Welcome to the Friday Five! Every Friday we share our top five articles, stories, and quotes for you to read and share with your friends and church families.

We would be very grateful if you could make a donation of $100, $50, $25, or $10 today towards our work producing these Friday Fives and fighting for your values on the public square!

1. NC VALUES: NC Values Hosts Pro-Values Legislative Reception

This week, NC Values had the honor of hosting a legislative reception for members of the General Assembly. We gathered with lawmakers to celebrate shared values and highlight the work ahead. We were especially grateful to hear from Senate Leader Phil Berger, who joined us as a speaker.

Our own Governemnt Affairs Advisor, Joseph Backholm, also interviewed two champions of pro-values legislation: Rep. Balkcom, who spoke about the Parents Medical Bill of Rights (HB 519), and Rep. Jackson, who discussed his bill Promoting Wholesome Content for Students (HB 636). These are just a few of the critical proposals we’re helping move forward.

We’re thankful for the opportunity to educate and engage our elected officials on the values that help society flourish—and we invite you to check out some photos from the event below!

View more: https://ncvalues.org/photos-nc-values-hosts-pro-values-legislative-reception/

2. THANK YOU: To the NC House for Passing a Pro-Life Budget

We’re grateful to the NC House GOP for passing a strong state budget that  PROTECTS LIFE and supports unborn babies and pregnant mothers!

The budget includes $12.5 million to fund life-affirming  Pregnancy Care programs  across North Carolina, including:

✅ $8M to Carolina Pregnancy Care Fellowship for  grants to Pregnancy Care Centers

✅ $2M for the Circle of Care Program

✅ $2M for ultrasound machines & training

✅ $500K to Human Coalition’s Continuum of Care Program

Thank you, NC House Republicans, for investing in real care for unborn children and their mothers!

To learn more about the budget, click here: https://nsjonline.com/article/2025/05/north-carolina-house-unveils-budget-plan/

3. FOX NEWS: Mike Johnson, Donald Trump Get ‘Big, ‘Beautiful’ Win as Budget Passes House

“President Donald Trump’s ‘one big, beautiful bill’ passed the House of Representatives early on Thursday morning with few Republican defections.

It is a significant victory for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who navigated deep inter-party friction within the House GOP Conference to deliver a product from which few Republican lawmakers ultimately defected.

The bill is a sweeping multi-trillion-dollar piece of legislation that advances Trump’s agenda on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt. It’s sought to make a dent in the federal government’s spending trajectory by cutting roughly $1.5 trillion in government spending elsewhere. The U.S. government is over $36 trillion in debt and has spent $1.05 trillion more than it’s collected in the 2025 fiscal year, according to the Treasury Department.”

Read more: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mike-johnson-donald-trump-get-big-beautiful-win-budget-passes-house

4. BILL TO WATCH: HB 116 Proposes Making School Board Elections in Several Counties Partisan

HB 116  is a bill that proposes making school board elections in Gaston, Johnston, and Columbus Counties partisan, following a growing trend across North Carolina. In 2024, 53 out of 115 school districts held partisan school board elections.

Party affiliation helps pro-values voters better understand a candidate’s general values and positions on key education issues. In Johnston County, this change would align school board elections with existing partisan county commissioner races, offering greater consistency for voters.

You invite you to check out the bill for yourself:  https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2025/Bills/House/PDF/H116v3.pdf

5. DAILY WIRE: She Stood Up For Girls, Then Got A SCOTUS Win: Laurel Libby Speaks Out

“The U.S. Supreme Court sided with Maine state Rep. Laurel Libby on Tuesday, after the Republican challenged her punishment from state Democrats for standing up for girls and refusing to back down.

As chronicled by The Daily Wire, Rep. Libby was censured — banned from voting and speaking on the House floor — by Maine Democrats back in February over a Facebook post drawing attention to Maine’s controversial transgender policies. Specifically, the post featured a public image of a boy winning a state championship in high school girls’ pole vaulting.”

Read more: https://www.dailywire.com/news/she-stood-up-for-girls-then-got-a-scotus-win-laurel-libby-speaks-out

Weekly Prayer: Officials

LORD, you also have instructed us to pray for our governing officials, and we come to you in the spirit of this petition. We pray for our state government and its executive, legislative, and judicial servants. May they indeed be servants unto the people, and govern in a manner that protects liberty and virtue. In the same spirit, we pray for public servants across our local governments. May they all heed your mandate in Romans 13:4 to be in positions of authority as “God’s servant” and for the “good” of the public. They govern in what we confess are difficult times. May they plead with you to give them wisdom, and may your grace to govern wisely be poured out on them.

Protect us from the oppression and loss of freedoms that other countries have experienced, and help us to value and preserve freedom, which we know comes only from You.

“I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt.  I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free.” Acts 7:34

Amen

Sincerely,

Tami & Team

NC Values