LEADING GOD’S CHURCH • IMPACTING THE CULTURE

HISTORY

In 1998, Dr. Rick Scarborough founded Vision America, who was then the pastor of First Baptist Church in Pearland, Texas. A team of notable Christian leaders, including Dr. D. James Kennedy, Dr. Adrian Rogers, Dr. Peter Marshall, Dr. Tim LaHaye, and Dr. Jerry Falwell, helped Dr. Scarborough form Vision America and provided guidance for the first few years.

The burden for Vision America was birthed in Dr. Scarborough when his daughters’ high school hosted an assembly in 1992, without properly informing parents, that promoted morally objectionable behaviors as “educational.” Dr. Scarborough spoke out at that assembly and thereafter, and educated and mobilized those in his congregation to do the same. The shocking nature of what was happening in their local school awakened him and his people to the urgency and need for the church to become “salt and light” to the culture—to speak truth and advocate for biblical values in the civic arena.

In the months and years that followed, Dr. Scarborough encouraged his congregation to run for public office. And they did. They served as school board officials, making major changes in the high school that better reflected a conservative Christian worldview. Within two years, members of Dr. Scarborough’s church occupied most of the positions in their local city council. Others became judges or were elected to the State House of Representatives. Yet another person is still serving as a U.S. Congressman today. As a pastor, Dr. Scarborough educated and mobilized his people to take action and lead their community, state, and our nation to restore and uphold Biblical values through civic involvement.

Since the founding of Vision America, Dr. Scarborough has addressed over 20,000 pastors face-to-face at gatherings across the country, calling them to lead their people to become salt and light in the culture. Two award-winning documentaries have focused on the work of Vision America, and the Washington Post featured the organization on the front page as their lead story in 2005.


While traveling the country in 2002, Dr. Scarborough met John Graves, who was running for U.S. Congress at the time. A friendship was quickly formed based on their shared Christian beliefs and heart for the country. John has served and traveled alongside Dr. Scarborough since then, and became an integral part of the important work of encouraging and challenging pastors to lead their people to action.


Over the years, John became even more convinced that when Christians, and especially pastors, lead others to become involved in civic issues, they can and do make a significant impact on the culture. His beliefs that God gave leaders as gifts to the Church and that Jesus is the only hope for any nation led him to develop Acts 20:28 Pastors, bringing resources and breakthrough technology to today’s church leaders to help mobilize people of faith to vote.


John brought Acts 20:28 Pastors to Vision America. This resulted in marrying the shared burden to mobilize pastors with the latest technology and data to help faith leaders better understand the condition of their congregation concerning civic involvement.

 

In December of 2016, John Graves assumed leadership of Vision America, becoming its president and providing innovative approaches to mobilizing people of faith.

 

About Dr. Rick Scarborough

 

Dr. Scarborough graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1978 and earned a Doctor of Ministry Degree from Louisiana Baptist Theological Seminary in 1996. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Houston Baptist University, with a double major in Political Science and Speech. He founded Vision America in 1998.

 

Dr. Scarborough has appeared on Larry King Live, Fox News, CBS Evening News and numerous other television and radio programs. The work of Vision America has been featured in several documentaries and specials such as CNN’s award-winning special, “God’s Warriors,” and the HBO documentary, “Friends of God.” Dr. Scarborough and his wife, Tommye, have two grown children, Misty and Richard, and one daughter in heaven, Kathryn, who finished her assignment here in 2004 at 25 years of age.