Historian Jim Ludington is the founder & executive director of Arise America Ministries.  The ministry was established in 2000 as a response to God’s call to bring to the church the knowledge of our Christian founding, and to encourage the church to be salt and light in our culture as we are instructed in Matthew 5:13-16.

Prior to founding the ministry, Jim was like many Christians today.  He realized the problems our culture was experiencing, but knew little about what could be done to turn our nation in a positive direction.  He had been politically active, but sensed that more was needed.  After much prayer and searching he was led to study America’s history.  That study soon became an obsession.  He found himself applying to graduate school, earning a Master’s degree in American History.  His focus of study was the colonial and early federal periods of America, which confirmed what he had believed from the beginning –
our nation was founded on the principles of Christianity, and will not succeed if those principles are long ignored.

In order to bring Christian principles to the widest audience, Jim began writing as a freelance journalist, publishing over two dozen opinion articles in Southern California newspapers.  He was often invited to debate opponents to conservative values, appearing on radio and television as a spokesman for school vouchers during the Prop 174 campaign in 1993.  He has since made frequent appearances on Christian radio promoting the work of Arise America Ministries.

Jim holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland.  He later turned his focus to U.S. history, earning a Master of Arts in American History from Claremont Graduate University.  He plans to complete his Ph.D. at the University of Virginia.

Jim and his wife Chris have been married 29 years and have three adult children and five grandchildren.  They enjoy reading, and make frequent stops on trips in their motor home to explore America’s rich history.