As faith and politics increasingly intersect in America, South African international evangelist Lindy-Ann Hopley says Christians should be asking a question more fundamental than which candidate, political party, pastor, or influencer they support: Who are they following?
“We can only go as far as our teachers go, so we must ask ourselves, who are we following?” Hopley told The Dallas Express during an exclusive interview at the Republican National Committee’s first-ever midterm convention in Dallas.
For Hopley, founder of Beautiful Witness Ministries, the answer begins with knowing Jesus Christ personally, testing teachings against Scripture, examining the fruit of those claiming spiritual authority, and remaining in fellowship with other believers.
“There are a lot of teachers out there, but there is one teacher of all teachers,” Hopley said. “There is one King of all kings, one Lord of all lords.”
A Dream of Revival in America
Hopley’s ministry grew from what she describes as a life-changing encounter with Jesus after a period of profound personal brokenness.
“I was completely broken at the time,” she said. “Wilder than the zoo. But He picked me up, turned me around, and placed my feet on solid ground.”
Hopley reported that she was in America in January 2020, just before the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic began. She shared that God gave her a vivid dream about a revival coming to the United States.
At the time, “I didn’t think there was a place for God in government,” Hopley said.
She came to reconsider that belief after examining the Bible and the role believers played in public and governmental affairs.
“America needs an awakening,” Hopley said. “It’s known religion, but not the living God.”
Hopley later noted witnessing signs of the spiritual revival she envisioned after the September 2025 assassination of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk.
Faith Returns to the Public Square
Faith has also taken a more visible role in the federal government under President Donald Trump.
Trump established the White House Faith Office in February 2025, directing it to work with faith-based organizations, houses of worship, and federal agencies on religious-liberty issues.
His administration also created a Justice Department Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias and later established a Religious Liberty Commission tasked with examining threats to religious liberty and protections for Americans of different faiths.
For Hopley, entering a political environment does not mean Christians must transform their faith into partisan politics.
“When I went into the brothels in Amsterdam, you didn’t ask me if I were a prostitute now,” she said. “When I went to schools to preach, you didn’t ask me if I were a student now. So, why ask me if I am political when I go to be a light of Jesus in the political realm?”
“Are we not the light of the world no matter where in the world we are seen?” she asked.
The bottom line, according to Hopley, is: “If you’re not going to lead, someone else will.”
Sharia Concerns Surface at RNC Convention
Hopley also pointed to Islam and its intersection with politics as a reason she believes Christians cannot simply withdraw from public life.
“Right now, we have Islam, which carries with it a political agenda and a takeover,” Hopley said.
Her remarks came as concerns surrounding Sharia and political Islam were receiving attention around the Dallas convention.
On September 9, the opening day of the RNC gathering, The Dallas Express hosted a screening of Remember the Alamo: Don’t Sharia My Texas at the W Dallas in Victory Park, near American Airlines Center.
The screening was followed by a panel featuring several speakers, including journalist Lara Logan, filmmaker Christopher Burgard, and co-founder of The Dallas Express and host of the Let’s Talk Local podcast Sarah Zubiate-Bennett.
The larger debate requires a distinction between Muslims exercising their constitutionally protected religious faith and political movements seeking to give religious law governmental or coercive authority.
That distinction arose during a Plano Mosque event covered by DX earlier this year. A Muslim outreach leader told attendees that “Sharia is already here.” An Iran-born Christian outside the gathering warned about the consequences she had witnessed when Islamic law became intertwined with government.
For Hopley, however, the issue ultimately returns to whether Christians genuinely live what they profess.
“If we are not revealing a God that is alive, that’s living, that’s moving in power, then we are just another religion,” she said. “But the difference between our God is that He raised from the dead, so He is still living today.”
False Teachers and ‘Sound Doctrine’
Hopley also warned Christians to scrutinize those who claim biblical authority.
“The Bible is a manual for us, but most of us don’t read the manual anymore,” she said. “God says we will know them by their fruit.”
Her warning parallels biblical passages concerning false teachers and doctrine, including Matthew 7:15-20 and 2 Timothy 4:3, which warns of a time when people “will not endure sound doctrine.”
That question has become particularly relevant in Texas politics as Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico increasingly presents his political philosophy through a skewed Christian framework.
Talarico speaks frequently about loving God and one’s neighbor. Yet, theological and political positions have drawn stark criticism from Christians who say Talarico’s beliefs are in direct conflict with Scripture.
As DX previously reported, Talarico’s longtime Austin church has listed Planned Parenthood Greater Texas among organizations receiving financial support through its benevolence budget. Talarico has also publicly defended abortion rights.
The Dallas Express separately reported on resurfaced audio in which Talarico called himself “a Christian who hates Christianity.”
Hopley’s warning applied more broadly to anyone Christians allow to shape their understanding of God.
“You have to know who Jesus is,” she said. “You need to meet Him yourself.”
‘The Enemy Will Isolate Us’
Knowing Scripture alone does not eliminate the need for other believers, Hopley stressed.
“We must not forsake the fellowship of saints,” she said. “We must see the fruit of the lives of the people it is that we are listening to and following.”
“The reality is the enemy will isolate us,” she continued. “Iron sharpens iron, so we need to go to church as the army and children of God, and then to go out.”
She wants churches not merely to attract spectators but to equip Christians to take their faith outside church walls.
“Someone else will always challenge us to more,” Hopley said. “Someone can pull the gold out of us.”
“I want to see the power come back into the church, the manifestation of the Kingdom,” she said.
Through the Beautiful Witness Bootcamp, Hopley trains Christians in areas including prayer, evangelism, identity, and sharing their faith.
Her book, Beautiful Witness: One Woman’s True Story of Redemption, Revival, and the Reckless Love of God, recounts her own journey from brokenness to ministry, including evangelistic outreach among prostitutes in Amsterdam’s red-light district.
For Christians wondering what role they have in a country where politics, religion, and competing interpretations of Christianity increasingly collide, Hopley’s advice is simple.
“Ask God, ‘God, what did You call me to do?’”
God already knows why a person is here, Hopley added.
The question is whether they will ask.
“All of Heaven is cheering you on,” she said.
Provided by Dallas Express
