Charlie and Erika Kirk Reflect on Faith, Family, and Fighting for America's Future
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Charlie and Erika Kirk Reflect on Faith, Family, and Fighting for America's Future
Charlie and Erika Kirk open up about the personal sacrifices, spiritual battles, and marriage principles that sustained them through one of the most challenging years of their lives. From honoring the Sabbath while traveling the country to raising two children under two, the Kirks share how biblical roles, prayer, and unwavering faith carried them through an election season that felt deeply personal. Erika shares her heart on biblical womanhood, the importance of accountability in faith, and her ministry Bible in 365, while Charlie challenges young men to stop acting like grown boys and start embracing the responsibilities of provision, protection, and sacrifice.
Erika Kirk took the stage with gratitude and emotion, sharing her perspective on a year that tested her family in ways most will never see. While millions watched Charlie Kirk battle on college campuses and lead Turning Point USA through a pivotal election season, Erika held down the home front, raised two children under two, and witnessed her husband's obedience to God firsthand.
Charlie credited everything to Erika, acknowledging that without her strength and support, none of his work would be possible. "I would not have been able to do any of it without Erika and that's the real truth," he said. "Going into battle, going into campuses, traveling the country, people that want us dead, and they smear you and slander you, and Erika is holding down the fort at home."
The couple reflected on how their year began. A year prior at AmericaFest, Charlie had declared from the stage, "Here I am Lord, send me." What followed was a year of trials that started immediately. "We got so sick we didn't have Christmas last Christmas. We had Domino's Pizza for Christmas," Erika recalled. She remembered telling Charlie after his speech, "Honey, do you realize what you just did? You said here I am. That is a very powerful statement and God's like I see you."
The Stakes of the 2024 Election
For the Kirk family, the 2024 election was deeply personal. Charlie and Erika both acknowledged that the outcome felt like a matter of survival for their family and their ministry. "Who knows what our life would have looked like if Kamala Harris would have become president," Charlie said. "They would have come after Turning Point, they would have come after us personally. And so we just say glory to God."
On election night, when Donald Trump was announced as president-elect, the Kirks were speechless. The moment captured on video showed a couple who had left everything on the field, fighting not just for a political outcome, but for their family's future and their ability to continue their work.
Biblical Roles and Marriage Principles
Throughout their conversation, both Charlie and Erika emphasized the importance of understanding and embracing biblical roles within marriage. Erika explained, "We understand our biblical roles in our marriage. He is the head of the household and I am not a servant, I am not a slave to the master, I am his helpmate. I am the guardian of the home. That is my domain."
She described their home as more than just four walls. "Those four walls are for when he comes home after battling and building. Those four walls are where we're creating our child's childhood, which is so special."
The couple shared practical habits that keep their marriage strong, including daily questions: "How can I be praying for you? Is there anything I can do for you to help make your day better?" Erika said she always wants to create "an easy soft landing pad" for Charlie when he comes home from battle.
The Importance of the Sabbath
One discipline the Kirks have maintained throughout the year is honoring the Sabbath. Charlie mentioned he only missed three Sabbaths all year, despite his demanding travel schedule. "For six days you shall work, on the seventh day you shall rest," he said, quoting scripture. "We do a really bad job of that as American Christians. We do a horrible job of honoring the Sabbath."
The Hebrew word Shabbat means "to stop, to cease all of activity," Charlie explained. For the Kirks, this means no phones, no technology, just family time. Erika added, "I could be traveling for six days, but as long as we get one Sabbath, it makes up for all those six days. It's quality over quantity."
Advice for Young Women Seeking Biblical Womanhood
When asked about how to win back young women to traditional values and biblical principles, Erika emphasized the role of the church in teaching Titus 2 principles to women. "Being a woman does not make me a better Christian or a certain Christian, but being a Christian makes me a very different woman," she said, quoting Elizabeth Elliot.
Her advice to young women was direct: "Be the woman that your future husband deserves. Be the woman that God wants you to be. You don't have to be out partying. Don't be crazy thinking like I'm running out of time when your God is the author of time, so just chill. You're going to find your human. God knows your timing."
She encouraged young people to place themselves in environments "conducive towards swimming in a stream of significance," surrounded by people who pour into them and love them.
A Challenge to Young Men
Charlie delivered a pointed message to young men in the audience. "You need to stop acting like grown boys and infants and actually become men," he said. "It is not attractive how much liquor you can drink or how many drugs you could do or how many women you've slept with. It's actually not interesting at all."
He emphasized that becoming a man means being able to support a family, do difficult things, and bear obligations. "We have created a condition where it's okay for men to kind of continue to stay in that infant stage," he said.
Charlie challenged the notion that drinking heavily is compatible with high performance, pointing out that many successful people including Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump don't drink alcohol. "Your mornings are easier, way easier to keep off weight, and immediately you become more focused and a much more clear thinker about the problems in front of you," he explained. "You'll save a ton of money as well. People say I'm broke. Like really, how much you spend on liquor a week?"
He went deeper, explaining that substance use is ultimately about availability: "If you get super drunk you're telling the world I actually don't have that much important stuff going on. When you don't drink, you're like I am willing to serve my neighbor, my friend, my spouse, my sister at any time."
The Biblical Role of Fathers
As a father of two children under two, Charlie shared his evolving understanding of biblical fatherhood. "You are tasked to protect them both physically, spiritually, and emotionally," he said. "You're not above any of the duties or the tasks or the roles, but you as a father and as the provider, you need to get your act together so much that your wife never has a financial pressure ever on the family."
His message to men was uncompromising: "You do not spend a dime on video games or sports games or things for yourself until your wife does not have to worry about finances. You come last than the family when it comes to finances, period. That is your job. Your wife gets whatever she wants, whatever she wants. The kids get whatever they want."
He acknowledged the challenge but refused to accept excuses. "I hear all the time they like, well, it's really hard to meet ends meet. Like let's go get a beer. No reason actually to do that. You are tasked with the provider. Oh, you want all the benefits of being called the head of the household but now the responsibilities or the obligations? It comes with a lot of responsibilities."
Charlie spoke from experience about how fatherhood unlocks new levels of capacity: "Once you have kids there is this primal thing that comes into you where if you think you have worked hard before, when you have to go feed a child and provide for a family, you are willing to go to the ends of the Earth and push yourself in ways that you never thought possible."
A Prayer for Dennis Prager
During the conversation, Charlie asked the audience to pray for Dennis Prager, who he revealed was hospitalized in serious condition. "Dennis is in a very serious circumstance right now and deserves our prayers, that God might heal him and God might bring him back to this stage right here on AmericaFest at some point, because we need Dennis Prager in this country," Charlie said. "Dennis Prager is an American hero."
Bible in 365 Ministry
Erika shared about her ministry, Bible in 365, which helps people read the entire Bible in one year through daily texts and emails. The program breaks down scripture into manageable seven-minute portions including Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs.
"We have over 180,000 that have gone through the program since it started," Erika said. "Lives have been changed, people have given their lives to Christ, marriages have been formed."
The ministry began in 2016 when Erika decided for the first time to read the Bible cover to cover. She invited a friend, Jess, to join her as an accountability partner. "Every day we would check in. What did you learn today? Which commentary did you use for this?" The program grew organically from that small beginning.
The ministry became especially meaningful after Erika's grandfather passed away near the end of her first year reading through scripture. "I just prayed on, God, what direction do you want to take this?" That's when she and Jess decided to expand their small accountability group, which eventually grew into the ministry that now serves hundreds of thousands.
"We get prayer requests and praise reports," Erika said. "I look at Charlie and I'm like, this is what it's all about. We get to be a part of people's faith journey. That's so special."
The Word for 2025
When asked what his word for 2025 would be, after declaring "Here I am" in 2024, Charlie's answer was simple: "Thank you. Honestly, thank you to God, thank you to our creator for sparing us from this terror. I don't have anything more profound than that honestly. I'm just still kind of in this constant state of gratitude."
He explained that his posture before the election was the same as after: "God, what is your will? If your will is to see this country go into the judgment that we deserve, then we will praise you."
Charlie also expressed excitement for the off-election year ahead. "I love reading, I love studying. I can finally get back to my hundreds of books a year. I kind of got off that this last year because I was just too busy reading the news and looking at polling and turnout data and precinct by precinct modeling."
A Final Message of Gratitude
Erika closed with encouragement for the AmericaFest attendees. "We have been given such a beautiful blessing on a platter, on a silver platter, and it's up to us to really just continue to build and be leaders and know that we obviously were made for such a time as this, but truly just own it and be out there, be the hands and the feet."
She encouraged boldness in faith: "Don't be afraid to talk about your faith. Be bold. Don't be afraid to say yes, okay, you voted for Donald Trump, but more importantly you're a Christian and you're here for a purpose. Your role is to make Heaven crowded. That's why you're here. We're just here recruiting."
Erika also expressed deep gratitude to Charlie's supporters. "Thank you for supporting my husband and being there for him. Behind the scenes I get to see the team get so excited when new members sign up. As a wife, I can't even put that into words. Truly from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being the reason why AmericaFest and Turning Point USA and my husband and the way they've been able to build things. Thank you for being a part of that."
