The second-highest-ranking official in Indiana, Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, openly identifies as a Christian nationalist. This self-description has ignited a fierce debate across the state, from the pews to the Statehouse, forcing residents to confront a fundamental question: What is the proper role of faith in public life, and what does it mean for the future of a pluralistic state? This is not an abstract debate; it has manifested in direct legislative action, crystallized by a controversial resolution that put the state's competing visions on a collision course.
The final part of our coverage of the Christian nationalist movement is about the movement’s connection to Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk. We take a look at the immediate aftermath of his death and the language his allies used while memorializing him, and speak with professor Matthew Boedy who wrote a book about Kirk’s connection to Christian nationalist rhetoric.
Charlie Kirk
On Sept. 10, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) co-founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking at an event on the Utah Valley University campus.
Eleven days later, his memorial service in Glendale, Arizona, would be attended by over 90,000 people, including President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and many cabinet officials.
Throughout the event, speakers spoke largely in religious terms.
“The day that Charlie died, the angels wept, but those tears have been turned into fire in our hearts,” said White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. “And that fire burns with a righteous fury that our enemies cannot comprehend or understand.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the increase in political violence in the United States as a “spiritual battle.”
“Charlie started a political movement but unleashed a spiritual revival,” he said.
Many journalists and commentators around the country have called it Christian nationalism.
Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith appeared on FlashPoint, an outlet that looks at current events “through a biblical perspective.” He said the memorial was “like heaven on earth stepped into the arena.”
“Almost the entire White House, the leaders of the free world, were declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ to millions of people," he said.
Beckwith is a linchpin of the Christian nationalist movement in Indiana.
Support for Kirk and the mission of Turning Point USA exploded upon his death.
A press release from Turning Point said they received over 121,000 inquiries about starting new chapters in colleges and high schools across the US. Indiana University already hosts one in Bloomington.
Vigils were held at Indianapolis’ Monument Circle, West Lafayette, and on Bloomington’s IU campus.
About 100 people attended the Indianapolis memorial for about an hour. But in Bloomington, more than 600 showed up to Alumni Hall hear speeches from U.S. Sen. Todd Young, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and Beckwith.
And while there was plenty of prayer throughout, speakers praised Kirk’s support of free speech and debate.
“Free and open speech was his signature cause, his signature issue,” Young said. “He modeled free speech on a daily basis. It's tragic that he couldn't descend on Bloomington.”
Kirk’s “Prove Me Wrong” tour was scheduled to be at IU on Oct. 21. That event will be headlined now by Tucker Carlson and other conservative activists.
“Charlie understood that robust free speech in the public square and on college campuses is the cornerstone of self-government and the antidote of false speech,” Rokita said.
Beckwith spoke toward the end of the event, telling attendees that TPUSA chose to grow its presence in Indiana because the state would defend free speech.
At the following meeting of TPUSA’s IU Chapter, about 35 people attended to talk about recent news events and plan for moving forward.
“There's a large conservative movement going on around the country and I think frankly this is the turning point in our country,” said chapter president James Chambers. “For far too long we've been told to sit down and shut up as conservatives, and right now we are speaking up, we're speaking out, and we are making a statement that we are, and we are here to stay.”
Chambers wouldn’t put a number on the growth of the chapter but said a large influx of people want to join or be more active with the organization.
He said the future of the IU chapter is going to be all about continuing Kirk’s legacy, a sentiment, which is echoed by TPUSA on its home page.
“He left an impact that nobody else could ever leave,” he said. “He started this movement at my age…and frankly, he did what nobody else could do, and I give him props for that. And I think for this chapter, it's onwards and upwards and I don't see any stoppage anytime soon.”
The New Apostolic Reformation Connection
Many see Charlie Kirk as a leader in the Christian nationalist movement. But where do Kirk and the movement intersect?
In a previous part of this series, we talked about the Seven Mountain Mandate, which is the purported “seven spheres” of society that are to be taken control of; and the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), a specific expression of Christianity that is driving Christian nationalist rhetoric.
Coined by C. Peter Wagner, he called the NAR “the most radical change in the way of doing church since the Protestant Reformation.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center characterized the NAR as “the greatest threat to American democracy that most people have never heard of."
In his book, “The Seven Mountain Mandate,” University of North Georgia professor Matthew Boedy draws a direct connection between the NAR and Turning Point USA.
He said that in 2019, Kirk was approached by Lance Wallnau, an evangelical preacher with close ties to the NAR, and Pastor Rob McCoy, who would go on to co-chair Turning Point Faith in California and be known as Kirk’s personal pastor.
Wallnau gained popularity after he said in 2015 that God asked him to support Donald Trump’s candidacy. The next year, he published an article in Charisma magazine titled “Why I Believe Trump Is the Prophesized President.”
“Rob McCoy convinced Charlie Kirk to change his position,” Boedy said. “(Charlie) had said before that he did not mix his religion and politics, and that he made secular arguments for his positions, but became an advocate of Christian nationalism around 2019.”
McCoy was the first to speak at Kirk’s memorial service, saying, "Charlie looked at politics as an on-ramp to Jesus. He knew if he could get all of you rowing in the streams of liberty, you'd come to its source. And that's the Lord."
Boedy said around 2021, Kirk and Turning Point put together a donor prospectus that said they aimed to expand into “seven areas.”
“They now have arms, seven different arms that match the Seven Mountains and they're spending their millions of dollars to expand in those areas,” he said.
One of those arms, Turning Point Faith USA, is headed up by pastor Lucas Miles, who is based at NFluence Church in South Bend. He did not respond to our requests for an interview.
There is also Turning Point Academy, an arm that is “Reclaiming the education of our children, reviving virtuous education focused on truth, goodness, and beauty, and restoring God as the foundation of education,” according to their website.
And now, with Kirk’s mission being given new energy, all these efforts are going to be kicked into high gear. One IU student said at the TPUSA chapter meeting he hoped to bring a Turning Point Faith chapter to Bloomington.
“Turning Point itself is built to last, and it's built to be the indispensable organization for Christian nationalism,” Boedy said. “And I think as we saw at the funeral service, it is also poised to be the indispensable organization for what comes after Trump.”
At Kirk’s memorial service, many speakers mentioned the term “martyrdom” or “martyr” when remembering him.
“To use martyrdom in our American context, it gives a divine approval for any action that they want to do,” said Boedy. “Several of the speakers talked about the groups that they want to go after. “(Like) the left and specifically ‘evil people’.”
“You can see how martyrdom gives their followers, their acolytes, just unburdened motivation and limitless ways to act.”
