For the last few years, IFA has included in prayer resources and articles the importance of praying for Christians to engage in the political process. We are seeing the answer to that prayer, as we are hearing about more and more Christians running for office, especially for Congress. We don’t endorse or oppose political candidates, but we do let you know about Christians who are running.

Terri Hasdorff is a personal friend and a candidate for the Republican ticket for Alabama’s Second Congressional District. In a divine appointment, I was re-connected with Terri after more than 20 years, just last week. I am so excited to introduce her to IFA intercessors, and to ask you to pray for her.

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Terri’s professional life has always been about the intersection of faith, government, and community. Her passion is making sure all three are strong and working in partnership. Her personal life has always been centered on Jesus (which I can attest to because we were in a small Bible study together years ago). You can hear more about both in her campaign video here.

When Representative Martha Roby announced that she would not seek reelection, Terri started praying about running for this seat. “I prayed and prayed and fasted, and asked others to pray and fast,” Terri told me. She had never run for office before and she wanted to be certain of the Lord’s leading.

Terri has a wealth of experience to draw on that seems to have prepared her perfectly to serve in Congress for this time in American history: “I know how to get things done in Washington. My first job was working for Speaker Gingrich, under the very first Chief Administrative Officer of House. We brought business-minded reforms to the House of Representatives. In fact, we oversaw the first independent audit of the House since 1789. It was a challenge—we likened it to changing the tires on a bus going 80 miles an hour. The results of that audit have saved taxpayers over 148 million dollars per year since 1995, and a total of 4 billion dollars.

To critics who accuse her past experience in Congress as being part of the swamp, she laughs and says, “Not only am I not part of the Swamp, I helped drain one.” This tells you a lot as well about her positive approach to life and politics.

IFA readers know that we are passionate about letting you know the good work being done by the Trump Administration Centers for Faith and Opportunity. As a congressional staffer, Terri worked on the language that put the first faith-based initiative into law, and worked for it to get the funding it needed. Later she built the first office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives for Alabama, which became a model for President Trump’s faith initiative. When Hurricane Katrina struck, this Alabama office was the main arm of the Alabama government for relief in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

And Terri understood what was key about what they were doing: “They found that it was not the government that people turned to in crisis, it was the church.” Terri also headed up the faith initiative at  U.S. AID during the George W. Bush Administration.

When asked how we can pray for her, Terri responded, “Pray that God’s will would be done in the race. I just knew I was supposed to run and for me it was a question of obedience.” This gives you a glimpse into her humble heart of surrender to the Lord.

Seven candidates are competing for the Republican nomination for Alabama’s Second Congressional District on March 3, 2020. Let’s join Terri in praying for God’s will to be done.

(Article by Judy McDonough, IFA Communications Director. For more information about Terri Hasdorff, check out TerriforCongress.com.)