Show-up and Pray: Protect Kindergarten Project
Show-up and Pray: Protect Kindergarten Project
A guest submission by Derek Paul, Executive Director of Identify Ministries and the Transformation Ministries Alliance.
I run a redemptive Christian ministry for former LGBTQ individuals, impacted families, and community members in need of transformational discipleship and support. Two months ago, a new appointment popped up in my email inbox with the comment, “I am looking for support…” This appointment was not from a typical overcomer but instead from a local University Professor looking for Christian support following an incident in her child’s school over-sexualized books.
In our appointment, this parent, Dr. Crystal Marull1, disclosed that she had filled out a form over a sexually explicit book in her child’s school last September. Without warning, the situation escalated where the school board created a court of their own to try parents’ complaints and process challenged library books. Since then, her family was doxed, and her reputation was smeared. She felt alone.
Expecting the Church to come to her aid, Crystal reached out to numerous churches to attend her hearings and provide a spiritual covering—no one came. Eventually, she heard about our local ministry and set up an appointment with one “ask.”
“I don’t know if you will help me. No one has come to my aid yet, but two different people said I should try talking to Identify Ministries. I only want Christians to come to the meetings and pray. These hearings are very dark, and I know this is a spiritual battle.”
She wasn’t asking for political help. She wasn’t asking for anything extravagant. She was asking for the Church to be present and pray.
In the past, I had attended and spoken at a city commission meeting, multiple county commission meetings, and multiple community events, and I knew her current plight. Christians are busy with church and life. Some Christians even hold a life philosophy to remain uninvolved in their community. It would be very hard to help and get commitments for Christians to attend and pray at a government-created event over sexuality because of the conversations it would create and the implications for community relationships.
The day before the hearing, a video of part of Crystal’s previous hearing went viral on LibsofTicTok. The school board had given a DVD of her second hearing to Florida Freedom to Read, which they used to attempt to smear her. For those unfamiliar with LibsofTikTok, the channel scours thousands of posts that lean politically left and reposts them to a more general audience. LibsofTicTok found the video because of the political lobby’s channel and clipped a section of a school official, which went viral and brought Crystal even more into the limelight. This situation was putting more pressure than ever on this mother who just wanted appropriate material for her kid’s school library.
Gratefully, we were able to get five attendees and a videographer to attend and intercede. Crystal was also able to bring a handful of believers to pray. The atmosphere was lighter, but what we observed was shocking.
The court hearing officer, or judge, was hand-selected by the school board to manage the proceedings, an attorney was obtained to defend the school library on behalf of the school board, and Crystal, a concerned parent, was now thrust into a position to defend her book challenge in a made-up court. She was required to bring evidence, inform the court of her witnesses two weeks in advance, and question and cross-examine witnesses, acting as if she were an attorney and the hand-selected court hearing officer would make her determination to the school board.
We prayed outside with Crystal and her new volunteer assistant. We supplied a videographer to record the proceeding for accountability. Our prayer team watched alongside a packed room of LGBT activists, school board employees, and community members. The court hearing officer and attorney for the school board were antagonistic to Crystal and her case, using stall tactics, interrupting her, changing the procedures during the hearing, and refusing to listen to evidence contained in the book itself. More than 2 hours later, the hearing had concluded.
Despite the obvious bias throughout, Crystal maintained her composure and did an excellent job representing the contents of the book to the official and the public for a coming decision. Those on our prayer team were new to this type of event and were shocked at the obvious mistreatment and bias present, but were glad to have attended and gained an enlightening shared experience.
Many Christians never take the opportunity to attend, pray, and see God work in a controversial community situation, but this is exactly where God is needed. Our community members are looking for guidance, hoping for support, and are just as hungry to see their communities restored to sanity as the Church would also desire. Identify Ministries has decided to take up the mantle as intercessors for our kids locally, and we implore you to do the same in your own way. We have created Protect Kindergarten Project, our own “show up and pray” initiative, to get local Christians to stand in the gap and intercede in person for all community activities involved in directing the lives of our kids, especially when sexuality is involved.
Since the hearing mentioned earlier, we have had a team attend and pray at a charter school press conference, two school board meetings, and another book challenge hearing. As a result, there have been a total of 8 of the worst sexual books removed from our children’s school libraries, and it appears the LGBT lobby won’t be receiving video recordings for future smearing of parents. Crystal is continuing to stand in the gap and has even developed a heart for reaching the “other side” for Christ, meeting with community members, and sharing her faith. Our Christian brothers and sisters are waking up and using their God-given authority to be present and pray--we are seeing God move on all sides.
See the condensed hearing (34 min) here:
See the uncut (2.5 hr) hearing here:
Derek Paul is the Network Executive Director for the Transformation Ministries Alliance, a board member of the Voice of the Voiceless, and the Executive Pastor of Identify Ministries. Being an overcomer from gender confusion and overwhelming same-sex attraction for years, Derek finally had a breakthrough in 2010. His local work at Identify Ministries since 2014 focuses on discipleship of those directly impacted by LGBTQ, providing Christian support for families, and trainings for churches and community groups. His national reach focuses on platforming the most transformational leaders and content in the post-LGBT ministry space. Derek resides in North Central Florida with his wife and 3 kids.
Dr. Crystal Marull, the parent in the article, was the Online Professor of the Year for the University of Florida in 2023. She is a certified educator in PA, NJ, and FL for Spanish K-12.She has a media specialist endorsement and is on the School Advisory Council for one elementary school and one high school in Alachua County, serving on the Selection Committee for both school library collections--the county continues to disregard her qualifications in the hearings.