Rev. Mark Creech, Executive Director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina, issued the following statement today regarding the passing of Don Wildmon, Founder of the American Family Association:

On the occasion of the death of Texas Senator Sam Rayburn, Senator Tom Corcoran of New Hampshire wrote a letter to his colleague Lyndon Baines Johnson, then presiding over the Senate. In the letter, he took a quote from Oliver Wendell Holmes, which reads, “It is November and the leaves that shelter my generation are falling fast.” Corcoran went on to write, “Once our world was full of older men who were magnificent individuals in the grand manner. Many big oaks sheltered us. Like the leaves in November, they fall fast, and we are now our own front line.”

I have been away visiting with my wife’s family in Norfolk, Virginia, this week, when my dear friend and brother in Christ, Ron Shank, head of Optimus Media, telephoned me about the passing of Don Wildmon, founder of the American Family Association.

Ron and I briefly talked about how so many of the older individuals who were magnificent in the grand evangelical manner, individuals whose ministries were like big oaks that sheltered us, have now fallen: Rev. Adrian Rogers (1931-2005), Rev. D. James Kennedy (1930-2007), Rev. Jerry Falwell (1933-2007), Chuck Colson (1931-2012), Rev. Rev. Tim LaHaye (1926-2016), Phyllis Schlafly (1924-2016), Rev. R.C. Sproul (1939-2017), Rev. Billy Graham (1918-2018), Rev. Pat Robertson (1930-2023), and now Rev. Don Wildmon (1938-2023). These people were modern-day prophets to our times, providing messages that addressed our current spiritual needs and issues. In my estimation, if it had not been for their faithfulness, America would already be on the ash heap of history.

I have not given up on my country, but it seems to me that her time to turn back to God is quickly running out. There have been pockets of revival here and there, for which we are thankful. Still, we wait and earnestly pray for wholesale repentance by the church of her worldliness and a spiritual awakening that ushers hundreds of thousands into the Kingdom of Christ. The individuals previously mentioned, and Don Wildmon, yearned for the salvation of our beloved country, they prayed for it, and they sacrificially gave of themselves to make it happen. Their legacy is that so much of what they did sheltered us, but they are gone now and we are quickly becoming our own front line.

Heavenly Father,

We come before You with grateful hearts for the life and legacy of Don Wildmon and the other great evangelical leaders who have gone before us. They were faithful stewards of your Holy Word and served as strong oaks, providing spiritual stability, protection, legacy, and continuity in an ever-changing world.

Lord, we acknowledge the responsibility that now rests upon us as we become the front line in this ongoing battle for the soul of our nation. Grant us the strength, wisdom, and courage to carry on the work they began. May their examples continue to inspire us to live lives that honor you and advance your kingdom.

We humbly ask for a widespread repentance within the Church, a turning away from worldliness, and a mighty spiritual awakening that will draw multitudes into the Kingdom of Christ. Use us, Lord, as vessels of your grace and agents of your truth in a world that so desperately needs your love and salvation.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, we pray.

At this time, our sympathies and prayers are with Don Wildmon's family, as well as with the ministries and individuals who have been touched by his life's work. May his legacy of faith and dedication continue to inspire us all.

Rev. Mark Creech is the executive director of the Raleigh-based Christian Action League of North Carolina.