Missionary Andrew Brunson appointed to US Commission on International Religious Freedom

Missionary Pastor Andrew Brunson, whose 2018 release from a two-year imprisonment in Turkey was a major diplomatic milestone for the first Trump administration, has been appointed to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

Joining Brunson as new appointees to USCIRF are Robert Barron, the Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, and Joseph Grogan, the former director of the U.S. Domestic Policy Council, according to a Wednesday statement from the bipartisan panel of experts tasked with advising the federal government on international religious freedom.

"With these appointments, USCIRF's full bipartisan composition further supports our efforts to advance religious freedom abroad for all. We look forward to working together," said USCIRF Vice Chair CeCe Heil.

Brunson's appointment comes on the heels of Trump nominating Jane "Cissie" Graham Lynch, granddaughter of the late Rev. Billy Graham, to serve as the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. The Senate-confirmed position, held by former Republican Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback during Trump's first term, has remained vacant since Trump took office again in January 2025.

Brunson, an American missionary from Black Mountain, North Carolina, ministered in Turkey with his wife, Norine, for 23 years until he was among the tens of thousands detained following the alleged coup attempt against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016.

Falsely accused of espionage and using his religion to undermine the government, Brunson faced potential life in prison as Erdogan used him as a political pawn for two years. His detainment sparked a diplomatic feud between Turkey and the United States, and Trump's firm response disrupted world markets.

Following multiple court hearings and a final trial on Oct. 12, 2018, a Turkish court convicted Brunson of aiding a terrorist organization but credited him with time served and immediately released him to the U.S. When he returned to Washington, he publicly met with Trump and prayed over him in the Oval Office, asking that God give him "supernatural wisdom."

Since his dramatic release, Brunson became special adviser for religious freedom at Family Research Council and has warned that he discerns growing hostility against Christians in the U.S. and other Western countries.

During a 2019 interview with The Washington Examiner, timed to the release of his book God's Hostage, Brunson urged young American Christians in particular to prepare their hearts for potential persecution.

"There is a turning in our culture that used to have more respect for Christianity, and that is now becoming unpopular," he said. "And Christians are portrayed as being bigots, racist, and basically evil. And so, for someone to stand publicly as a Christian — especially a young person — they’re going to get a lot of pushback from their peers."

Brunson urged Christians to choose to follow Jesus Christ no matter the cost, regardless of their feelings, noting that his own emotions were an especially difficult part of his persecution. God did not provide him the supernatural experiences some other persecuted Christians have claimed, which he said led him into "a real offense toward God, anger toward him; disappointment and brokenness."

"I had expected that I was just going to have a really strong sense of God's presence and a sense of grace, and I didn't, and that really surprised me," he said.

Amid deep depression and suicidal thoughts in prison, Brunson made a conscious decision to trust God and rejoice despite his suffering amid God's apparent silence. Every day during his second year in prison, he spent five minutes dancing and leaping alone in his cell while reciting Matthew 5:12: "Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in Heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Rev. Richard White, senior pastor of Brunson's home church in Montreat, North Carolina, told The Daily Caller in 2018 how deeply Brunson's imprisonment affected his congregation. He said church members gathered in the early-morning hours to pray for Brunson during each of his trials in Turkey, and that some children in the church would not go to sleep at night without first praying for him.

White, who attended Brunson's final trial in Turkey and met Christians who had traveled from as far away as Estonia to show solidarity, said the case against Brunson collapsed when prosecution witnesses recanted their testimony and testified in his defense — something he said supporters had specifically been praying for.

"This is a dangerous world, and you can be thrown in prison for your faith. And is Jesus Christ worth it? And I think what Andrew has said is, 'Yes, He is.' And that's just a tremendous testimony to us: that Christ is worthy of our faithful service, even when falsely accused on His behalf," White said at the time.