Here’s what happened and what we’re doing ...

In August, the FFA turned down the Fellowship of Christian Farmers International (FCFI), when it applied to exhibit at FFA’s huge convention expo. The massive gathering in Indianapolis attracts more than 70,000 people and includes over 350 exhibitors.

But the FFA says Christian groups aren't welcome.

In an emailed note, the National FFA told the Fellowship of Christian Farmers International that “Organizations with political or religious affiliations or advocacy are not eligible to exhibit.”

And when FCFI asked the FFA to reconsider, FFA CEO Scott Stump replied, “There is no appeal process, and we consider that decision to be final.”

And the reason behind the FFA’s unbending stance is the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment! This clause states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion....”

According to the FFA, the Establishment Clause “prohibits school-sponsored religious activity. Our exhibitor policies reflect that legal obligation….”

The National FFA, which has 1 million members, ranks “religion” next to “violence,” “drugs,” and “alcohol” on its list of exhibitor prohibitions. FFA Expo rules ban “any item(s), attire, displays or printed materials containing words, emojis, symbols, photos, graphic materials, or other content related to violence, political affiliation, religion, weapons, drugs, sexual activity or alcohol.”

And to give you one more measure of just how much hostility FFA has for religion, it even prohibits prayer before meals at National FFA events. Pre-meal “verbal reflections,” as it calls them, “are to be free of faith-based perspective, reference, or prayer.”

Time is short. The FFA convention opens next Wednesday, and we’re doing everything possible to ensure the FFA TO drop its discriminatory stance and welcome the Fellowship of Christian Farmers International.

But I need your help. Will you make an extra-generous donation now to help Liberty Counsel wage this battle for religious freedom? Your support — DOUBLED by a special Challenge Grant — will make a real difference in this fight and many others!

Please help us defend FREEDOM! Support Liberty Counsel today.

Despite the FFA’s egregiously wrong grasp of the First Amendment, America owes its very existence to a “faith-based perspective.”

The Declaration of Independence announced 250 years ago that “all men ... are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”

And the U.S. Supreme Court made it clear in a 2022 ruling that the “Lemon Test,” which secularists have used over the last five decades to drive God from public life, is now null and void. In the Court’s 2022 decisions, which includes our Boston flag case, it said it had “long ago abandoned” Lemon.

Instead of Lemon’s arcane three-part framework for detecting religious establishments, the Court directed that Establishment Clause disputes be resolved by reference to “historical practices and understandings.”

And by that standard, the FFA’s own history showcases the role of Christian faith. Its 1930 Creed refers to “the life abundant,” an obvious reference to John 10:10. Moreover, historical FFA materials describe chaplain functions, invocations (not “verbal reflections”), and spiritual development, all in connection with FFA activity.

Bottom line? The Constitution DOES NOT mandate religious discrimination. It does the very opposite. As our letter to FFA states, “The Establishment Clause prohibits government establishment of religion. It does not require removal of religious expression from public life.”

Because of your generous support, Liberty Counsel is standing in the gap for freedom. Time is short because the National FFA Convention & Expo opens next week. Please be as generous as possible and take advantage of the special Challenge Grant to DOUBLE the impact of your gift now!

Mat Staver
Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel

TAKE ACTION

Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins calls the FFA’s ban on a Christian exhibitor “religious discrimination,” “wrong,” and “deeply troubling.” But with your financial help now, we will fight to ensure the FFA lifts its ban and welcomes the Fellowship of Christian Farmers International as an exhibitor at the FFA convention when it opens next Wednesday. Please make your gift now!

Source:

Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins). “…with a faith born not of words but of deeds.” X, October 1, 2026, 5:57 a.m., X.com/SecRollins/status/2105597881902088555