His church’s statement of faith asserts, “We believe in the autonomy of the local church.” If that’s true, though, why did McCoy place the First Baptist Church of Urbandale under the authority of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign? Not only Dan McCoy, but also his assistant pastor Josh Kent and the youth pastor Garrett Lamb, signed up as members of Trump’s Iowa Faith Leader Coalition. Their church has transformed into little more than a subsidiary of Donald Trump’s ambition.

Explaining why he has endorsed Donald Trump in 2024, Pastor Dan McCoy told a reporter, “We are seeing people persecuted for what they believe today and that’s probably one of the most important things that I see in this election cycle.”

Who is really being persecuted for their beliefs, though?

Dan McCoy himself has participated in the persecution of people who believe in marriage equality. McCoy has argued that all marriages in the United States must obey harsh Christian religious rules about who can be married and how married couples must behave. McCoy signed a letter sent to the Iowa state legislature demanding that the legislators submit themselves to the power of Christian leaders.

The letter stated that Christian rules about marriage must be obeyed by everyone, even by non-Christians:

“Because God is God of all, there is no structural difference between religious and civil marriage. The essence of marriage remains the same in both the religious and civil realms. (Col. 1:15-19) The acknowledgement of, and reference to, marriage in the laws of our state and nation does not create a second realm of marriage that is somehow divorced from the only definition determined by God.”

Garrett Lamb, another member of the Iowa Faith Leader Coalition, works as youth pastor under Dan McCoy.