Current Vice President Mike Pence arrived in Dallas Sunday morning wearing a mask to attend the First Baptist Church Dallas as a special guest speaker at their annual "Celebrate Freedom Sunday" event.
Vice President Pence celebrated freedom with 2,200 congregants of the First Baptist Church Dallas with an additional 535,000 viewers online.
"The foundation of America is freedom, and the foundation of freedom is faith," Pence shared in his 30-minute speech.
Pence continued to encourage congregants and suggested to start praying for America again. "In these challenging times, let's hold fast to freedom...and to faith. Let's start praying for America again."
"From day one, President Trump has protected the freedom of all Americans. Only the nations that have the Lord as their God are blessed," Pence shared.
Pence was criticized by some for showing up at an in-person service in Dallas when the number of confirmed coronavirus cases were rising there.
Robert Jeffress, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas and also the member of President Donald Trump's Evangelical Advisory Board and White House Faith Initiative, praised the Trump Administration for enacting "the most pro-life, pro-religious liberty, pro-Israel, pro-conservative judiciary in the history of America."
Jeffress showed admiration for Vice President Pence when introducing him to the stage as a "man of deep faith" who "believes in the power of prayer despite being ridiculed for his faith" and is "a champion of religious liberty in our country and around the world."
Despite rather political initiations, Pastor Jeffress confirmed that this event was not a campaign rally.
In an interview with Baptist Press Jeffress said, "Anybody who would categorize this as a campaign rally I would just say I've never seen a campaign rally where there was a plan of salvation given, and a prayer of salvation offered for those who wanted to trust in Christ."
When Pastor Jeffress was asked to respond to those who believe masks infringe on their freedom, Jeffress said that it is "ludicrous" and that "there's nothing political about wearing a mask" and that it's a medical issue.
"I think people who have common sense realize a mask doesn't only protect them, but it protects those around them as well. And as Christians especially, we're supposed to be concerned not just for ourselves but the well-being of our weaker brother. In this case -- those who might be more susceptible to the virus."
