Children, Parents, Religious Freedom, and Sanity Are Under Assault in Colorado. Will Churches Speak Up or Stay Silent?
What’s happening in the Colorado General Assembly right now is shocking. To paraphrase Shakespeare, “Hell is empty, and all the devils are in Denver.”
In both the State House and State Senate, Democrats are advancing a slate of bills that would, among other things, provide taxpayer funding for abortions, empower the state to persecute Christians who refuse to bend the knee to radical gender ideology and compelled speech codes, and go so far as to steal children from parents who won’t affirm the “transgender” delusions of their kids.
Southern Baptist pastor Chase Davis worked to sound the alarm on the “transgender protections” bill at the Center for Baptist Leadership last week, warning that:
“If enacted, this bill would criminalize ‘deadnaming’ and ‘misgendering’ for any business. It would criminalize dress codes conforming to gender standards for schools. It threatens to strip parents of their parental rights who do not go along with the delusion that boys can become girls. It also broadly criminalizes any “coercion” by parents who, whether from their religious beliefs or just common sense, refuse to allow their confused children to “transition.” It would also empower the state to take children away from parents who refer to their kids by their given name and biological sex.”
Over the last week, these radical efforts by Colorado Democrats to essentially criminalize Christian sexual ethics and ban free speech have caught national attention. More Christians and pastors are waking up to the need to stand their ground and fight against these unjust and frankly demonic laws with as much force as they can muster.
Still, many churches, and particularly the larger churches in Colorado, have yet to speak up.
Yesterday, a group of pastors sent a letter to many of the larger churches in Colorado, hoping to rally the pastors of bigger churches to use their platform, reach, and resources to protect parental rights, freedom of speech, and the well-being of children in their state.
Chris Goble, the Lead Pastor of Ridgeline Community Church in Castle Rock, CO, explains that they “wrote and then sent this letter to the Pastors and Elders of the largest churches and faith organizations in Colorado, calling them to action and bring their sizable resources and platforms to bear for the sake of God’s Truth and His people.”
He also added that “as of the evening of 4/9/25, only one has responded and none have taken any action.”
You can read the letter in its entirety here.
After detailing the danger of this extreme agenda, the letter calls on the megachurches and other faith-based organizations in CO to take four “proactive and prophetic” actions: 1) Post, 2) Preach, 3) Petition, and 4) Push others to do the same.
“The hour demands your voice—bold and unapologetic. Use your platforms to defend parents, protect our institutions, and resist this tide. Silence is no longer neutral; it is surrender. The desire for popularity must yield to principle. HB 25-1312 has passed the House; the Senate could follow soon. The time to act is now—before parents lose their children to state control, before businesses and schools collapse under coercion, before abortion becomes a taxpayer burden we cannot escape. Your people need you to lead in this fight. If not now, when? James 4:17 reminds us, ‘Whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.’
Therefore, we call you to join us in the following proactive and prophetic actions:
● Prioritize posts about this issue in all of your messaging. A social media video of yourself imploring your people is preferential, especially including a similar call to action for your people. Let your voice echo Ezekiel 33:6, where the watchman who fails to sound the alarm bears the blood of the fallen.
● Preach about it. Faithfully and boldly apply the powerful truth of God’s Word to this issue, providing leadership to a confused and frustrated people. Clarity is a love language, and your voice from the pulpit is needed now. As 2 Timothy 4:2 commands, ‘Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.’
● Petition our representatives. Immediately contact your local area representatives in the Colorado Senate, and make yours and your people’s voices heard on behalf of truth and sanity.
● Push your people to do the same. Proverbs 31:8-9 calls us to ‘open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute… defend the rights of the poor and needy.’
Edmund Burke warned, ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’ We appeal to you as men and fellow co-laborers for the Kingdom: Stand, and do something.”
The list of signers includes:
- J. Chase Davis, Lead Pastor, The Well Church (Boulder)
- Matt Patrick, Pastor, The Well Church (Boulder)
- Chris Goble, Lead Pastor, Ridgeline Community Church (Castle Rock)
- Matt Johnson, Pastor, BRAVE Church (Englewood)
- Josiah Todaro, Pastor, BRAVE Church (Westminster)
- Jared Nield, Campus Pastor, BRAVE Church (Englewood)
- Jon Helvoigt, Lead Pastor, New Covenant Church (Lakewood)
- Tom Thiessen, Teaching Elder, Gospel Church (Durango)
- Bryan Fields, Lead Pastor, Grace Chapel (Castle Rock)
- Justin McKay, Lead Pastor, The Local Church (Arvada)
- Sean Cole, Lead Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church (Sterling)
- Brian Brown, Ministering Elder, Trinity Church (Denver)
- David Rainbow, Associate Professor, Colorado Christian University
- Aaron Carlson, Pastor, New City Church (Highlands Ranch)
- James Rathmann, Lead Pastor, Redemption Church (Denver)
- Craig Thighe, Lead Pastor, Christ Church (Denver)
Chase Davis also called for more support in this fight in a recent post on X, which gained widespread attention with almost 250k views, asking, “Where are the pastors?”
At the Center for Baptist Leadership, we support these pastors in this righteous battle against evil and echo their request to all the churches in Colorado, whether Southern Baptist or not, to make their voices heard at the General Assembly.
There are over 300 Southern Baptist churches in the state. Will they join these other pastors in a coordinated effort to oppose these bills? Will the Colorado Baptist General Convention and the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission join on the front lines with their considerable resources, reach, and influence?
Unfortunately, the answers to those questions remain to be seen. However, as one SBC pastor, Sean Cole, said to CBL, he’s hoping “courage begets courage” and that a coordinated and effective Southern Baptist response will occur in the coming days.
Additionally, all concerned citizens in Colorado can both contact their representatives here and sign this petition to oppose their final passage and enactment.
In conclusion, please be in active prayer for our Christian brothers and sisters in Colorado. Pray that the devil’s schemes against children, both in the womb and out of it, would be defeated. Pray that pastors would have Holy Spirit-empowered courage to speak out against this evil. Pray that churches would be known as salt and light in their preaching and action to defend preborn life and confused children who may fall prey to radical gender ideology.
Because, as we know, these progressive attacks on the family never stay sequestered in deep blue states like Colorado. If it isn’t stopped here, it will be coming to your own state soon.
And when it does, will you be ready?
Additional Resources to Equip Pastors to Join the Fight
Chase Davis and Jeff Hunt on the Center for Baptist Leadership Podcast
Chase Davis on the Danbury Institute Podcast
Pastor Chris Goble’s Website
https://pastorchrisgoble.godaddysites.com/blog/f/rolling-updates-on-hb-25-1312
