OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — Public comment in open meetings held by the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners often returns to a firm foundation: faith.
"If God is for us, who can be against us," said a resident, referencing the book of Romans during a commissioner's meeting on January 10, 2023.
The comment— and others like it— had its critics, though.
"I like your Jesus. I do not like your Christians," said another, recalling Gandhi. "They are so unlike your Jesus."
A devout collection of farming and lakeshore communities, nearly half the people who live in Ottawa County ascribe to a religion (44%), according to data from the US Religion Census in 2020.
When Ottawa Impact rose to power, deeply-held convictions for some churchgoers were realized as problematic politics for others. Marked by its swift takeover of the county commission—the conservative political action committee stirred up differences in the traditionally red county, separating not only Republican from Democrat, but Christian from Christian.
A new order
On January 10, 2023, Rev. Bart Spencer opened the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners meeting with prayer.
"I'm proud of you folks," said Spencer, standing in the front of a packed-full room. "Let's go to the Lord now."
The previous week, the newly elected commission— led by Ottawa Impact founder Joe Moss— fired its administrator, demoted its health officer, and dismantled the diversity department.
"Ottawa County has been the signal county— we may be a bit biased, Father— but the signal county of this state," Spencer said.
The pastor of Lighthouse Baptist Church in Holland, Spencer made a name for himself during the pandemic, telling his congregants to catch COVID and "get it over with."
"What I preach from up here, I'm going to preach it," he said in an interview with FOX 17, repeatedly mentioning that he's "not mad" at those who disagree with him.
"There has to be an avant-garde somewhere in the growing secular culture [that's] moving further and further away from Christianity," Spencer said.
The combination of faith and conservative politics that Spencer— a self-described "born-again Christian"— takes to the pulpit, he similarly sees in Ottawa Impact.
With a "Soli Deo Gloria" signoff (Latin for 'Glory to God Alone'), OI-endorsed commissioners sign a contract, which references America's "Judeo-Christian heritage" and calls the country "an exceptional nation blessed by God."
Separately, the Ottawa GOP passed a resolution in the previous year, declaring 2023 to be the Year of the Bible, recognizing a "national need to study and apply the teachings of the Holy Scriptures."
The rhetoric of faith, family, and freedom resonated with conservative Christians, including some who raised the commissioners to a biblical, divinely-appointed status.
"Likewise, the authority that you preside over has been delegated to you by Christ," a resident said during a January 24, 2023 meeting.
That same day, another compared criticism of Ottawa Impact to the mocking of Noah before the flood.
"Though the world laughs, keep serving God, keep trusting Jesus, keep pursuing the truth," she said.
The spectrum of Christian Nationalism
For Dr. Kristin Kobes Du Mez, a history professor at Calvin University, Ottawa Impact's style of politics is typical of Christian Nationalism.
"Very generally, it means that America was founded as a Christian nation and it should be defended as such," said Du Mez, connecting the Contract with Ottawa to the ideology.
Beyond a broad definition, though, she says there's difficulty in diagnosing it.
"As scholars, we're talking about a spectrum," Du Mez said. "There are so many Americans who are somewhere in the middle."
While God and Country Patriots may be "harmless" and Christo-Fascists pose a "threat to democracy," both can be considered forms of Christian Nationalism, she says.
"It does mean all kinds of things to all kinds of people," Du Mez said.
Those who ascribe to Christian Nationalism can also cause religious infighting in a way that's "incredibly disruptive to our civil society."
"If you're with us, you're on God's side. If you're against us, you're our enemies and you're the enemies of God," Du Mez said, parroting the discourse.
On its website, Ottawa Impact calls accusations of Christian Nationalism "simply the latest slight of terms and defamation of convenience" and a "national strategy" applied to a "stronghold of conservative thought."
"Am I a Christian Nationalist? By definition, yes," Rev. Bart Spencer said. "I believe everybody ought to be Christian and I believe America ought to come first."
The pastor says the word has been distorted to villainize Republicans who vote their values.
"Define your terms and you're not going to intimidate me with name-calling," Spencer said. "We're to be the best of citizens as Christians. We're also not doormats."
Seeking justice, loving mercy
In late September, people of faith again filled the Ottawa County board room, pleading with commissioners not to cut a food program from the health department's budget.
"What would Jesus have done?" He told us to feed the poor," said one woman.
"You state your purpose is to align with the Word of God, yet your actions betray this every single time," said another resident.
For Rev. Gordon Wiersma, a desire to see affordable housing and diversity led him further into the political realm.
"We talk about doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God," he said, referencing the book of Micah.
The pastor at Hope Church in Holland, Wiersma joined the Ottawa Coalition of Unifying Christians in response to Ottawa Impact.
"We felt that it was very important that there be a different voice in Ottawa County that expressed a different Christian perspective," Wiersma said.
In total, 39 pastors and 455 people have signed on with the group, which doesn't endorse political candidates but instead supports policies that "benefit all our neighbors."
On its website, the coalition also specifically condemns Ottawa Impact's rhetoric: "We reject the notion that our identity as a nation is solely Christian or privileged by God above others."
"This has really been a wake-up call for a number of churches," Wiersma said. "We do need to be more intentionally involved."
Deeply religious, divided
Back in the January board room, discord continued to have its day.
"Just because you're a white Christian conservative does not mean that everybody in this county, everybody in this room thinks the way that you do," said a resident.
"Thank you for returning Ottawa County back to God," said another, seeing a "huge revival" of the silent majority.
The differences in opinion that stepped to the open mic aren't a product of a broken people, according to Pastor Spencer.
"What's the first thing God did with creation? He divided light from darkness. That's the first thing he did," Spencer said.
Somewhere between here and heaven, Dr. Du Mez believes common ground can be found.
"Local politics were all about getting the road paved, building the parks," she said. "With this culture wars framing, we've seen that really change."
"I wish more people understood that there is so much space within a democratic system to live your values."
FOX 17 sent interview requests via email to all six Ottawa Impact-affiliated commissioners and members of the Ottawa GOP. None agreed to be interviewed.
