What follows is the backstory behind this powerful keynote delivered by Pastor Lorenzo Sewell to conclude our first Wisconsin Salt and Light Event.

From the beginning, recruiting Pastor Sewell as our keynote speaker was a primary goal. Part of that motivation came from an ironic personal bond I, John Pudner, felt with him. Pastor Sewell and I both grew up in inner cities that, at the time, ranked 1st and 2nd in per capita murders—Detroit and Richmond, Virginia. As Joshua Green recounts in his book on Steve Bannon, another alumnus of my school, those streets helped shape a working-class, pro-life conservatism that has guided Steve Bannon as well as my life and work.

At the Wisconsin Faith and Freedom Coalition, we had not planned to hold our first Salt and Light Event until next year. That changed when Our America approached us and offered to underwrite a January event if we would organize and publicize it. That unexpected opportunity set the stage for what became an extraordinary gathering—and an unforgettable keynote.

We also did not initially plan to host a VIP-style event like the North Carolina, Iowa, and Georgia Faith and Freedom Salt & Light gatherings that draw thousands. Still, there was one speaker I wanted to pursue. Although I had never met Pastor Sewell until this year, I felt a strong connection rooted in our similar upbringings—each of us shaped by life in cities surrounded by murders during our youth.

As Pastor Sewell recounts in his keynote, his father is serving a prison sentence for murder, and he was the student of Detroit murderers himself before being saved. During one week of my own youth in Richmond, three murders occurred within a block of my home where I delivered newspapers. That formative environment is referenced in Joshua Green’s book about Steve Bannon running President Trump’s first campaign, where he interviews me on pages 50 and 51 about how those experiences molded a pro-life, working-class conservatism.

We were truly humbled when Lorenzo’s wife and organizer, Molly Sewell, agreed to our request. We knew Pastor Sewell could easily have commanded a significant speaking fee elsewhere—or simply stayed home to preach at his own church in Detroit—rather than boarding a flight over Lake Michigan to join us.

Yesterday, we posted the first three videos from the inaugural Wisconsin Salt and Light Event. You can still watch those by clicking here. Each of those speeches built toward the event’s powerful conclusion, beginning with Dr. Virginia Pratt’s compelling account of her work building conservative support in inner-city communities, followed by her introduction of Pastor Sewell.

Pastor Sewell is widely known for the moment President Trump visited his inner-city Detroit church, where the applause was so overwhelming that the television network cut the audio feed—preventing viewers nationwide from hearing the enthusiastic response from the congregation.

Excerpts from both Dr. Pratt’s and Pastor Sewell’s speeches appear below.

And just when it seemed the first-ever Wisconsin Salt and Light Event could not reach a higher point, four-time Governor Tommy Thompson called as soon as he landed at Chicago O’Hare and hour away—after a week of nationwide travel disruptions—and I departed the church with the Sewells. I was so glad he was able to tell Pastor Sewell how much he had enjoyed the links I had sent him of some of Pastor Sewell’s prayers.

Speaker: Dr. Virginia Pratt, WIFFC Director of Community Outreach 

Good evening family. Good evening faith and freedom Coalition light event. Thank you! First of all, I get honored to God who is ahead of my life. I thank him tonight for this opportunity to stand before you, father, God, Jesus, and your people father God. Jesus as we come here, I promised the (WIFFC) president (John Pudner), I will not stay here below tonight for you guys. I won’t take a long time, I promise you that, so I’ll talk briefly about my other Journey.

(1:50 mark) Every day (WIFFC State Director) Spencer (LaVerde) or (School Choice Coalitions Director) Chris Lawrence over there (pointing to crowd) would say, “You gotta get up out there and go knock on them doors … You got to take pictures with people. … you’ll see me out there, cold, shaky with the people. They were welcoming. They were glad to know I was out there, especially a black female out there knocking doors for Trump.

(3:26 mark) It is a privilege to introduce Pastor Lorenzo Sewell. We are truly blessed. The word of God reminds us in Matthew chapter 5, verse 13-16, that we all call to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world to shine in dark places so that God may be glorified. Tonight, God has sent a vessel who lives out that calling. All the way from Detroit, Michigan. Thank you, Jesus. A city known for resilient faith and strength. Pastor Sewell is a servant of God who stands boldly in truth and walks homely in love. He carries the word rooted in conviction, compassion, and purpose, and he is accompanied by his lovely wife Molly this evening. And we honor and welcome her as well as we are grateful for their presence and their partnership and Ministry family. I invite you to open your hearts, prepare to receive what the Lord has placed in his servant for this hour. Please help me welcome love here. Honor Pastor Lorenzo so well. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Speaker: Pastor Lorenzo Sewell 

(5:11 mark) And thank you so much! Thank you so much! I have a.ton of text and a teaspoon of time, so I want to go right to 1st Samuel. 

(5:37 mark) As I was praying and interceding today about. Why would Jesus would have me here? I was with the President yesterday, Vice President Vance the week before, and I was with the President the week before that in Detroit. I was seeking the Lord and asking him Lord, why would you have me here? In Wisconsin for such a time as this. The Holy Spirit. He has a mandate.

(7:11 mark) But if you want to know Jesus, you can know him today. But if you know Jesus Christ? As your lord and savior. Too much is given, much is required. Jesus only has one solution. There is only one solution for this nation. And it’s his. There is no other solution. There is no other plan. There’s not a donkey. There’s not an elephant. There’s only a lamb that has been slain for the sin of the world. He’s the only hope – come on if you believe that put your hands together. He is the only hope.

(8:17 mark) And I thank God for the woman that he’s called to be my help me give it up for my, my wife, Molly Sewell. Come on! Amen! Come on, honey! Can you stance everyone can see you? Amen! I thank God for my wife. My Molly. Amen. And God was looking to solve her problem, so he burned a woman named Hannah to have a prophet. Now, the prophet’s job was to hold the Kings accountable. 

(13:23 mark) Politics is all about numbers. It’s all about math. This is what politics is. It’s all about righteously regulating resources. And the church is the only entity that has built inside of us in eternal reason to righteously regulate the resources … That’s why you tell young people to get involved in politics, you tell them to get involved in politics. You go and pull out their paycheck. This is how you get young people.

You going, you say? Let me see your paycheck. You see that you see that federal tax? Do you care about who makes the decisions over that money? That’s why you gotta be involved in politics. This is how you use new bait to catch a new fish. We can’t keep using the same bait. 

You have to be able to teach them and show them that somebody’s regulating their resources. And don’t you believe, you should be the one at the table. I don’t want to be on the menu. I want to be at the table. Do you know the difference? Do you know when you’re on the menu? Somebody made a decision for you. But when you’re at the table, you’re making decisions.

(21:15 mark) Jesus Christ, the son of God. He brought President Trump to my church to 400,000 places to Worship in America. Some places are sanctuaries. Some places are Cathedrals. You have temples. You have all different types of places where people worship. Why would he pick my church here? It is because the same day that President Trump came to my church, Ramon Jackson walked up to me and said I was voted for illegally. I want you to think about that for a second. 

I want you to think about a kid born and raised on the east side of Detroit. I was mentored by murderers, a student of the street. My dad is in prison for murder. Jesus saved my life, and he brings the president there. And then, a man tasked me on the shoulder and says, I’m not here. For President Trump, I’m here for you. They voted for me illegally. He said, not only me, but there are several people in our community. I know a pattern. I can see the pattern Pastor, my team, we will come to Milwaukee. We came here. Once we’ll come, we’ll go in the hood. We’ll knock on the doors  … go to 200 East Wells Street, Room 501 (to get the voting list). That’s the election commission (note, this address is nine blocks from WIFFCs first headquarters which was at 1100 E. Wells Street). 

(26:10 mark) We will stand up and say, this is why I vote the way I do. This is what I believe, and this is why I believe it. Do it for Your Glory. Do it for Your honor. Do it for You to be magnified. And we trust you. We believe it. We know you’re able. In Jesus name. Man and hey, man, come on, put your hands together and give you a great God. Great, great glory.

Speaker: Pastor Paul Hoover, WIFFC Chair & Souls Harbor Baptist Church

(26:51 mark) Thank you so much for being here tonight. Let’s give a hand to all those that were involved with making this event happen. We appreciate their work.I feel inspired. I hope you do too, but the work begins. It’s gonna take work and it’s going to start with prayer. It’s going to start with prayer. We got to do everything that he just said. Everything you just said is what we need to be doing, or we’re going to lose it, so God bless you. Thank you so much for being here tonight. That concludes everything. 

If you would take an opportunity to go to the booths in the back. We have Turning Point USA has a booth back there as he was talking about Charlie Kirk. I want to point out the folks that are involved. John Harbison from National Faith and Freedom – we’re so thankful that he made time to be here, as well as John Pudner and Chris O’Brien from the Wisconsin Faith and Freedom Coalition..

Postscript

As John Pudner led Pastor Lorenzo and Molly Sewell out of the church after they had greeted everyone, the phone rang. It was four-time Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson calling to say that after all the disruptions from the massive storm across the U.S., he had finally landed at Chicago O’Hare — just an hour away from the event. If he had landed even two hours earlier, he could have attended and given remarks.

Many attendees had been asking organizers whether Governor Thompson would make it.

Governor Thompson quickly asked that Lorenzo and Molly be put on speakerphone. He told them how much he had enjoyed the links John had forwarded of Lorenzo’s past prayers and public speeches. The three had a wonderful conversation on the drive away from the event — a perfect and unexpected cap to what was truly a historic first Wisconsin Faith and Freedom Salt and Light event.