The 2026 Christians for Liberty Conference Experience

On October 17, 2026, the Libertarian Christian Institute hosted its first in-person Christians for Liberty Conference in ten years. The goal was to gather as many libertarian Christians as possible in one room to be challenged, share ideas, celebrate the movement’s progress, and enjoy fellowship. Many libertarian Christians get most of their intellectual nourishment from social media, websites like libertarianchristians.com, and annual conferences like FreedomFest or PorcFest that aren’t specifically Christian. But for the person who cares about the intersection of faith and freedom, a conference like this is an experience worth having.

Cody Cook, the event’s planner and host-in-residence (his church rented us the space), designed the day so attendees had time to meet each other, make new friends, and connect at a deeper level. That time came not only at meals but also in generous breaks between each of the day’s seven sessions. Holding everything in one room helped, and the room came stocked with the LCI bookstore, snacks, and coffee.

LCI Founder and Executive Director Dr. Norman Horn emceed the event. Alex Bernardo kicked off our sessions with what attendees later called his opening sermon, “The Politics and Economics of Cruciformity.” Interviews, solo talks, and panel discussions followed—on topics ranging from Christ’s command to love your enemies being a winning strategy against abusive officials to the future of liberty after “small l” libertarian congressman Thomas Massie’s primary loss. A debate among contributors to LCI’s forthcoming Defending a Free Society weighed which Christian tradition best fits libertarianism, and the day closed with Doug Bandow and Spike Cohen on what a Christian approach to policy might look like.

Those who couldn’t attend can get the sessions online, and they should. But what made the day special happened between sessions. Attendees had the opportunity to meet—in-person—people we had only known online. Audience members talked with speakers, followed up on questions from the sessions, and broke bread together over lunch. I hope we’ll have more opportunities to bring together advocates for faith and freedom in our coming years!