Erika Kirk’s Tribute: ‘Let Charlie’s Miracle Be Your Turning Point’
The following remarks were made by Erika Kirk, wife of the late Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk, on Sept. 21 during Kirk’s memorial service held at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
God bless all of you for coming here from all over the world, to honor and celebrate my Charlie. Just a few miles from here, two years ago at America Fest 2023, Charlie delivered a speech on stage for our TP USA Faith event. Charlie loves speaking off the cuff. He's very good at that, without a script. So I personally didn't know what he was going to say. And what he chose to speak about that day was his submission to the will of God. He quoted one of his favorite Bible verses, Isaiah 6:8. “Here I am, Lord. Send me.”
After Charlie finished, I met him backstage and I spoke to him. And I'll never forget this. I said, “Charlie, baby, please talk to me next time before you say that statement. Because when you say something like that, there is so much power in that verse when you say.”
“Here I am, Lord, use me.” God will take you up on that. And he did with Charlie.
Eleven days ago. God accepted that total surrender from my husband and then called him to his side. More than anything, Charlie wanted to do, not his will, but God's will. And over these past 11 days, through all the pain, never before have I found as much comfort as I now do. And the words of Our Lord's Prayer: Thy will be done. God's love was revealed to me on the very day my husband was murdered.
On the afternoon of Sept. 10th, I arrived at a Utah hospital to do the unthinkable. To look directly at my husband's murdered body. I saw the wound that ended his life. I felt everything you would expect to feel. I felt shock. I felt horror and a level of heart ache that I didn't even know existed. But there was something else too. Even in death, I could see the man that I love. I saw the one single gray hair on the side of his head, which I never told him about.
Now he knows. Sorry, baby, telling you now. But never told him. Didn't want to. I also saw this. I also saw on his lips the faintest smile. And that told me something important. It revealed to me a great mercy from God in this tragedy. When I saw that, it told me Charlie didn't suffer. Even the doctor told me it was something so instant that even if Charlie had been shot in the operating room, in itself, nothing could have been done. There was no pain there. There's no fear, no agony. One moment Charlie was doing what he loved. Arguing and debating on campus. Fighting for the gospel. Truth in front of a big crowd. And then he blinked. He blinked and saw his savior in Paradise. And all the heavenly mysteries were revealed to him.
God's love continued to be revealed to me in the days that followed. The next day on the tarmac in Air Force Two, I confronted Usha Vance, precious woman. I held her hand and I told her honestly, I do not know how I am going to get through this. She told me something. She said, “You know, when you're on an airplane with your kids and it's the last 15 minutes of the flight and things are crazy. Kids are not cooperating, toys are flying everywhere, and everyone's screaming. And you think to yourself, I cannot wait for this flight to land. And it's 15 minutes before you land.” And she told me, “You will get through these 15 minutes and the next 15 minutes after that.” Usha, I don't think you realized it then, but those words were exactly what I needed to hear. But most of all, God's mercy and God's love have been revealed to me these past ten days.
After Charlie's assassination, we didn't see violence. We didn't see rioting. We didn't see revolution. Instead, we saw what my husband always prayed he would see in this country: We saw revival. This past week, we saw people open a Bible for the first time in a decade. We saw people pray for the first time since they were children. We saw people go to a church service for the first time in their entire lives.
Charlie liked to journal, and I say this because he did it to remember important moments and sayings that affected him. And one of the things he wrote in his journal was this: Every time you make a decision, it puts a mark on your soul. To those of you out there who just made that decision and took the first step toward a spiritual life, I say thank you and welcome. One day, I hope you look back and realize it was the most important decision of your life. Because it is. All of you. It's. All of you who are already believers. It is your job to shepherd these people. Do not take that lightly. Water the seed of their faith. Protect it and help it grow.
Every day, as Charlie rode into the office, he would go through his contact list — and I know there's many of you who were impacted by this — he would go through his contact list and send Bible verses for the day. He knew that faith was a habit. The more you live it, the more it grows. But know this too. The seed has only just been planted. The enemy will tempt you the most in a time like this one. God will always be there for you. But you must choose to mark your soul again and again in the direction of Christ. Pray again. Read the Bible again. Go to church next Sunday and the Sunday after that. And break free from the temptations and shackles of this world. Being a follower of Christ is not easy. It's not supposed to be.
Jesus said if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. He said he would be persecuted. He said we would be persecuted. And Charlie knew that happily carried his cross all the way to the end. And I want all of you to know. Well, Charlie died far too early. He was also ready to die. There was nothing, nothing he was putting off. There was nothing that was too hard or too painful or nothing that he just felt like he didn't want to do it. He left this world without regrets. He did 100% of what he could every day. But I want you to know something. Charlie died with incomplete work, but not with unfinished business. And I will miss him. I will miss him so much. Because our marriage and our family were beautiful. They still are.
The greatest cause in Charlie's life was trying to revive the American family. When he spoke to young people, he was always eager to tell them about God's vision for marriage and how if they could just dare to live it out, it would enrich every part of their life in the same way that it enriched ours. And someone once asked me how Charlie and I thought we kept our marriage so strong when he was busy traveling. And our little secret. It was love notes. Every Saturday, Charlie wrote one for me. And he never missed a Saturday. And in every single one of them, he'd tell me what his highlight was for the week, how grateful he was for me and our babies. And always at the end, he would always end it with asking the most beautiful question. He'd always end it by asking, please let me know how I can better serve you as a husband.
Charlie perfectly understood God's role for a Christian husband, a man who leads so that they can serve. To all the men watching around the world, accept Charlie's challenge and embrace true manhood. Be strong and courageous for your families. Love your wives and lead them. Love your children and protect them. Be the spiritual head of your home. But please be a leader worth following on your wife. Your wife is not your servant. Your wife is not your employee. Your wife is not your slave. She is your helper. You are not rivals. You are one flesh. Working together for the glory of God.
I was Charlie's confidant. I was his vault. His closest and most trusted advisor. His best friend. I poured into him and loved him so deeply. Empowered him because his love for me drove me to be a better wife. Every day he honored me. And I prayed that I could be the wife that God needed me to be for my husband.
Women, I have a challenge for you, too. Be virtuous. Our strength is found in God's design for our role. We are the guardians. We are the encouragers. We are the preservers. Guard your heart. Everything you do flows from it. And if you're a mother, please recognize that is the single most important ministry you have. In our home, because Charlie traveled a lot, we tried to travel with him where we could. But I made sure that when Charlie returned from work, it was his sacred landing place away from the worries of the world. I didn't make him feel guilty for being away too long or too much. Or getting home too late. I always told him home is here for you and it'll be ready for you. And I made it into this place where he wanted to be as soon as possible when he was on the road.
There was no keeping score between us. We were a team working together for the same mission. I never wanted to be the one standing between Charlie and the task that God prepared for him. I had set for him, and I knew Charlie would always do his best to help me with the same. My marriage with Charlie was the best thing that ever happened to me, and I know it was the best thing that ever happened to him as well. He wanted everyone to experience that joy.
And that's what's so beautiful about God's design for marriage, is that everyone can. I could talk endlessly about it. In years to come, I will. But Charlie's mission, above all, was aimed directly at those who aren't married. He named his organization well, he knew things were not right with America and especially with young people, and they needed a new direction.
Charlie passionately wanted to reach and save the Lost Boys of the West, the young men who feel like they have no direction, no purpose, no faith, and no reason to live on the men wasting their lives on distractions and the men consumed with resentment, anger and hate. Charlie wanted to help them. He wanted them to have a home with Turning Point USA, and when he went on to campus, he was looking to show them a better path and a better life. That was right there for the taking. He wanted to show them that.
My husband, Charlie. He wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life. That young man. That young man on the cross. Our Savior said, “Father, forgive them, for they not know what they do.” That man. That young man. I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did in his. What Charlie would do. The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.
The world needs Turning Point USA. It needs a group that will point young people away from the path of misery and sin. It needs something that will lead people away from hell in this world and in the next. It needs young people pointed in the direction of truth and beauty. And so I promise you, today, every part of our work will become greater.
I am tremendously honored to be the new CEO of Turning Point USA. I do not take that lightly. Charlie and I were united in purpose. His passion was my passion. And now his mission is my mission. Everything that Turning Point USA built through Charlie's vision and hard work. We will make ten times greater through the power of his memory. Chapters will grow. Thousands of new ones will be created. USA Faith will add thousands of new pastors and congregation tens. And yes, campus events will continue and we will continue to hold debates and dialog.
The First Amendment of our Constitution is the most human amendment. We are naturally talking beings, naturally believing beings, and the First Amendment protects our right to do both. No assassin will ever stop us for standing up to defend those rights. Ever. Because when you stop the conversation, when you stop the dialog. This is what happens when we lose the ability and the willingness to communicate. We get violence.
And as I stand here now and look at this beautiful photo of my husband in front of me hanging in the stadium, I think of my husband 13 years ago. I hadn't met him yet. He was 18 years old. Man. Barely out of high school, running around the halls of the RNC without a dollar in his pocket and a single contact in his phone. People who saw him said that he didn't know what he was doing, but he did. He did know what he was doing. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was going to change the world. And he did.
Charlie's life was a turning point for this country. It was a miracle. Let that miracle of his life be your turning point as well. Choose prayer. Choose courage. Choose beauty. Choose adventure. Choose family. Choose a life of faith. Most importantly, choose Christ. I love you, Charlie, baby. And I will make you proud.
God bless you all. And God bless America.
Erika Kirk is the CEO of Turning Point USA.