Reaching Political Leaders for Christ

A growing evangelical organization called Capitol Ministries is pioneering a global effort to reach political leaders with the heart transforming gospel of Jesus Christ.

Based in Sacramento, California, the not-for-profit ministry is training and sending missionaries into the halls of government not to lobby leaders for votes, but to teach them God’s Word. The ministry seeks to evangelize and disciple all of those within the political community—including elected officials, staff and lobbyists—by challenging them to develop and live out biblical convictions. Special events like Pastors’ Day at the Capitol provide clergy an opportunity to visit the Capitol to meet with and pray for their elected leaders.

According to its web site (www.capmin.org), Capitol Ministries is pursuing the ambitious goal of reaching every political leader in the world, at every level of government, every year, with the gospel of Jesus Christ. The organization aims to place one full-time disciple maker in each of America’s 50 state capitols, launch a ministry in Washington, D.C., and plant ministries in capital cities around the world.

Capitol Ministries’ founder and president is Ralph Drollinger. For more than a decade Drollinger has been teaching the Bible to legislators, staff and lobbyists in Sacramento, California while simultaneously leading the ministry’s ongoing expansion efforts.

Drollinger played college basketball under legendary coach John Wooden and was a two-time academic All-American at UCLA. Drollinger was also the first player in NCAA history to go to the Final Four tournament four years in a row.

Sensing God's calling to ministry, Ralph turned down professional basketball contracts to play with Athletes in Action, which at the time was one of the best amateur teams in the world.

For four years he traveled the world, representing America in many prestigious foreign tournaments and preaching the gospel at the half times of their games. Eventually he accepted an opportunity to play with the Dallas Mavericks. After a short stint in the NBA, Drollinger served as executive director of Sports Outreach America, the umbrella organization of America's 84 sports ministries.

More than a dozen prominent Christian pastors and theologians, including Greg Laurie, Daniel Lockwood, Erwin Lutzer, Albert Mohler, Charles Stanley, John MacArthur and Joseph Stowell, are backing Drollinger’s current efforts to reach a different people group with the gospel.

David Duran, the ministry’s director of communications, reports that full-time Capitol ministries are operating in 15 states and that the ministry is in the process of planting new ministries in Arizona, Maryland, Indiana, Illinois, North Dakota and Texas. The ministry’s first international expansion project is slated for launch in late 2009 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Capitol Ministries is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) and is supported by generous donations from individuals, businesses, churches and evangelical foundations.

Learn more about Capitol Ministries by visiting www.capmin.org.

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