Lou Engle (born October 9, 1952) is an American Charismatic Christian who led TheCall, which held prayer rallies. He is an apostle in the New Apostolic Reformation movement [1] and the president of Lou Engle Ministries. Engle was a senior leader of the International House of Prayer and has assisted in the establishment of Justice House of Prayer and several other smaller "houses" of prayer.
Engle has been organizing large prayer rallies since 1999, with hundreds of thousands of people in multiple countries participating. In 2018, Engle announced the end of the organization, TheCall, as well as his intentions to launch Lou Engle Ministries. [2]
The size of these events, in addition to Engle's political statements, raised his prominence among the Christian right. [3] These ministries are often located near prominent landmarks, such as Harvard University and the United States Supreme Court building. The locations of the ministries are strategically chosen, to specifically contend issues such as abortion. [4] Engle was described by Joe Conason as a "radical theocrat". [5] He criticized other Evangelical leaders regarding the issue of political correctness. [6]
Taking a firm stand on issues traditionally associated with the Christian right, Engle's events have drawn support from Evangelical leaders such as Mike Huckabee and Tony Perkins. [6] In keeping with his stance on these issues, Engle has been sharply critical of former U.S. President Barack Obama, claiming that his beliefs "counter my convictions and the convictions of masses of believing Americans." [7] In 2008, Engle became a supporter of vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, "likening Palin to the biblical Queen Esther who saved her people from destruction." [8] He later wrote "[t]he ideological beast of Obama's worldview has been drawn out of its lair and now stands naked and exposed by Palin's compassion and conviction. The beast...is hunting our children, our nation's destiny, and us. The rage of the media against Palin simply further exposes the moral bankruptcy, bigotry, and lack of compassion of liberalism." [8]
While living in Washington, D.C., Engle was briefly a roommate of then-Senator Sam Brownback. Brownback later spoke at TheCall Nashville rally and worked with him while drafting Senate apologies to Native Americans and African-Americans. Brownback's association with Engle became an issue in his successful run for Governor of Kansas. During the campaign, the Kansas Democratic Party ran ads criticizing his association with Engle. Brownback stated that he had not spoken to Engle in several months and that they disagreed on some issues. [9]
Engle maintains that issues such as abortion and homosexuality should remain at the center of the evangelical movement and that appointing judges to overturn "Antichrist legislation" is key. [10] [8] An article in the Southern Poverty Law Center states up to 20,000 youth attendees of TheCall were annually called upon to fast and pray for 40 days and take up culture-war pledges to lead abstinent lives, reject pornography and fight abortion. In smaller circles, Engle's speech would occasionally "venture into bloodlust." Partnered with a militant group called Joel's Army, Engle leaned heavily on battle rhetoric and end-times theology. The articles goes on to describe Engle speaking with youth at the International House of Prayer, referring to his audience as an army of "warriors" and called upon the crowd for "vengeance." [11]
Engle strongly supports abolishing abortion. He encouraged his audiences to pray for the overturning of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling and to vote for anti-abortion political candidates. [6] He organized 24-hour protests in front of the United States Supreme Court, whereby the young participants symbolized the powerlessness of terminated fetuses by placing tape over their mouths with the word "LIFE" written on it. [10]
In 2008, Engle focused the attention of his prayer groups towards supporting California's Proposition 8, a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage. [12]
In May 2010, Engle traveled to Uganda and organized a rally there through TheCall. During the rally, he praised the Ugandan government's efforts to combat homosexuality, and praised those promoting the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill which called for life imprisonment or the death penalty for gays and lesbians with AIDS who engage in sexual relations. Prior to traveling to Uganda, Engle had released a statement condemning the penalties. [13] The Southern Poverty Law Center has placed Lou Engle on their "Hatewatch Extremist" list due to his remarks supporting Uganda's bill to criminalize homosexuality and comparing the struggle over gay rights to the "Civil War." [14]
GLAAD has added Engle to their Accountability Project, a catalog of politicians, commentators, organization heads, religious leaders, and legal figures, who have allegedly used their platforms, influence and power to spread misinformation and harm LGBTQ people. [15]
Following anti-Islamic comments at a 2018 Singapore conference hosted by Cornerstone Community Church, the Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs opened an investigation into Engle's inflammatory rhetoric. Organizers apologized to local Muslim leaders, and pledged not to invite Engle back to speak. [16] [17]
Engle and his wife Therese have seven children. He is known for his gravelly voice, cheerful demeanor, and vigorous rocking back and forth while praying and speaking. [6] [18] Lou Engle wrote the foreword of the book The Magnificent Jesus (Vol.1) [19]
Engle's filmography includes being featured in the 2006 film Jesus Camp , [8] briefly in the 2012 film Call Me Kuchu and in the 2013 film God Loves Uganda .
Focus on the Family is a fundamentalist Protestant organization founded in 1977 in Southern California by James Dobson, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The group is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s. As of the 2017 tax filing year, Focus on the Family declared itself to be a church, "primarily to protect the confidentiality of our donors." Traditionally, entities considered churches have been ones that have regular worship services and congregants.
James Clayton Dobson Jr. (born April 21, 1936) is an American evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder of Focus on the Family (FotF), which he led from 1977 until 2010. In the 1980s, he was ranked as one of the most influential spokesmen for conservative social positions in American public life. Although never an ordained minister, he was called "the nation's most influential evangelical leader" by The New York Times while Slate portrayed him as a successor to evangelical leaders Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson.
Samuel Dale Brownback is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011 and as the 46th governor of Kansas from 2011 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, Brownback also served as the United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom during the administration of President Donald Trump and was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President in 2008.
Richard Duane Warren is an American Baptist evangelical Christian pastor and author. He is the founder of Saddleback Church, an evangelical Baptist megachurch in Lake Forest, California. Since 2022, he is executive director of the Finishing the Task mission coalition.
The Fellowship, also known as The Family, is a U.S.-based nonprofit religious and political organization founded in April 1935 by Abraham Vereide. The stated purpose of The Fellowship is to provide a fellowship forum where decision makers can attend Bible studies, attend prayer meetings, worship God, experience spiritual affirmation and receive support.
James E. Wallis Jr. is an American theologian, writer, teacher and political activist. He is best known as the founder and editor of Sojourners magazine and as the founder of the Washington, D.C.-based Christian community of the same name. In 2021, Wallis joined Georgetown University as the inaugural Archbishop Desmond Tutu Chair in Faith and Justice. He also leads the Center on Faith and Justice at Georgetown. Wallis is known for his advocacy on issues of peace and social justice. Although Wallis actively eschews political labels, he describes himself as an evangelical and is often associated with the evangelical left and the wider Christian left. He worked as a spiritual advisor to President Barack Obama. He is also a leader in the Red-Letter Christian movement.
The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is a theological belief and movement that combines elements of Pentecostalism, evangelicalism and the Seven Mountain Mandate to advocate for spiritual warfare to bring about Christian dominion over all aspects of society, and end or weaken the separation of church and state. NAR leaders often call themselves apostles and prophets. Long a fringe movement of the American Christian right, it has been characterized as "one of the most important shifts in Christianity in modern times." The NAR's prominence and power have increased since the 2016 election of Donald Trump as US president. Theology professor André Gagné, author of a 2024 book on the movement, has characterized it as "inherently political" and said it threatens to "subvert democracy." American Republican politicians such as Mike Johnson, Doug Mastriano, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert and activists such as Charlie Kirk have aligned with it.
Jesus Camp is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing about a charismatic Christian summer camp, where children spend their summers being taught that they have "prophetic gifts" and can "take back America for Christ". According to the distributor, it "doesn't come with any prepackaged point of view" and attempts to be "an honest and impartial depiction of one faction of the evangelical Christian community".
Cornerstone Community Church is an independent, Charismatic church based in Singapore. It is committed to global missions and has affiliate congregations in Kenya, Uganda, Myanmar, Pakistan, Indonesia, Australia and the Philippines. Established in 1990, the church is led by founder and senior pastor Rev. Yang Tuck Yoong.
Freedom of religion in Singapore is a guaranteed constitutionally protected right. Article 15 of the Constitution of Singapore states: "Every person has the right to profess and practise his religion and to propagate it." and allows believers the freedom to assemble and worship without limitation or interference.
The International House of Prayer, Kansas City (IHOPKC), is a Charismatic evangelical Christian movement and missions organization, based in Kansas City, Missouri, and the nearby suburb of Grandview, that focuses on the inerrancy of scripture, and biblical prayer with worship.
Bound4LIFE is a grassroots anti-abortion organization originating in the United States. The non-profit organization was founded in 2004 by Lou Engle and Brian while gathered for silent prayer in front of the United States Supreme Court in Washington, DC. A major goal of the organization is to train and multiply the number of Christians that pray regularly for the ending of abortion.
Scott Douglas Lively is an American activist, author, and attorney, who is the president of Abiding Truth Ministries, an anti-LGBT group based in Temecula, California. He was also a cofounder of Latvia-based group Watchmen on the Walls, state director of the California branch of the American Family Association, and a spokesman for the Oregon Citizens Alliance. He unsuccessfully attempted to be elected as the governor of Massachusetts in both 2014 and 2018.
TheCall was an organization which sponsored prayer meetings led by Lou Engle along with other Christian leader pastors in the United States. The meetings requested prayer and fasting by Christians in protest against issues such as same-sex marriage and legal access to elective abortion. TheCall drew support from American Evangelical leaders, but was also criticized for intolerance.
Robert Leonard Schenck is an American Evangelical clergyman who has ministered to elected and appointed officials in Washington, D.C. and serves as president of a non-profit organization named for Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Schenck founded the organization Faith and Action in 1995 and led it until 2018. He is the subject of the Emmy Award-winning 2016 Abigail Disney documentary, The Armor of Light. Schenck stated that he was part of a group that paid Norma McCorvey to lie that she had changed her mind and turned against abortion. Once a prominent anti-abortion activist, Schenck has since repudiated this work and expressed support for the legality of abortion. In 2022, Schenck testified before the House Judiciary Committee concerning his allegation that a member of the Supreme Court leaked information about a pending case before the Court.
The Restoring Honor rally was held August 28, 2010 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., and was organized by Glenn Beck to "restore honor in America" and to raise funds for the non-profit Special Operations Warrior Foundation. Billed as a "celebration of America's heroes and heritage," several veterans were honored. Along with Beck, the speakers included former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and activist Alveda King, a niece of Martin Luther King Jr.
You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International (YCRBYCHI) was a United States Christian youth ministry that held assemblies in public schools. YCRBYCHI's mission statement stated its goal was to "reshape America by re-directing the current and future generations both morally and spiritually through education, media, and the Judeo-Christian values found in our U.S. Constitution."
Justice House of Prayer (JHOP) is a neocharismatic Christian organization based in Kansas City, Missouri that focuses on continual prayer. It was founded by Lou Engle in 2004 and now has locations in five U.S. cities. They are in close association with the International House of Prayer-Kansas City and TheCall.
Call Me Kuchu is a 2012 American documentary film directed by Malika Zouhali-Worrall and Katherine Fairfax Wright. The film explores the struggles of the LGBT community in Uganda, focusing in part on the 2011 murder of LGBT activist David Kato.
The 2008 presidential campaign of Sam Brownback, a U.S. Senator from Kansas, began on December 4, 2006, with the formation of an exploratory committee. Several weeks later on January 20, 2007, Brownback officially announced his candidacy for the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States. Brownback had first been elected to the Senate in a special election in 1996, previously having been a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was popular among social conservatives and positioned himself as a compassionate conservative, often using his Catholic faith to justify some of his policy positions. From the start of his announcement, media outlets noted that his candidacy was a long-shot and highly unlikely to succeed, and throughout the campaign, Brownback struggled with both fundraising and rising above single-digits in opinion polls.