HERSHEY, PA — At this year’s Friends of the Family Banquet in Hershey, Erik Dellenback, the President of Florida Family Policy Council, shared an encouraging message about courage, unity and perseverance.
Speaking to a packed room with over 1,600 Pennsylvania Family Institute supporters, Erik urged believers to remember what’s at stake—and who ultimately holds every victory. His words reminded us that even in challenging seasons, God is building and restoring what matters most: life, marriage, family, and religious liberty.
“I would not want you to leave this room without remembering four things,” Erik began. “If someone came up to you and said, You went to a gala—what are they about? … They are about life, marriage, family, and religious liberties. You should take that and stow it away for when that question gets asked.”
Erik reminded attendees that Pennsylvania Family Institute, with its transparency, effectiveness, and the faithful leadership of more than 36 years, is worthy of prayer and attention. “When you think to yourself, well, if we only had a [governor like] Gov. DeSantis, it would all be different, I would contend that it’s in seasons, when you don’t, that it matters even more—the work of these organizations like Pennsylvania Family Institute.
The Battles You Don’t See
“We’ve been in a season in Florida where we’ve been running, for sure, and trying to get a lot done. But right now, you’re still in a battle season [in Pennsylvania],” Erik said.
He pointed out that at any given moment, hundreds of legislative battles are underway—many that most citizens never hear about. “At any given moment, bills are coming up against our biblical worldview issues,” he said. “They come through the halls of the legislative members at all times. And we don’t even know they’re happening.”
“That’s why FPCs exist,” he continued. “Pennsylvania Family Institute exists to fight those battles when you don’t even know they’re existing—on your behalf—for your values of life, marriage, family, and religious liberties. They exist as watchmen on the wall so that when you go home tonight and you have this book–the Bible–that I hope all of us in the room hold dear to, [things are] coming up against this book at all times. The job of this organization is to know that, and to fight that, and to guide against that.”
Unity and Collaboration Are the Answer
“The great truth is [that] the least effective we’ll ever be is divided,” Erik said. “You heard tonight—[PA Family Institute is] working to unify the churches, and they are working to unify the Christian schools in Pennsylvania. We can only go as far or fast as you, the supporter, allow us to do.”
Erik challenged believers to resist the cultural push toward division. “They’ve done a phenomenal job dividing us, telling us that because we’re divided, we’re to do nothing. But let me tell you—the largest infrastructure in the world, and God’s plan A, is the Church. There’s no faster way to go to scale. There’s no louder voice on the planet.”
“Honestly,” he added, “we’ve been told that if you disagree on anything within the Church, you shouldn’t even deal with each other. But one of the things we’re doing as a movement nationwide is trying to tell the Church: together, you have a voice that is unstoppable.”
Erik illustrated his point with his time in the governor’s office. “When a call would come in—say we were going to have a property insurance bill—twenty lobbyists would reach out. But when something came up against a biblical worldview? It was quiet.”
He paused. “Could you imagine if a couple thousand churches in Pennsylvania said, we don’t agree on everything, but we agree on a few things—and you’re pushing up against them. If that voice comes from a couple thousand churches, legislators will listen. And this is what PA Family Institute is doing with Christian schools and with the Church.”
Rebuilding the Walls
“When you think of life, marriage, family, and religious liberties,” Erik said, “I can’t help but think of walls—and if I think walls, then this book takes you to one place: Nehemiah.”
God charged Nehemiah with rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. “There were three players in that story,” Erik said. “One was the king, who didn’t even love God, but he was the financial backer.. Then there were the prayers—people working on the walls, praying as they worked. And then there were the defenders—those with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other.”
“The second thing I realized about Nehemiah,” he continued, “is that he spent most of his time simply reminding people of who God is and what He’s capable of. If anyone here doesn’t have hope for Pennsylvania, don’t forget who God is. Don’t forget what He’s capable of.”
He emphasized that this is at the heart of the Pennsylvania Family Institute’s mission: “We’re screaming it—don’t forget! I know it seems crazy. Don’t forget who God is and what He says, or what He’s capable of.”
“This Work Had Been Accomplished with the Help of Our God”
Erik Dellenback, the President of Florida Family Policy Council
Erik concluded his words Saturday night by reading from Nehemiah 6:
“So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Elul, in fifty-two days. And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.”
“I don’t think there’s anything that Michael Geer and I—or anyone involved in this movement—would care about more than believing that when we all come together, and all these things start to happen, and the walls will be rebuilt, it will be clear: that’s who God is,” he said.
“How amazing is it that we could be pointing to God but giving Him the glory? There’s nothing better than walking political halls, of which I got to do many times, and saying, ‘We just had a 40% reduction in foster care.’
And when they asked, ‘Really? How’d you do it?’—I got to tell them: the Church. Silence. But God will be glorified.”
A Call to Remember Who God Is
“Friends, this is a unique moment for you—a moment for Pennsylvania that matters a lot,” Erik said in closing. “Just pray and ask: what is your part of the fight? Are you among the financial givers, the prayers, or the defenders? We need them all.”
He ended with a prayer of gratitude and conviction:
“Lord, let us make much of the Church. Let us make much of Your name. Let us fight when we’re tired—because it is the right thing to do, and it’s what You did. You fought for us when we were still a disaster.
Let there be a sweeping through Pennsylvania, starting in this room and going out from Hershey—a new day for Your people. Unite Your Church. Unite Christian schools. And remind us that You are unrivaled, unequal, and worthy of all praise.”
Erik Dellenback serves as President of the Florida Family Policy Council and previously worked as Governor Ron DeSantis’s Liaison for Faith and Community, helping make Florida the most faith- and family-friendly state in the nation. He also served as the founding President of the Tim Tebow Foundation, launching the global Night to Shine event for individuals with special needs. Erik and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Florida with their five children.
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Video: A Call to Courage and Unity at the 2025 Friends of the Family Banquet
