The rise of the cancel culture from progressive ideology has infiltrated and affected virtually every segment of society in America. Conservatives in government, media, education, business and even the judiciary have long battled its repeated attempts to silence and ban viewpoints that do not align with its liberal dogma.
In recent years, the highly organized leftists have aimed some of their most extreme ire against nonprofit, faith-based organizations that take a Biblical stance on key moral issues such as same-sex marriage, transgenderism and abortion.
A large component of their strategy has targeted the large amount of data and information of Christian organizations. Increasingly, there is a huge risk involved for ministries that store their information with large service providers that are decidedly hostile to Christian belief.
Already, one very large and prominent Christian organization committed to defending religious liberties has been the victim of cancellation by an influential and widely used IT application. Many other ministries may soon be the next victims.
This is why Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) have put together a state-of-the art data center that provides ministries with a safe, reliable place to protect and safeguard their ability to freely communicate the Gospel without the growing fear of termination due to their religious beliefs.
Located in the Western United States, the Samaritan Ark is housed in a tier-3 facility designed to keep operating even in the event of a large-scale natural disaster. It was built and prepared with the vision of hosting like-minded Christian ministries with a viable alternative to secular web-based services.
“Of course, we live in this cancel culture that wants to destroy Christian organizations,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse and BGEA. “They want to shut our mouths. They don’t want to hear from us. Now, if you don’t preach the Gospel, you don’t have anything to worry about. If you are not going to talk about sin, you don’t have anything to worry about. But if you preach and proclaim the Gospel, they’re going to try and do everything they can to silence you.”
Recently, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee under ranking member Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) held an investigative hearing on how web-based services have unilaterally cancelled high-profile Christian organizations. In a press release, the committee said, “Over the past several years, an alarming, widespread phenomenon has developed. Woke companies, from social media platforms to banks, and payment processors to restaurants, have used their structural power to silence conservatives and deny them access to goods and services the companies readily make available to liberal Americans.”
The executive summary from that hearing went on to say, “The ideal solution is for market forces to correct Online Service Providers’ discriminatory policies. If Online Service Providers continue to cancel conservative organizations, it should create a new demand for Online Service Providers that service the conservative market.”
The Samaritan Ark data center has been built for that very purpose, to provide a resource for ministries to store their data in order to continue vital, daily operations in sharing the Gospel. It provides an independent, cloud-based platform that hosts data outside secular web services that can quickly cancel ministry operations. It also contains the donor application software, Innkeeper, where ministry information on supporters can safely run.
“We provide a place, a platform and product,” said Bill Maupin, vice president of Information Systems at Samaritan’s Purse and BGEA. “It is a safe place for ministries to house their critical data. This is a great opportunity for other ministries to partner with us and remain busy about the work of God’s Kingdom when the world is seeking to silence us.”
At the heart of the Samaritan Ark is the passion to evangelize the world until the very return of the Lord Jesus Christ. It allows ministries the opportunity to continue to freely communicate their Gospel message even in times of grave secular opposition and hostility.
“When we began constructing the Samaritan Ark, Franklin Graham told me that when the time comes that a radical government or left-leaning tech monopoly is threatening to shut everything down, he wanted the opportunity to share the Gospel for just ‘five more minutes,’” Maupin recalled. “He wanted just five last minutes to preach the saving Gospel of Christ so some would repent and put their faith in Jesus. Even if only a few people did so, it would be all worth it.
