On Friday, the President made an extraordinary announcement at the White House. President Trump demanded that the nation’s governors allow churches to reopen, declaring religious services to be essential to the health of the nation.

During a White House press briefing, President Trump said:

“Today, I am identifying houses of worship, churches, synagogues and mosques, as essential places that provide essential services… I call upon governors to allow our churches and places of worship to open right now…

"These are places that hold our society together and keep our people united… Many Americans embrace worship as an essential part of life… In America, we need more prayer, not less.”

To be clear: The president is not ordering churches to open, but he is instructing governors to allow them to open.

I can’t tell you what has been happening behind the scenes in the last couple of days to make this announcement possible. But I am so pleased that God has allowed me to be part of the process that led to this outcome.

I urge all pastors and other religious leaders to rise to the occasion, of course, following prudent rules on how best to safeguard your congregations.

I urge all of you to share this information with your pastor, priest, rabbi or other religious leader right now. Ask how you can help make this happen this Memorial Day weekend or next weekend.

It has been a travesty watching left-wing governors and mayors rule that abortion clinics are essential, that lottery retailers are essential, that pot shops are essential, but that the places where we go to seek God are nothing to these left-wing politicians but disease spreaders.

President Trump just changed that with today’s announcement. Now it is time for our religious leaders to find as much courage by reclaiming their First Amendment rights of freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of religion.