Equipping & Empowering Churches and Ministries

We exist to equip and empower Gospel-centered churches and ministries to boldly live out their missions and transform culture with the truth.

We exist to...

equip churches and empower Gospel-centered churches and ministries to freely live out their missions so that culture can be transformed by truth.

Image of ADF lawyers in a meeting room.
4,200+

Members

Part of the ADF Church & Ministry Alliance
1,572

Legal matters

ADF attorneys reviewed or assisted CMA members in 2023
15

Supreme Court Wins

ADF has served as legal counsel or co-counsel
90%

Win Rate

Nearly 90% win rate over the last 10 years

We Are the ADF Church & Ministry Alliance

Founded by more than 30 ministry leaders in 1994, Alliance Defending Freedom was established to protect religious freedom, free speech, the sanctity of life, parental rights, and God’s design for marriage.

ADF has advocated for these protections on behalf of churches, artists, students, Christian schools and ministries, and the unborn.

After serving for more than two decades in the courts, ADF saw a trend emerging: churches and ministries were facing increasing hostility from the government and culture but didn’t have access to attorneys who could help them protect their religious freedom.

We established the ADF Church & Ministry Alliance program in 2017 to help churches and ministries navigate these issues. Since its launch, the program has successfully supported thousands of churches and ministries, advocating for their rights and providing them the confidence to continue living out their missions and transforming culture with the truth.

Statement of Faith

The ADF Church & Ministry Alliance is a program that welcomes churches and ministries from various denominations and faith traditions who align with our statement of faith, based on the Apostle's Creed. Although our members represent a diverse array of ministry types, they all share these foundational beliefs.

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic (i.e. universal, whole) Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

Alliance Defending Freedom Doctrinal Distinctives

Also, based on this confession, we are committed to honoring God by obeying the two Greatest Commandments, loving God and loving neighbor, and based on that commitment and derived from the inspired, infallible, inerrant, and authoritative Word of God in Scripture, we profess the following as necessary for living the gospel:

ADF will walk boldly into the wind with resilience and with courage. We will do—as we have done—the hard things to which God has called us with the expectation that He will accomplish His purposes.

Kristen Waggoner

CEO, President & General Counsel

Meet the Team

Don Ziel

SVP of Church & Ministry Alliance and Assistant General Counsel

Tim Chandler

Sr. Counsel, VP of Church & Ministry Alliance Engagement

Valerie Londono

Sr. Counsel, CMA Deputy Director

Sherri Huston

Membership Director

Jordan Schultz

Director of Communications and Operations

David Demirbilek

Legal Counsel

Patrick Piccolo

Legal Counsel

Sierra Brown

Legal Counsel

Abbey Bongiorno

Legal Counsel

Ralph Rodriguez

Legal Counsel

Dana Harris

Member Relations Director

Marcus Harris

Member Engagement Director

Isaiah Turner

Regional Alliance Director

Jacob Asmussen

Regional Alliance Director

Connor Zook

Member Services Administrator

Makinzie Sivak

Communications Manager

Maggie Christensen

Data Manager

Jordan Sattler

Marketing Operations Specialist

Josh Rondael

Project Coordinator

Tina Lacock

Project Coordinator and Assistant

Don Ziel

SVP of Church & Ministry Alliance and Assistant General Counsel

Tim Chandler

Sr. Counsel, VP of Church & Ministry Alliance Engagement

Valerie Londono

Sr. Counsel, CMA Deputy Director

Sherri Huston

Membership Director

Jordan Schultz

Director of Communications and Operations

Don Ziel

SVP of Church & Ministry Alliance and Assistant General Counsel

Tim Chandler

Sr. Counsel, VP of Church & Ministry Alliance Engagement

Valerie Londono

Sr. Counsel, CMA Deputy Director

David Demirbilek

Legal Counsel

Patrick Piccolo

Legal Counsel

Sierra Brown

Legal Counsel

Abbey Bongiorno

Legal Counsel

Ralph Rodriguez

Legal Counsel

Sherri Huston

Membership Director

Dana Harris

Member Relations Director

Marcus Harris

Member Engagement Director

Isaiah Turner

Regional Alliance Director

Jacob Asmussen

Regional Alliance Director

Connor Zook

Member Services Administrator

Jordan Schultz

Director of Communications and Operations

Makinzie Sivak

Communications Manager

Maggie Christensen

Data Manager

Jordan Sattler

Marketing Operations Specialist

Josh Rondael

Project Coordinator

Tina Lacock

Project Coordinator and Assistant