Charlie Kirk always wanted to be remembered for “courage for my faith,” so it’s only fitting that more than 100 million people around the world heard the good news that Jesus Christ saves at his memorial service on Sunday.
The most powerful moment of the memorial occurred when Charlie’s widow, Erika Kirk, announced she forgave the 22-year-old man accused of assassinating her husband. Less than two weeks after her husband was taken from her, Erika publicly committed to releasing resentment and embracing healing only possible through her faith.
“Father, forgive them, for they not know what they do,” Erika said, quoting the words Jesus Christ uttered as he was crucified.
Long before Erika demonstrated the most central and essential Christian virtue from the stage, however, those attending and tuned into the service heard the life-saving message of God’s unconditional love through the sacrifice of his son.
The memorial started with more than an hour of worship focused on spreading “the faith that Charlie had in our great God.” By the time the eulogy portion of the service began, the in-person and online audiences had already heard truths such as “Great are you, Lord,” “great is thy faithfulness,” and “There’s salvation in your name: Jesus Christ, my living hope.”
The speakers who took the stage soon after spent much of their time pointing their fellow mourners back to the life-saving message of the cross and emphasizing the eternal truths held by Christians across the globe.
Charlie’s pastor, Rob McCoy, not only declared Jesus Christ as the gathering’s “guest of honor,” but also hailed him as the “the King of glory,” “the Prince of Peace,” “the Savior of the world,” “the living God … of all mercy and grace,” and “the total embodiment of love, the total embodiment of truth.”
“And He’s here today to call His children back to Him,” McCoy added.
Frank Turek, a Christian author and apologist, celebrated that his friend is in Heaven, “not because he was a great husband and father” and “not because he sacrificed himself for his savior,” but because “his savior sacrificed himself for Charlie Kirk.”
The Charlie Kirk Show Executive Producer Andrew Kolvet used his speaking time to remind the audience that, for Christians like Kirk, death on Earth means the beginning of life in eternity.
“Friends, look around you. We’ve been worshiping. We’ve been singing. We’ve been joyful. Our hearts are grieving. But we do not grieve as the world grieves. Because it says in scripture, ‘Oh death, where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting? Christ has overcome death,’” he said.
During his speech, Secretary of State Marco Rubio used a recap of Creation, the Fall, and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to affirm that Christians will see Charlie again.
“We were all created by the hands of the God of the universe, who loved us created us to live with Him in eternity. But then sin entered the world and separated us from our Creator. So God took on the form of a man and came down and lived among us, and He suffered like men, and He died like a man. But on the third day He rose unlike any mortal man … And when He returns, there will be a new Heaven and a new earth and we are going to have a great reunion there again with Charlie,” Rubio explained.
Eric Trump used the account in Acts of the first martyr, Stephen, to infer that Charlie too “saw the son of God standing tall to welcome him home.”
President Donald Trump also affirmed that “Charlie has been reunited with his Creator in Heaven.”
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reminded the funeral-goers that Charlie was a “warrior for country, a warrior for Christ” whose life and death should inspire Christians to do the same.
“He ran the race. He finished the fight. Now it’s our turn. My charge to all of you, live worthy of Charlie Kirk’s sacrifice and put Christ at the center of your life as he advocated for giving his,” Hegseth continued.
In just 12 days, Charlie’s martyrdom sparked a new kind of revival. Mourners at home and abroad marched and sang praises to God in Charlie’s honor. Christians who walked away from church were suddenly inspired by his assassination to venture back. Even people who never believed in God or cracked open a Bible before found themselves pulled to the pews.
Vice President J.D. Vance confirmed the widespread spiritual awakening from the stage on Sunday when he admitted that he has “talked more about Jesus Christ in the past two weeks than I have my entire time in public life.
“That is an undeniable legacy of the great Charlie Kirk,” Vance proclaimed.
As Tucker Carlson noted in his speech, the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection is not easily subdued.
“This gathering and God’s presence, God’s very obvious presence in this room, the presence of Jesus, is a reminder of what we’ve known for 2,000 years, which is any attempt to extinguish the light causes it to burn brighter — every single time. So, as we proceed into whatever comes next, and clearly something is coming next, remember this moment,” Carlson concluded.
Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on X @jordanboydtx.
