Over a year ago, Intercessors for America brought forth a lawsuit against the IRS that challenged the legality of the Johnson Amendment. IFA and the other plaintiffs are awaiting a judge’s final sign-off on the consent decree between the IRS and the plaintiffs, anticipated at a hearing on Tuesday, November 25th, in Dallas, Texas. As Intercessors for America appear in Court, you can be assured there will be intercession in that courtroom.  As Amos 5:15 says, may there be “justice at the gates.”

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What is the history of this 70-year-old tax-code-based silencing mechanism on the Church?

First of all, persecution of the American Church is not new. Instances are sprinkled throughout American history. During the Revolutionary War, British soldiers used the derogatory term “The Black Robe Regiment” with reference to patriotic clergymen in the colonies. These clergymen understood that the rights upheld in the Declaration of Independence were God-given. Many of these church leaders played a crucial role in our nation’s founding.

Political engagement was part and parcel of the early American Church. The American Center for Law & Justice writes: “For the first century and a half of our nation’s history, ‘election sermons’ were commonplace in which pastors appealed to their congregations to support or oppose particular candidates based on their positions on issues. Religious leaders did not merely speak about moral principles alone — they encouraged church members to take specific action in the voting booth to support those principles.”

However, the Church’s freedom of speech in the political realm was severely restricted in July 1954, when Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson proposed an amendment to the federal tax code. This was a turning point for the Church, opening the door to further efforts to exclude its influence from the public arena. Johnson faced difficulties from certain nonprofits in his home state of Texas that were opposing his reelection. He attempted to restrain them by passing a law that would prohibit nonprofits from endorsing political candidates. The initial proposal did not include churches, but the final version approved by Congress did.

The Johnson Amendment became the tool for 70 years to muzzle the voice of the American Church across the nation.

Interestingly, as the Johnson Amendment took root in Texas, the court hearing where Judge Barker could sign off on the settlement between IFA and its other three co-plaintiffs and put the amendment in the dustbin of history will take place in Texas as well.  At a Dallas courtroom, IFA senior staff and a collection of IFA intercessors will pray as the Court reviews the public settlement made between IFA, the other three plaintiffs, and the IRS. Even though this case has taken just over a year to make it to this point, before this case was ever filed, there were decades of prayer by intercessors that laid the groundwork for this moment. You may have been one of those who prayed that the Johnson Amendment would be repealed or reversed. Many intercessors have.

Earlier in the year, when the IRS’s settlement with IFA and the other plaintiffs was leaked, and many Christian groups and leaders heralded the ending of the Johnson Amendment, as plaintiffs, IFA knew that the process was not yet complete. Without the Judge’s signature, the settlement is not in effect. As plaintiffs, we were also advised not to publicly celebrate or give press statements so as not to spike the ball before the Judge had weighed in. But we can end as we began–in intercession.

You can read the copy of the lawsuit and the settlement here, along with prayer points IFA has added throughout for your prayer.

A statement from IFA’s David Kubal:

“For over 70 years, the deceptively passed Johnson Amendment has effectively convinced people of faith that we have no place in politics. The chilling of free speech was the result of the removal of rights enjoyed by Americans up until 1954. Intercessors for America has prayed for the reversal of this unconstitutional law for decades and is now pleased to be a part of a legal suit against the Internal Revenue Service.

On November 25^th, 2025, the Honorable Judge J. Campbell Barker of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit will convene, what we pray will be the final hearing to listen to the argument for the settlement the IRS has offered us. We have accepted their settlement.   

We are asking Judge Barker to decide on the settlement as is. This decision will restore the rights of churches and Church Associations to speak freely.

Join IFA as we pray for the restoration of our rights before, during, and after the hearing.”

Share your prayers and scriptures below!

(Kris Kubal is IFA’s Chief Program Officer. Photo Credit: DNY59/Getty Images)