For millions around the globe and for those who knew him, today is a painful day, the day one year ago Charlie Kirk was murdered. For those who knew him personally, the loss was profound and intimate. For those who watched him from a distance — whose lives he changed and whose faith he helped shape — the loss was heavy and devastating. 

I remember gathering at his memorial with thousands of others around the nation and world and hearing stories of people whose lives were changed because of Charlie, whether they knew him personally or not. “I was a feminist Marxist and Charlie changed everything about what I believed.” “I was an atheist and Charlie showed me Jesus.” “I was going to get an abortion and Charlie’s words saved my baby.” 

The stories are unending.   

Charlie’s life was not about Charlie. It was about family, freedom, and Jesus Christ. His life was one of great sacrifice. It cost him dearly to do the work he did. Ultimately, it cost him his life. 

Charlie spent his adult life walking into places where he knew he would receive no applause. He went into places where he was hated, where people threatened him and his family and despised what he stood for. College campuses became his battlefield because he believed ideas should be challenged with better ideas, and people who disagreed with him were not the enemy.

He debated, listened, and persuaded. Charlie believed deeply in the power of conversation because the goal was never simply to win an argument. The goal was to win people. And win people he did. 

Charlie’s heart for winning a generation was what set him apart. He believed life is precious, humans are made in the image of God, truth is objective, families matter, free speech is the foundation of liberty, America is worth loving and defending, Christians are morally obligated to speak out against evil, the church must shape culture, and young people are the greatest weapon against tyranny.

His mission was bigger than simply getting more young people to vote and talk about politics on their campuses. His mission was to raise up and call out young warriors for truth and the Gospel. He understood these were the mothers and fathers, pastors, teachers, entrepreneurs, legislators, soldiers, and citizens in the making. They were the future leaders of America — and the church.     

He wanted them to build families, to love their neighbors, to take responsibility for their communities, to have courage, and to know Jesus deeply and personally. Charlie believed our country could not be saved without saving our culture, and our culture could not be saved without Jesus and Christian morality. 

To do this, courage is required.  

In a world becoming increasingly hostile toward Christians and truth, courage is needed. Biblical beliefs about life, sex, marriage, family, authority, and human dignity are treated as dangerous and violence against such beliefs is justified.   

The temptation is to become afraid. Afraid of being mocked, losing friends, being called names, being labeled as a racist or intolerant, or becoming a target for violence. 

But liberty and truth are not cost-free. 

Jesus’ disciples changed the world because they were courageous, not comfortable. The Founders changed the course of history by establishing the United States because they too were courageous, not comfortable.   

Charlie was courageous, not comfortable. There are battles being fought in our classrooms, statehouses, colleges and universities, churches, communities, and homes, and Charlie was at the forefront raising up warriors to fight on all these fronts. 

Charlie believed the battle for the heart of America was ultimately a moral one manifesting itself as a battle over what kind of people we are raising. History teaches us that as go the children, so goes the country. The majority of the most significant social, cultural, economic, and military movements in history began with youth. There is a reason Marxists and the radical left always target education. 

Charlie believed Christians have the moral responsibility to shape the next generation and he believed that began in the home. Charlie wanted to raise a generation who would have the courage to challenge lies and possess the moral character to know what they believe and to stand up for it even when standing comes at a cost.

And that is perhaps the greatest way we can honor Charlie, the life he lived, the courage he showed, and the price he ultimately paid. We can be more courageous, more disciplined, more informed, more involved, and, most importantly, more devoted to knowing Jesus. We honor him by refusing to sit quietly while families are weakened, truth is attacked, faith is mocked, and a generation is taught to be ashamed of the values that built the United States.   

Charlie is gone but his legacy lives on in the liberty-lovers, the culture-warriors, and the truth-seekers. Courage is contagious. One act of courage can change the course of a family, a campus, or a country. All it takes to hold the line is one person. 

Let’s be the one.  

Be the one who speaks when silence is safer, who refuses to compromise when pressure is all around, who stands when everyone else sits down, who steps into the arena instead of watching from the sidelines, and who has the courage to fight for truth, family, freedom, and the next generation. 

Anyone who knew him or watched him closely will tell you that Charlie’s biggest fights were not fought on college campuses — they were fought before he ever got there, on his knees with lifted hands.   

Charlie’s life and legacy stand in the company of giants of the faith. Men like William Wilberforce, who spent his life fighting to end slavery, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who defied Hitler and called the German church to fight for morality and truth. Wilberforce and Bonhoeffer countered culture, defied unrighteous authority, and fought fiercely for truth, liberty, and justice, all while spreading the Gospel. 

So too did Charlie, and it cost him dearly. We stand on the shoulders of these men who paved a way for us.    

One year later, we still mourn the loss of Charlie Kirk. But the work he began must be carried forward — so still we stand. Still we counter culture. Still we speak. Still we refuse to surrender. Still we fight.

Fight like Charlie — on our knees with lifted hands where the real battle is won.