Andrew Wommack : Summer Family Bible Conference 2026: Episode 2
Discovering the Christian Foundations of America: Stories from the Summer Family Bible Conference
Today’s world is full of debates and misunderstandings about the roots of our nations especially the spiritual heritage upon which America was founded. For many, these conversations might feel distant or even unimportant, particularly for those living outside the United States. But the reality is far from that! Whether you call America home or live abroad, the stories of faith, conviction, and sacrifice that shaped the world’s longest-standing constitutional republic carry deep relevance. As we reflect on these Christian foundations, we find timeless lessons from history that continue to shine God’s light today.
A Legacy Beyond Borders
Many people mistakenly believe that the origins of the United States are detached from genuine Christian faith. Some have heard the lie that America’s founders were merely deists, agnostics, or even atheists men with little more than a vague sense of God, rather than a saving knowledge of Christ. However, if we look at the actual words, actions, and legacies of these leaders, a very different picture emerges. The stories from America’s founding are not just national history; they are a testament to how God can use committed believers to influence the course of nations.
Benjamin Rush: The Forgotten Champion of Faith
Let’s begin with one of the least recognized but most remarkable figures among the Founding Fathers: Benjamin Rush. John Adams himself ranked Rush in the top three alongside George Washington and Ben Franklin a testament to his impact. And yet, today, few even recognize his name. Dr. Rush is not only the “father of American medicine,” having promoted groundbreaking insights centuries ahead of his time, but he was also a devoted Christian who poured his faith into action.
Rush’s contributions stretched far beyond medicine. He was the founder of the Sunday school movement in America and started the nation’s very first Bible society. Disturbed by the thought that anyone in Philadelphia might be without a Bible, he set out to change that, mass-producing affordable copies so that every family could have access to God’s word. He understood that spiritual literacy was a foundation not only for personal faith but for a thriving nation because the Bible, he believed, contains the knowledge necessary for every area of life.
His faith wasn’t hidden or theoretical. Benjamin Rush once wrote, “My only hope of salvation is in the infinite transcendent love of God manifested to the world by the death of His Son upon the cross. Nothing but His blood will wash away my sins.” His relationship with Jesus was the cornerstone of everything he did, and he believed that only a religious foundation could secure the virtues necessary for true liberty and lasting national unity.
The Bible and Public Education: America’s Early Priorities
Dr. Rush was also a fierce advocate for Christian values in education. He warned that removing the Bible from schools would be the greatest threat to faith and freedom. History proves he was right up until 1963, the public education system frequently included scripture, but it’s easy to forget just how recent that change was. The Supreme Court itself once declared that schools ought to teach the Bible, underscoring how integral Christian faith was to American public life.
This perspective wasn’t unique to Rush. The Supreme Court case Vidal v. Girard’s Executors in 1844 made it clear: public schools were expected to teach the Bible. The moral and spiritual training it provided was considered indispensable for raising generations of virtuous citizens. Today, many have forgotten this, but it’s a history worth reclaiming and passing to the next generation.
Faithful Founders in Word and Deed
Benjamin Rush was not alone. John Witherspoon, another signer of the Declaration and president of Princeton University, was a minister whose sermons filled volumes and whose first American family Bible became a standard for home devotion. As he wrote, “I entreat you in the most earnest manner to believe in Jesus Christ, for there is no salvation in any other.” For Witherspoon and so many others, faith in Christ was not an add-on to their civic work it was the heartbeat of their lives and leadership.
Francis Hopkinson, meanwhile, designed the original American flag but his day-to-day service was just as rooted in worship. As a church organist and choir director at Christ Church in Philadelphia, he married musical skill with creative devotion, producing the first American hymnbook. He set all 150 Psalms including the lengthy Psalm 119 to music! The same hands that shaped national symbols also built up the church in praise and worship.
Christian Convictions and National Life
These deep faith commitments surfaced in every element of early American life, even in its immigration laws. Samuel Chase, a Supreme Court justice appointed by George Washington, signed documents requiring aspiring citizens to profess Christian beliefs as a prerequisite for naturalization. This may sound foreign today, but at the time, it was simply accepted as foundational Christian faith wasn’t seen as optional, but essential to sustaining a free and virtuous society.
Faith Tested by Trials: Richard Stockton’s Legacy
Richard Stockton, another Founding Father, embodies the cost and depth of this faith. Captured by British loyalists, Stockton endured brutal imprisonment during the American Revolution a fate that claimed many more lives than wartime bullets. Fatally weakened but spiritually strong, he used his final days to write a will that focused less on material inheritance and more on the spiritual legacy he hoped to impart: exhorting his children to fear God, follow Christ, and pursue a life of virtue. For Stockton and his contemporaries, faith wasn’t just private belief; it was the wellspring of purpose and meaning, passed down as the primary inheritance.
Roger Sherman: The Bible as Daily Bread
The faith of America’s founders wasn’t theoretical it shaped daily living. Roger Sherman, who uniquely signed all four founding documents, developed the concept of a bicameral legislature what we now know as the House and Senate. But he was also a theologian who penned his church’s doctrinal creed
