Statement on Future of God Before Guns

Dear Followers of God Before Guns

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With gratitude and humility, we are announcing the closing of our gun violence prevention (GVP) ministry effective June 30, 2023. We founded God Before Guns 10 years ago at Disciples Christian Church in Cleveland Heights, OH, joined by a determined group of GVP activists determined to “do something” after the school shootings in Chardon, OH and Newtown, CT. We believe we were answering God’s call and have lived out that call these past 10 years.

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During that time, we reached out to thousands of community member and persons of faith, mainly in Northeast OH. We used presentations, rallies and marches, panel discussions, documentary film presentations, Zoom meetings and interviews, media appearances and Sunday morning sermons to call attention to the plague of gun violence in American and Ohio. We distributed tens of thousands of our Gun Safety Cards across the nation. We urged our audiences to become activists in the campaign to address this public health menace that is now the #1 killer of our young people. We encouraged our audiences to volunteer in our effort and/or the efforts of other GVP organizations working in Ohio.

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We were blessed with a Board of Directors who constantly looked for new avenues to get the word out and we supported local activists with boots on the ground in their efforts to address the underlying causes of gun violence.

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Although the issue of gun violence was not solved during our 10 years of work, we do not leave discouraged. We see many signs of progress in advancing the GVP movement. We are especially gratified to see an ever-increasing number of faith communities and their members becoming more involved and more courageous in the GVP movement. It is clear to us that this is what God demands of us.

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Our leaders made a difficult decision to close our work under the banner of God Before Guns. We believe that continued progress requires more energy and new approaches that we can no longer provide. But we all remain committed to staying involved. And we sincerely want to thank once more all of you who supported us with your actions and your donations over the past 10 years. We urge you too to stay active and to support any of the many fine GVP organizations who will continue this work in Ohio and the US.

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God Before Guns is a 100% volunteer organization. None of our leaders was paid for this work; all donations went directly to the work God called us to do. We are very proud of our efforts. We are also blessed in the giving away of our remaining assets to organizations who will continue efforts to involve people of all faiths in this critical work to end the violence. We offer our support and our prayers as they share in our vision “of a nation in which our faith in God and each other elevates the sanctity of life above the fears that lead to a society armed against itself.”

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David & Rev. Kristine Eggert and the Board of God Before Guns