen and too few understand.

The Illinois Family Institute hopes to play a small role in remedying the serious problem of lack of knowledge through our upcoming Worldview Conference on the “trans” ideology.

We are rapidly moving to a cultural place in which all public recognition of the reality and meaning of sexual differentiation will not be merely eradicated but outlawed. If any of the following surprises or troubles you, you need to attend the Worldview Conference:

• Countless children will be chemically sterilized and surgically mutilated.

• Many more children will fall victim to the phenomenon of “social contagion.” Emotionally, psychologically, socially, intellectually, morally, and spiritually vulnerable and malleable children will be provided a distorted lens through which they will misinterpret confusing, uncomfortable, and/or distressing thoughts and feelings.

• All previously sex-segregated spaces or activities will become by law sexually integrated. No more single-sex restrooms, locker rooms, showers, shelters, jails or prisons, semi-private hospital rooms, nursing home rooms, dorm rooms, athletics, clubs, or travel tours. If state and federal laws prohibit discrimination based on sex and on “gender identity,” there remains no legal way to maintain sex-segregated spaces. If men who identify as “trans” are permitted in women’s spaces, then “cisgender” men must be allowed in as well because discrimination based on “gender identity” is impermissible.

• The safety of girls and women will be jeopardized by the presence of men who claim to “identify’’ as women in women’s private spaces.

• First Amendment speech, association, and religious exercise protections will erode.

• Language rules will be instituted that will prohibit the use of some words and mandate the use of others. Failure to submit will result in fines or jail time.

• Public schools, where many parents due to financial stresses resulting from death, divorce, desertion, or disabilities must place their children, will teach explicitly through curricula and implicitly through bathroom, locker room, and athletic policies and practices, that in order to be compassionate and inclusive, children must share private spaces with opposite-sex peers. This in turn teaches that biological sex has no meaning relative to feelings of modesty and the desire for privacy when engaged in intimate activities.

• Public decency laws will be repealed. For example, society will be forced to treat women who pretend to be men and have obtained falsified birth certificates and driver’s licenses that identify them as men but choose not to have mastectomies as if they are men. Since men are permitted to be topless at public beaches, pools, and parks, so too will women who pretend to be men.

• Social media monopolies, rapidly becoming the primary means of conducting business and communicating information and ideas, will ban anyone who uses language or expresses ideas that “trans” ideologues oppose.

• Biological, adoptive, and foster parents who reject the science-denying “trans” ideology and, as a result, refuse to allow their confused children to socially, chemically, or surgically “transition” will face loss of custody or the inability to adopt or foster.

• People—including children—will be taught that those who care about the biological sex/anatomy of their romantic partners are “transphobic.” Dissenters will be bullied.

Big Brother will continue to be enjoined to oppress dissenters, and resistance will be futile.

What Christians urgently need is knowledge and a willingness to suffer—also known as courage. In the fervent hope of serving both needs, the Worldview Conference in just a few weeks will host four leaders on the national stage who have both knowledge of the “trans” ideology and the willingness to say and do what far too many Christians shamefully refuse to say and do.

The conference will include two Q & A sessions following presentations by the following speakers:

• Michelle Cretella: Pediatrician and Executive Director of the American College of Pediatricians

• Walt Heyer: Former “transgender,” author, and contributor to Public Discourse

• Denise Shick: Daughter of cross-sex-identified man, and Founder & Director of Help 4 Families

• Doug Wilson: Senior Fellow of Theology at New St. Andrews College, pastor, author, and homeschooling father

Please come, learn, and be challenged to do more to protect the hearts, minds, bodies, and rights of our children and grandchildren. If we are willing to endure minor persecution now, perhaps our grandchildren won’t be forced to endure worse in the years to come.

“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.  But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim. 3:12-15)

Listen to this article read by Laurie:

https://staging.illinoisfamily.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Worldview-Recording-3.mp3

The Transgender Ideology:
What Is It? Where Will It Lead? What is the Church’s Role?
Click here for more information.

We want to make you aware of some great upcoming events that will educate, encourage, edify and equip you and your family members to stand firm in your Christian faith, to reinforce Judeo-Christian values, and to preserve a culture that is growing increasingly hostile to the things of God. While these are not all IFI events, we plan to be at most of these ourselves.  We hope you, your family, and friends will join us at one or more!

To learn more, or to register, please click on the graphic or title. Click HERE for a complete listing.

After all the mail was opened this week, and after all the end-of-year donations were tallied, I am excited to report that we met our matching grant opportunity! The full $100,000 match has been reached and will be added directly to our ongoing pro-life, pro-family work. God answered our prayers through His people once again!

We are truly overwhelmed by the support of fellow Illinoisans that we received over the last few days. I sincerely thank the good folks from every region our state and would you believe, even from places like Massachusetts, Florida, Indiana, and Virginia who invested in Illinois Family Institute. THANK YOU!

We also must thank the generous donors who made this end-of-year matching grant possible. And I thank you and your partnership with us that is so critical to defending what is good and true, which in turn will lead to a better Illinois—a place where God is honored, religious freedom flourishes, families thrive and life is cherished.

We have every reason to anticipate a daunting and challenging year ahead, but I am encouraged by your response to the matching challenge, and we are excited to work with you to seize the opportunities that will come our way in 2019.

Thank you too for all your prayers and words of encouragement and for the confidence you place in us. To God be the glory!

Happy New Year,

David E. Smith, Executive Director
Illinois Family Institute
P.O. Box 876
Tinley Park, IL  60477

Twitter – @ProFamilyIL
Facebook – Pro-Family Illinois
YouTube – ILFamilyInstitute

Through the ages, America has shone the brightest when she stood for not only liberty but also godliness and virtue. Indeed, the strength of our beloved nation rests upon the moral integrity of her citizens. John Adams wrote to the Massachusetts Militia in October 1798:

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

Our Founders understood that our our Republic would succeed only if Americans pursued virtue. Only a people possessing stalwart inner constraints would thrive in a limited-government setting. The pastors and clergy of the day understood well the Psalmist’s words:

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. [Psalm 33:12a]

In 2018 the culture war escalated. Right and wrong stood in a stark contrast seldom seen before. The prophet Isaiah’s warning describes America today:

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! [Isaiah 5:20]

One has only to read the 2016 DNC Platform to ascertain the left’s worldview. They celebrate abortion, same-sex “marriage,” the “trans” ideology, and marijuana legalization. Here in Illinois, many left-wing political leaders want to drop the mandatory school age to 3 years old, and are striving to pass legislation that would require teaching about homosexuality positively in government schools (SB 3249) from kindergarten through 12th grade.

The left rejects biblical standards of right and wrong, especially when it comes to sexuality and the denial of life, liberty and justice for innocent humans in the womb.

On the other hand we have the 2016 GOP Platform (which every Republican candidate should swear to uphold). The distinction could not be more clear on the issue of abortion. Conservatives assert that abortion should be illegal in all cases and the U.S. Constitution should be amended to ban the procedure.

We assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed.

Conservatives condemn the SCOTUS decision that legalized same-sex “marriage;” recognize the privacy rights of students not to have to share restrooms, locker rooms and showers with gender-confused peers; and would prohibit the medical abuse of children who are susceptible to the “trans” ideology.

Conservatives believe that encouraging drug use and intoxication in society is counterproductive and will lead to greater dependence on the welfare state.

The two worldviews–“progressive”/secularist and conservative/Christian–are diametrically opposed. America’s future and the well-being of our communities hangs in the balance. The Apostle Paul admonishes us in his letter to the church at Ephesus:

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. [Ephesians 6:12-17]

The Illinois Family Institute strives to do just that. In partnership with you, we work hard to speak out against the darkness threatening Illinois and our nation. In the gospel of Matthew we read,

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. [Matthew 5:13-16]

Before 2018 comes to an end, we invite you to partner with IFI and be salt and light in our state and our nation by helping us meet our end-of-year matching challenge. Your gifts allow us to be your voice in the public square.

We still have a way to go to meet our matching challenge goal. We still need to raise approximately $30,000 to achieve the full potential of this opportunity. So, I am asking you to do two things:

First, please pray for us. We know that IFI would cease to exist if it weren’t for the prayers of faithful people like you.

Second, please consider making the most generous donation you can to support our work and ministry.

To make a credit card donation over the phone, call the IFI office at (708) 781-9328. You can also send a gift to P.O. Box 876, Tinley Park, IL  60477.

With your partnership, we will work diligently to expose the radical ideologies and activists who seek to push us further away from Judeo-Christian morality and our rich heritage of trust in God.

Sincerely,

David E. Smith, Executive Director
Illinois Family Institute

P.S. If you aren’t yet a monthly donor, please consider becoming one. Monthly support help us forecast funding into the future. That in turn helps us to be even better stewards of the resources God provides to us through His people. Click here to learn more.

More than 2,000 years ago He was born in Bethlehem. This Baby, born of a virgin, of the lineage of King David, was the long-awaited savior, the Lamb of God, the Prince of Peace — the Word of God in flesh (John 1:14).

The prophet Isaiah wrote:

The Lord himself will choose [a] sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel — ‘God is with us.’

The prophet Micah foretold:

You, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village in Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past.

People may try to deny who He was, but His birth, His death, and His resurrection changed the course of history. Our very calendars reflect His existence: the date assignation A.D. being Latin for “Anno Domini” translated “in the year of the Lord.”

The entire world recognizes Christ’s birth daily with the dating of documents!

Surely this was no ordinary man whose birth altered the calendar!?

Consider that Jesus’ birth fulfills over 300 Old Testament prophecies. What are the odds?

Bible scholars tell us that nearly 300 references to 61 specific prophecies of the Messiah were fulfilled by Jesus Christ. The odds against one person fulfilling that many prophecies would be beyond all mathematical possibility.

It could never happen, no matter how much time was allotted. One mathematician’s estimate of those impossible odds is “one chance in a trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion.”

Isaiah penned the words foretelling the birth of Jesus that inspired the great composer George Frideric Handel to write the Messiah:

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

And the apostle Paul described the humility and sacrifice of Christ in Philippians:

Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.

And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:6-11)

At this wonderful time of year, even a darkened world celebrates Christmas, the commemoration of Christ’s birth.

But that foretold miraculous birth was only the beginning.

The nativity is merely the first chapter of God’s plan of redemption that culminated in Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. As a result, anyone who calls upon  the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in faith will be redeemed from the eternal consequences of sin. (Romans 10:13)

As written in Matthew:

And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)

I pray that you will celebrate the hope of the season: the Savior has come to reconcile us to God! And because He lives, we can live!

May the blessings of this season fill your hearts with joy!

We are thrilled to announce our largest end-of-year matching challenge ever!  Thanks to amazingly generous IFI partners, we have an end-of-year matching challenge of $100,000!

We are excited about the prospect of doubling every dollar donated to IFI by December 31st! This is an incredible opportunity for us as we prepare for the many challenges that 2019 will present to our faith and values.

IFI is working diligently and tirelessly to equip and train Christians in Illinois to defend biblical truth by emboldening pro-life advocacy, exposing the destructive deception of the sexual revolution, defending parental rights (including school choice), and deepening respect for the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution.

If everyone receiving this email appeal would respond by giving $25 or $50, we can meet this challenge!

We hope you will join us as we kick off the “giving season” when non-profit organizations—including IFI—need to generate a significant part of their annual operating budgets.

This is critical because we are gearing up now to be ready for the attacks on the unborn, the family, the needs of children, sexual truth, religious liberty and speech rights that will come from the secular left in the New Year.

With the state and national political fervor at an all-time high, we cannot afford to go into 2019 unprepared and ill-equipped. Please prayerfully consider helping us meet this challenge! Every dollar donated to IFI through the end of this year will be matched dollar for dollar – up to $100,000!

P.S. Please help us strengthen, preserve and promote God’s plan for marriage and family, the sanctity of human life and religious freedom by investing in the work of Illinois Family Institute today. To make a credit card donation over the phone, call the IFI office at (708) 781-9328. You can also send a gift to:

Illinois Family Institute
P.O. Box 876
Tinley Park, IL  60477

Early Voting is already underway and IFI’s 2018 General Election Voter Guide booklets are going fast!  In case you’re not aware, early voting has been proven to win elections for pro-family candidates! And we cannot ignore the fact that early voting is growing in popularity!

If you haven’t yet placed a bulk order for Voter Guides, please give us a call at the IFI office today at (708) 781-9328 or click HERE to email us your order.

These non-partisan Voter Guides comply with IRS guidelines and are legal for churches to distribute. Or you may simply want them to pass along to neighbors, co-workers and family.

Check our online version as it is being updated regularly.

It’s critical that people be informed voters when they cast their ballots in the November General Election.  Candidates for Governor, Attorney General, Illinois General Assembly and 18 members of the U.S. House of Representatives are up for election.

We are coming down to the wire.  The election is only three weeks away.  So don’t delay. Call us at (708) 781-9328 or email us today.

Background
Do you and your friends know where the state-wide and federal candidates stand on taxpayer funding of abortion, conscience rights, defunding Planned Parenthood, “recreational” marijuana and religious liberty? These Voter Guides will be the only source of information for many to make an informed decision.

But thousands of other Illinois citizens don’t know about the IFI Voter Guide. You can help provide them with this critical information, in the cause of good government, to make informed choices about all the state and federal candidates on the ballot.

We want Illinois citizens to have access to the IFI Voter Guide and we need your help in getting it into the hands of as many voters as we can, so order a dozen or more and give them to your friends, family and co-workers.

Americans have been given incredible blessings and freedoms; and as a result, we have a responsibility to participate in elections. Thank God we have an opportunity to cast our ballot for men and women whose values represent our own.

With your participation, together we will make a great impact in the state of Illinois and our republic, one vote at a time.

Subscribe to the IFI YouTube channel
and never miss a video report or special program!

Last night, IFI hosted its annual Faith, Family and Freedom Banquet. Hundreds of supporters from across the state gathered to enjoy a good meal and fellowship while being informed, encouraged and edified by our emcee, State Representative Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) and our keynote speaker, George Barna. Together we are working for the common good.

In my short presentation, I reminded attendees that we are called to be steadfast and immovable while abounding in the work the Lord calls us to do and to remember that our labor is not in vain. God’s truth is marching on. We are His soldiers in the battle. And it is, most definitely, a spiritual battle.

I know that many of our subscribers would have loved to attend our annual banquet, but due to calendar conflicts or prohibitive traveling hurdles could not join us. The exciting news I have to report to you is that a very generous donor has offered a $20,000 banquet-matching challenge that has been extended through the weekend so that you can participate by giving in support of our work in Illinois.

Every dollar that is given or pledged will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $20,000 through Sunday evening. This includes pledges of monthly giving which is a great way to support the work that we are doing.

I hope you agree that a vigorous defense of policies and laws that reflect biblical truth is needed more than ever in Illinois. Certainly, as a subscriber to IFI’s emails you understand that the godless Left isn’t willing to tolerate Christian family values.

The culture war isn’t lost. It isn’t over. Rather, it has entered a new and more aggressive phase. For the sake of our children and the future of Illinois as well as the country, we must rise to the challenge.

IFI is doing some great work here in the People’s Republic of Illinois, but we cannot do it without your prayers and your financial support.

Please consider this appeal and the opportunity to partner with us in a strategic and effective way. A gift of $25, $50 or more this weekend would help tremendously. Perhaps you are able to contribute even more. This is an amazing opportunity to double your impact!

Your love, your prayers and your gifts make our work possible. Please prayerfully consider helping us meet this matching challenge!

Please DONATE ONLINE or call the IFI office
at (708) 781-9328 to support our work.

Thank you for your support!

P.S. Help us reach our goal of raising a total of $40,000 by the end of the weekend — Donate today!  You can also send a gift to:

Illinois Family Institute
P.O. Box 876
Tinley Park, IL  60477

Early Voting starts on September 27th and the printed IFI Voter Guides are here!  Early voting has been proven to win elections for pro-family candidates! And every vote is valuable! Please encourage your friends and family to vote!

If you haven’t yet placed a bulk order for Voter Guides, please give us a call at the IFI office today at (708) 781-9328 or click HERE to email us your order.

These non-partisan Voter Guides comply with IRS guidelines and are legal for churches to distribute. Or you may simply want them to pass along to neighbors, co-workers and family.

Check our online version as it is being updated regularly.

It’s critical that voters be informed when they cast their ballots in the November 6th General Election.  Not only is there a choice of candidates running for governor, but there are many House and Senate seats that are being vacated by incumbents. Add to that the fact that all 18 seats of the U.S. House of Representative are up for election too. This is an important election!

Voter Guides will go fast. So don’t delay. Call us at (708) 781-9328 or email us today.

Background
Do you and your friends know where the state-wide and federal candidates stand on abortion, conscience rights, tax funding for Planned Parenthood, expanded gambling, income taxes, “recreational” marijuana and religious liberty? These Voter Guides will be the only source of information for many to make an informed decision.

But thousands of other Illinois citizens don’t know about the IFI Voter Guide. You can help provide them with this critical information, in the cause of good government, to make informed choices about all the state and federal candidates on the ballot.

We want Illinois citizens to have access to the IFI Voter Guide and we need your help in getting it into the hands of as many voters as we can, so order a dozen or more and give them to your friends, family and co-workers. A small donation to cover the cost of printing and mailing would be very appreciated. A $25 donation will cover the cost of printing and mailing 100 voter guides.

Americans have been given incredible blessings and freedoms; and as a result, we have a responsibility to participate in elections. Thank God we have an opportunity to cast our ballot for men and women whose values represent our own.

With your participation, together we will make a great impact in the state of Illinois and our republic, one vote at a time.

IFI depends on the support of concerned-citizens like you. Donate now

Illinois Family Institute is proud to be welcoming George Barna as our keynote speaker at our fall banquet to share his faith, political insights and his most recent polling work regarding faith-based statistics, leadership and upcoming elections in the United States. Mr. Barna, who founded the Barna Research Group in 1984, is now the Executive Director of the American Culture and Faith Institute which regularly conducts national surveys to gauge the sentiment and activity of politically conservative, spiritual active Christians in America.

Mr. Barna is the author of more than 50 books, mostly addressing leadership, social trends, church dynamics and spiritual development. They include best-sellers such as Revolutionary Parenting, Pagan Christianity, The Power of Vision, The Frog in the Kettle, Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, and Revolution.He has sold more books based on survey research related to matters of faith than any author in American history.

You will not want to miss this opportunity to hear directly from what many call “the most quoted person in the Christian Church today.”

Faith, Family and Freedom Fall Banquet

“Keeping our eyes on the prize”

with special guest, George Barna

Friday, October 5, 2018
The Stonegate in Hoffman Estates

The early bird special is $80 per ticket. After Sept. 16th, tickets are $100. 

Tables of 10 are also discounted before Sept. 16th! 

So Book Early!

Secure your tickets or table now – click here or call (708) 781-9328.

Program advertisements & banquet sponsorships available.

Don’t Delay – Early Bird Specials Expire on Sept. 14th!

Your attendance and support is essential to our success!

->Click HERE for an event flyer<-

 Illinois Family Institute is excited to announce our

Faith, Family and Freedom Fall Banquet

“Keeping our eyes on the prize”

with special guest, George Barna

Friday, October 5, 2018
The Stonegate in Hoffman Estates

Click HERE for more details

Many of you have heard of George Barna, but I dare say you may not know the depth and breadth of of his life experience and accomplishments, and more importantly, his legacy.

As noted by Tim Stafford in Christianity Today, Barna, the Christian community’s most-quoted statistician, “…is to evangelicals what George Gallup is to the larger culture.”

George Barna founded what is now known as the Barna Group in 1984, and built the organization into “a leading marketing research firm focused on the intersection of faith and culture before selling it in 2009.”

Barna currently serves as Executive Director of the American Culture and Faith Institute, which is a “non-partisan, not-for-profit research organization that regularly conducts national surveys to gauge the sentiment and activity of politically conservative, spiritually active Christians in America.”

Barna has written more than 50 books, mostly addressing cultural trends, leadership, spiritual development, and church dynamics. They include New York Times bestsellers and several award-winning books.

He has sold more books based on survey research related to matters of faith than any author in American history.

After graduating summa cum laude from Boston College, Barna earned two Master’s degrees from Rutgers University and has a doctorate from Dallas Baptist University.

George Barna walks the walk of his biblical Christianity, not just living the life, being salt and light, but actively engaging the church and the culture, working to advance the Kingdom.

George has served as faculty for universities and seminaries. He has been a pastor of churches large and small, and a church planter. He speaks at conferences world-wide.

George and his wife of 40 years live in central California.

If you’re a Christian who is interested in the culture you live in, you won’t want to miss this event!

->Click HERE for an event flyer<-

Program advertisements & banquet sponsorships available.

Recent weather trends plunged us into July-in-Illinois-type heat, making it feel like the dog days of summer, which always take a toll on the donations necessary to sustain IFI.  When the weather heats up, donations cool down.

The Illinois Family Institute relies solely on the support of generous individuals to accomplish its work. This time of year is a financially difficult time for us, yet our pro-family work and ministry do not slow down. Progressive “agents of change” are charging full steam ahead in our current cultural revolution. We cannot let them go unchallenged!

These agitators are pushing legislation and policies that permit boys to use the girls’ restrooms and locker rooms when they experience the recognized psychological condition called “gender dysphoria.” These same “progressive” agitators worked overtime to make sure that taxpayers fund elective abortions, pushed to outlaw certain types of counseling for minors, mandated that pro-life medical professionals make abortion-referrals, and approved easier access to falsified birth certificates for “trans”-identifying men and women.

All of this plus a higher rate of income tax to facilitate irresponsible government spending.

Even ten years ago, most of these issues would have been considered unthinkable, but not today. For the last few years, we have seen the established media champion these issues as local, state and national officials make it a cause célèbre. And just when we think we’ve hit the pinnacle of craziness—or depths of wickedness—we hear new stories that once again shock us.

What was recently thought of as morally absurd, is suddenly being normalized. Theologian Francis Schaeffer wrote this about the tide of relativism that is drowning American culture:

There is a “thinkable” and an “unthinkable” in every era. One era is quite certain intellectually and emotionally about what is acceptable. Yet another era decides that these “certainties” are unacceptable and puts another set of values into practice. On a humanistic base, people drift along from generation to generation, and the morally unthinkable becomes the thinkable as the years move on.

Today, otherwise intelligent adults are embracing the absurd. When we remain silent and compliant, yesterday’s outrage becomes today’s acceptable—even mandatory—practice.

As absurd and tragic as some of these cultural battles are, there is a growing realization that those pushing the radical left-wing social agenda have gone too far. Now is the time for the Illinois Family Institute to reach more people with the facts that were recently considered common sense. We simply cannot afford to let up in our efforts.

If you appreciate what we do and want to help support the mission of Illinois Family Institute, please consider this appeal for your participation. The easiest way to back our work is to become a Sustaining Partner (i.e., a monthly donor). Donations ranging from $25 – $250 a month help us tremendously as they provide a predictable source of income on which we can rely. This equips and strengthens us to fight in the public square for all of our families and the values we cherish.

Sustaining Partners enable us to keep telling the truth.

The alerts, lobbying, cultural commentaries, special forums, social media campaigns, videos, and podcasts all require money. And frankly, we need a considerable amount of it to be effective, to circumvent the deceitful media, and to counter the lies and the ugly agenda of the Left. A serious budget enables us to be more effective and to educate even more people. Moreover, recurring contributions mean that we can focus on the important work before us, and we don’t have to keep spending valuable time raising funds.

Your monthly donations are secure and flexible. You choose the amount you wish to give each month and you can change or cancel your pledge at any time.

Sign up now and make your first donation by credit card online.

Throughout the year, we are engaged in projects, educating lawmakers and the Christian community, and scheduling events that we sincerely believe will equip, encourage, and motivate Christians in our state, thereby making Illinois a better place to live and raise families.

We are working for a more decent society—one that cherishes, encourages, and protects religious and political freedom, and one that strengthens the most basic building block of any society: the family.

We are blessed to have a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” But our form of government has one key requirement: our participation. We need you to be involved with us to be a part of the solution.

If you are not able to become a Sustaining Partner at this time, would you please consider making a one time donation today?

IFI is a non-profit 501(c)3 research and education organization. Contributions to our work are tax-deductible. To make a secure online donation to help strengthen and protect Illinois families, click HERE.

You can also sign up to be a monthly “Sustaining Partner” by making monthly gifts to support our efforts to uphold marriage and family, life, and liberty in Illinois.

Please make a gift today and/or become a Sustaining Partner.

Your support at this time is greatly needed and greatly appreciated.

[Please click here to give your most generous gift; WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!]

Thank you for your love and kindness!

Sincerely,

David E. Smith
Executive Director

P.S. Please prayerfully consider making a tax-deductible donation of $25 or $50. You may even be able to bless us with $500, $1000 or even become a sponsor of our annual banquet. Your donations will help keep IFI in public square contending for Judeo-Christian values and the production and distribution of our 2018 Voter Guide.

Please send your gift to Illinois Family Institute at the address below, or click HERE to donate online today!

Give by mail:

Illinois Family Institute
P.O. Box 876
Tinley Park, Illinois 60477

You can also donate by phone with your credit card by calling (708) 781-9328 during normal business hours.

We simply cannot do this important work without the support of people like you!

P.P.S. We are also always looking for a few good people to help share IFI’s work on social media, specifically on Facebook and Twitter. Simply put, we need to reach more people in Illinois, and you can help us do that.