The ballroom of the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center in Des Moines was packed for the 10th annual FAMiLY Leadership Summit on Friday, July 16.

An estimated crowd of over 1200 people, including local and national TV crews and reporters, were on hand for an event billed as “The Midwest’s largest gathering of Christians seeking cultural transformation in the family, Church, government, and more.”

The FAMiLY Leader President and CEO Bob Vander Plaats was interviewed by Sean Spicer and Lyndsay Keith on Newsmax July 14, 2021.

Asked about declining church attendance, Christian voters in the 2024 Election, the 10th annual FAMiLY Leadership Summit, and the crisis in Cuba, Bob gave a consistent message – “The Church of Jesus Christ is still the hope of the world.”

A poll of likely voters reveals support and opposition to the proposed Protect Life Amendment to the Iowa Constitution in a virtual tie – 45 to 47 percent, respectively, within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 4.38 percent.

When asked whether Iowans “should be given the opportunity to vote on the amendment,” however, an overwhelming 84 percent of voters said yes.

Bob and Donna Red Wing were often quoted in the news media on opposite sides of contentious issues. Bob leads a Christian organization that advocates for public policy consistent with biblical values. Donna was a longtime LGBTQ activist and, in her own words, “a sometimes agitator.” They were natural “enemies” who became the most unlikely of friends.