Tulsa, Okla., is the home base of a relatively new organization that wants evangelical Christians to take over all levels of government and reign as “elders” anointed by God.
City Elders, which now is a trademarked name, describes itself as “a national network of elders charged with the mission of governing the gates of every city in America to establish the kingdom of God with strength, honor and courage.”
There is no way to know exactly how much influence the group has or how many inroads it already has made because its “elders” are not typically identif
The group, led by Pentecostal evangelist Jesse Leon Rodgers, sees its mission as biblical — drawing especially from Old Testament narratives of God’s commands to Adam and Eve and God’s commands to other kings and prophets of the Hebrew people. These modern-day zealots take Old Testament passages as direct literal mandates for their intent to take over city councils, school boards, state government and even federal government.
Rodgers is a staunch supporter of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and the most radical parts of Trump’s agenda. His Facebook feed is full of vitriol against Kamala Harris, Joe Biden and the Democratic Party while praising Trump’s already failed nominee for attorney general, Matt Gaetz.
City Elders has chapters in Oklahoma, Virginia, Kansas and Missouri. The group has chapters in 40 of Oklahoma’s 77 counties, and members of the group include pastors, legislators, judges, district attorneys, university presidents, mayors, school superintendents and others, Rodgers told the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee in August 2019.
“The church is the instrument, the church is the means, the goal is the kingdom, the rule of Christ manifested in the realms of authority of the earth on earth as it is in heaven,” Rogers said in a recent video message to his followers.
But Rodgers does not lead an actual church.
The Enid News and Eagle reported in 2019 that Rodgers runs Gateway Ministries, which previously was known as Gateway Church of Ada, Okla., until 2017.
“The church, which has undergone two name changes since 2011, was formed by Rodgers in April 2000 after a bitter feud with church elders at the previous congregation he led in Ada, according to public records and interviews. Rodgers’ congregation in Ada was absorbed by another church in 2014, but the corporate entity remained under Rodgers’ control, according to public records.”
Yet because the organization is classified as a church, it is not required to file IRS Form 990 and may accept tax-deductible gifts. In 2019, The Frontier reported of Rodgers: “The head of a politically influential Tulsa-based group used the organization’s status as a church to obtain property tax exemptions for his family’s house to avoid thousands of dollars in property taxes, though the organization has not had a congregation or held religious services for more than five years.”
Critics say Gateway Ministries should be more accurately identified as a political action committee because it is highly partisan, endorses candidates and funnels money to political causes.
What’s the agenda?
On its website, City Elders says: “Governing the city gates is the biblical model of city governance.”
Its mission statement: “City Elders™ exist to govern the gates of every city spiritually, politically and economically so that life is protected, liberty is defended, Christ is exalted, families flourish.”
As to who are the city elders, the group doesn’t say.
“City Elders™ are experienced, anointed and recognized leaders from the three primary spheres of God-ordained authority: the ecclesia, civil government and business,” the website declares. Ecclesia is the Greek word for “assembly” or “gathering” that often is applied to the church.
In one of his most recent video messages, Rodgers reiterated that three-pronged purpose.
“When we come together as the ecclesia, we’re speaking not just as representatives of the family, we’re declaring and decreeing in another level of authority, and that is our citizenship. We represent not just the purposes of God but the authority and power of God in government.”
The “core focus” of city elders, the website states, is to be “spiritual, political and business leaders who have joined together in the Abrahamic Covenant within the towns, cities and states” to accomplish the following:
- Establish righteousness in governance of spiritual, civil and economic systems
- Draft civil laws which reflect and uphold biblical values and Judeo-ecclesia ethics
- Protect those vulnerable, innocent and disenfranchised
- Promote the principles and protocols of God’s kingdom
- Glorify God through the lordship of his Son, Jesus Christ, and our High Priest
There is an application process to start your own City Elders Council that includes reading “The Blueprint,” a manual; watching training videos; and filling out an application.
“After you have fulfilled the above requirements, the City Elders Senior Council will make direct contact with you,” the site promises.
“You are embarking on an exciting journey to join thousands of faith-filled City Elders across the nation and around the world,” the site promises. “Together we are seeing righteousness established and wickedness banished. Together, we can change the world … in our lifetime!”
The group’s website lists 17 “issues and causes” it cares about: “Abortion, border security, immigration, Islamic fundamentalism, secular humanism, racism, cultural and political Marxism, city councils, education, school boards, monitoring legislation, voting mobilization, candidate recruitment and vetting, election integrity, cultural impact teams, candidate scoring and accountability, Second Amendment protection, the LGBT agenda.”
Its first line of work, however, is city councils: “City councils is where we need to guard and hold the line at every city gate across America. If we put conservatives on the councils, it will make it harder for these city council mayors to pass restrictions, mandates and other UN agenda/WEF agendas against its local citizens.”
Who’s behind this movement?
Rodgers is the founder of City Elders and its current national leader. He and his wife, Tammy Rodgers, have served as “pastors, evangelists, resident missionaries in Singapore, South East Asia as well as Bible College instructors,” their bio says.
Rodgers has created a “Training for Reigning” discipleship series, an “aid to believers in finding and fulfilling their ‘reigning role’ in life.”
Rodgers also serves as chairman of the Oklahoma Watchmen on the Wall Network, which is affiliated with the Family Research Council, a political action group also classified by the IRS as a “church,” which was launched by James Dobson and Focus on the Family.
The City Elders website boasts: “Rodgers’ unique role with the Family Research Council and City Elders has positioned him to influence government officials from the local municipalities to the White House.”
The Virginia chapter of City Elders lists among its “partner” organizations Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Americans for Prosperity. FCA is allegedly a nonpartisan evangelism group. Americans for Prosperity, founded in 2004, is a libertarian conservative political advocacy group affiliated with the Koch brothers.
In Oklahoma, previous speakers at City Elders events include Gov. Kevin Stitt, Secretary of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern, U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, Nick Cocca of Turning Point USA, Rafael Cruz, Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, Pentecostal pastor Jim Garlow, school chaplain advocate Rocky Malloy, and Andrew Wommack, a Colorado evangelist who is considered a leader of the New Apostolic Reformation.
Is this another form of Christian dominionism?
Scholars who study the New Apostolic Reformation and far-right political movements say City Elders is another expression of Christian dominionism, sometimes called Seven Mountains Dominionism.
André Gagné, author of American Evangelicals for Trump: Dominion, Spiritual Warfare, and the End Times and a theology professor at Concordia University in Montreal, told Salon: “Charismatic leaders obsessed with war narratives that involve either the total subjugation or destruction of the enemies of the ancient Israelites are suggesting that these are precedents for conquest and the establishment of God’s kingdom in America.”
In a post-election video, Rodgers said: “God is is going to show his church how to rule. Remember, he said the gates of hell will not prevail against you, the powers of darkness cannot keep you from bringing the dominion mandate into the realms of your authority. That’s our mission on earth as it is in heaven, thy kingdom come.”
The Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Va., interviewed several residents who are involved in City Elders. One of those was Mike Lawson, a current member of the Augusta County School Board.
Lawson said he didn’t think dominionism would be the way to describe City Elders, the paper reported. “Our goal is to pray over our community and to get involved in different areas of the community, one of those being civil government, also involved in ministry work and also in working with our business communities,” he said.
CJ Jordan, a leader in the Harrisonburg/Rockingham County City Elders, told the Daily News-Record City Elders isn’t promoting dominionism because there was no such thing.
“It’s about finding a spiritual solution to political problems,” Jordan said. “Our job is to pray. … When we pray, sometimes God gives us the direction you wish for us to go.”
At every level, those involved with City Elders believe the First Amendment’s provision of a wall of separation between church and state is a myth.
“People say, ‘Separation of church and state,’” Rodgers said in his post-election video. “Get out of here with that nonsense. That’s ungodly. That’s carnal. That’s secular humanist. That’s not biblical. The church is supposed to speak into and hold accountable and pray for and install and anoint people into government. That’s our responsibility.”
In a video the day before the election, Rodgers urged his followers to vote and to pray.
“We are in transition, and when you’re in transition it’s important that everything be bathed in prayer,” he said. “We’re in a revolution, a turn, a changing of the guard, but we’re also in preparations for a reformation. Now there must be a revolution, a reformation which means to be realigned, to reform, to change structures and systems. You see, when the adversary gets in control, there are structures and strongholds and systems that must be torn down. That’s why Jeremiah said, ‘But God said to Jeremiah, I chose you to tear down and to pluck up to destroy.’ There are some things the adversary has established that utterly must be destroyed and that’s part of the work of the citizenship of heaven.”
The work of City Elders, he added, is “installing people in the civil government” and “verbally removing, prophetically removing, people from office. That is our heritage, that is our responsibility, that is our role in the earth as the ministry the church.”
The prayer
The views and intentions of City Elders may be best expressed in a prayer they promote in each location where they work. Applied to City Elders Kansas, the prayer states:
We pray the redeeming power of the blood of Jesus over this city, county and state.
We pray the forces of hell and darkness have no authority, no legal rights and no jurisdiction to operate here.
We pray the kingdom of God has come to Wichita and the State of Kansas.
We pray Jesus Christ is Lord over Wichita and the inhabitants are his inheritance.
We pray the city of Wichita is a fortress of faith, a garrison of godliness, a stronghold of righteousness, known as the City of Faith.
We pray that, as the people of God and the united church of the Lord Jesus, we exercise our God-given authority to establish God’s kingdom and righteousness here and now, in the all-powerful name of Jesus! Amen!
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