Get Ready! One Week, One Nation, One Book. April 18-25, 2026
We want to let you know that America Reads the Bible is coming up April 18-25! Join a historic, week-long, continuous Bible-reading as leaders from every sphere speak the Scriptures aloud from beginning to end — reminding us of America’s spiritual foundation as we celebrate 250 years of freedom.
It is hoped that this great event will inspire a time of revival and discipleship across the United States. The Bible readings will be broadcast from places like the Museum of the Bible, Washington, D.C., Independence Hall, Boston, and other landmarks important to our national story and will be available via a complimentary livestream hosted by Great American Pure Flix. You can find out more about the vision behind this event by watching this short video.
How can you, your church, your organization, or business get involved?
America Reads the Bible has information on how to join the event and get involved here – including prayer team meetings and complimentary access to the full livestream for your church, organization, business, or home. You can use the form at this link to sign up!
We hope you’ll join America Reads the Bible on April 18-25. As we are reminded in Isaiah 55:11, “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”
2026 Faith, Family, and Freedom Dessert Gala!
We are excited to announce the 2026 Faith, Family, and Freedom Dessert Gala hosted by North Dakota Family Alliance! The Gala will be on Tuesday, May 5th at 7:30 pm at the Fargodome. Our keynote speaker for the event will be Steve Green, with special music provided by Capstone Classical Academy Choir!
Early bird tickets are available at the special price of $50 for a limited time only HERE.
For table sponsorships, please call 701-355-6425
This event is highly anticipated, so get tickets while you can!
About Steve Green
President of Hobby Lobby / Founder and Chairman of the Board of the Museum of the Bible / Celebrated Author of Multiple Books
Steve Green became President of Hobby Lobby in 2004, and helped to grow the family business to more than 1,000 stores in 48 states, employing over 46,000 people with over $8.3 billion in annual sales in 2025. He speaks on business and philanthropy, focusing on how his faith intersects with his life endeavors.
As Chairman of the Board of the Museum of the Bible, Steve has assembled a team of academics, designers, technology professionals, and other experts to create the 430,000-square-foot museum, dedicated to a scholarly and engaging presentation of the Bible's impact, history, and narrative. The museum opened in November 2017 in Washington, DC, near the U.S. Capitol, and saw approximately one million visitors during its first year.
Green is the author of Faith in America (2011), The Bible in America (2013), and This Beautiful Book (2019) and co-author of This Dangerous Book (2017) with his wife, Jackie. Steve and Jackie have been married for over 41 years and reside in Oklahoma City. They have a son, five daughters, a daughter-in-law, three sons-in-law, and twelve grandchildren. They are active in their local church and support many Christian charities.
About Capstone Classical Academy Choir
Capstone Classical Academy Choir is comprised of singers from Capstone Classical Academy, the new Classical Christian School in Fargo, ND. Many of these 6th through 10th-grade scholars participate in the NDHSAA Regional and State Music Vocal Contests as soloists and ensemble members and have earned the highest ratings of achievement at these events. The Choir is under the direction of Aaron Zinter, who teaches both Choral Music and Mathematics at Capstone.
We look forward to welcoming Steve to North Dakota, and hope you’ll make plans to join us at the 2026 Faith, Family, and Freedom Dessert Gala!
A Watch for a Messy World
I like watches. You might call me an enthusiast; my wife is a bit more blunt and calls me a hoarder (a box full of watches does not help my case). Given that I don’t work for a Fortune 500 company, I don’t collect Rolexes, Omegas, Breitlings, and similar watches. Instead, my box has Seikos, Citizens, and quite a few inexpensive foreign brands. However, I want to discuss one watch in particular – the one shown above in the picture. My father’s watch.
Of all the watches I own, this is without a doubt the most valuable to me. As you might guess, it’s the emotional value that trumps all my other watches, and has nothing to do with the fact that it’s a vintage watch. But more than that, the watch recently reminded me of an important lesson.
You may remember that my parents immigrated to the US from the Netherlands in 1950. My father started working at a low-paying hardware store but eventually landed a job doing the engineering he loved, which paid considerably more. Based on the watch being manufactured in 1954, I imagine that’s when he bought it. I bet Dad needed to do a lot of talking for Mom to agree to this purchase.
I remember my father’s watch as a small child. I remember seeing the watch on his arm when he’d throw me up in the air and catch me. It was there when I’d sit on his lap at night and he’d read me stories. The watch represents many wonderful memories for me, so when my sister found it last year (70 years later!), I was enthusiastic, and she was kind enough to let me add it to my collection. Not surprisingly, the watch did not run well, and I finally got around to sending it to a watch repair shop late last year.
The watch shop did a good job, and it now runs, but it’s not what I’d call particularly accurate. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but when I inquired about the accuracy, the watchmaker emailed back that, “Bulova watches were great movements, but they didn’t keep time as well as railroad grade watches or other high-end luxury watches.” I think that was code for saying I needed to adjust my expectations about the watch’s accuracy.
Never one to be satisfied, the Jorritsma Watch Experiment of 2025 began. I tested the watch in different positions, since a mechanical watch may run faster or slower when oriented in a certain way (this is due to the gears, springs, and other mechanical parts being influenced by gravity). I tested its accuracy in six different positions, and there was quite a lot of variation. I was not particularly happy, but it seemed there wasn’t much I could do about it. It finally occurred to me that I should just wear it for a day and see how much the seconds varied. After all, that was the point of getting the watch running again – to wear it.
What do you suppose happened? It ran more accurately, in fact, dramatically more accurately than in any of the other static positions I had tried. In other words, the combination of all these various watch positions during the day on my wrist essentially averaged out, and the watchmaker had optimized it for actually wearing the watch.
In trying to gauge the watch’s accuracy in all those static positions, I was putting it into unrealistic environments. I was essentially assuming that the watch would exist in some sort of controlled test environment instead of functioning as it was intended.
That may be an interesting story, but what’s the takeaway? We sometimes do the same thing with public policy, and indeed, many other aspects of our lives. We see things from a clinical viewpoint, but that’s a problem, because the world is a messy place. Things don’t turn out as planned, people don’t react as expected, and the law of unintended consequences is always ready to disrupt the most well-crafted plans.
It’s easy for us to believe that making law X will result in Y. In reality, it will often result in action Z, so you will need to go back and correct law X to fix the problem, and now the fix creates an additional problem W upstream. Even more, sometimes you discover that we no longer need to create effect Y because some other law now already does that. Yes, it can be frustrating, but that’s how it works. Public policy in no way resembles a straight line.
I try to remind myself of this fact, particularly during legislative sessions. Humans are very creative at finding ways around laws, and those of us who operate in the public policy world have to anticipate this, but also to some degree accept it. Laws are made for the real world, just as a 1954 Bulova watch was made to be worn in the real world. My father lived in the messy world, just as I do. I’ll try and remember that, Dad. Besides, now your watch runs only a couple of seconds fast, and I’m pretty sure I can find a way to live with that.
Giving Hearts Day is on Thursday!
Giving Hearts Day is in just a few days! Every donation given to North Dakota Family Alliance through Giving Hearts Day is matched dollar-for-dollar.
Giving Hearts Day Donation Page
Your donation will help us advance and defend your strongly held pro-life and pro-family values here in North Dakota. This is a tremendous opportunity to support a leading organization in the state that does this!
To donate, you can go directly to our GHD page, or you can mail a check to the address at the bottom of this email if you feel more comfortable doing that (be sure to put “GHD” on the memo line).
We love and greatly appreciate your support and dedication to faith, family, and freedom in North Dakota.
Resource Highlight: TeenPact Leadership Classes in North Dakota
Last year, North Dakota Family Alliance partnered with a great organization, TeenPact North Dakota. We are bringing this organization to your attention because we support their mission: to inspire youth in their relationship with Christ, train them to understand the political process, value their liberty, defend the Christian faith, and engage the culture. They have great student opportunities coming up this spring at the Heritage Center, as described below. Remember that the more young people they can train with these biblically-based skills, the brighter our future looks in North Dakota.
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The TeenPact State Class program is a transformative, hands-on experience that equips young people to understand and engage with government from a Christian perspective. Held at state capitals across the nation, these dynamic, four-day classes provide students with immersive opportunities to learn about the legislative process, participate in mock elections, and discuss current events through a biblical lens. Through activities like writing and debating bills, running campaigns, field experiences, and prayer walks for state leaders, students gain a deep appreciation for their civic responsibilities while growing in confidence and leadership skills. Each day begins with worship and devotion, grounding participants in the greater purpose of serving Christ in every area of their lives. North Dakota has been thrilled to host a TeenPact State Class annually since 2021.
TeenPact’s State Class program is more than a civics lesson—it’s a catalyst for spiritual growth and personal transformation! By emphasizing biblical principles and fostering servant leadership, TeenPact inspires students to see their potential to make a meaningful impact in their communities now and in the future. Over the past three decades, this program has reached over 100,000 students, encouraging them to live with purpose by loving God, serving others, and engaging culture with truth and grace. Through TeenPact, students discover that they are uniquely equipped to lead and influence their generation for Christ!
Maybe you have a friend or family member who could benefit from this phenomenal student opportunity? These are their upcoming annual classes, which will take place at the Heritage Center in Bismarck:
TeenPact North Dakota Four-Day Class March 23-26, 2026, for students ages 13 to19, is a dynamic, hands-on leadership experience where students learn about state government from a Christian worldview. Students gather to run for office, participate in a mock legislature, and learn about how they can be effective leaders in their own communities.
TeenPact North Dakota One-Day Class, March 27, 2026, for students ages 8 to 12, introduces young leaders and their families to the idea that leadership knows no age. This program is packed with hands-on learning, memorable experiences, and plenty of fun, leaving a lasting impact on all participants.
TeenPact North Dakota Political Communication Workshop, March 27, 2026, for students ages 13 to 19, is a very energetic and fun workshop that trains students to analyze and interpret public presentations through a variety of activities and discussions. Students are challenged to develop critical thinking skills as they learn what communication looks like in the political realm.
New to TeenPact? Learn more here
To register and learn more about TeenPact North Dakota, visit this link. Or you can view a short news clip from previous year’s classes here.
For further questions and information, please reach out to :
Shaunna Upgren, Co-State Coordinator - (701) 471-2455 northdakota@teenpact.com
Stacy Newburgh, Co-State Coordinator - (701) 391-5012 northdakota@teenpact.com
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We’re thankful for the impactful work of TeenPact in North Dakota, and for the young leaders they are training to influence our world for Christ.