Rep. Nancy Mace’s Courageous Story And The Power Of Women Using Their Testimonies

In a courageous and deeply personal speech on the U.S. House floor, Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina did what many women fear to do: She named names, exposed injustices, and testified to the truth that shaped her life.

Standing firm in faith and conviction and yet shaking as she spoke, she shared her harrowing experience of uncovering and exposing heinous crimes against women, all while drawing strength from God and Scripture. It was hard to listen to and even harder to absorb the reality of her story.

"Today I'm going to free myself from the monster who broke me. Today I'm going to free other women who fell prey to the same man," she said.

"Let me be loud and clear. ... When you incapacitate women, it's against the law. When you sexually assault women, it's called rape. If you film women naked, without their knowledge, without their permission and without their consent, it's called voyeurism, and it makes you a peeping tom, and it is illegal."

Her testimony of experiencing these things, which is even more striking since she is a member of Congress, is not just one of personal survival; it is a testament to why so many women, particularly Christian women, engage in pro-family advocacy. We do this work not out of abstract idealism, but because many of us have lived through pain, injustice, and adversity, and we want to step into our God-given calling to defend those who cannot defend themselves.

"As a woman of faith, I draw strength from the teachings of Jesus Christ, in that Christ confronted injustice wherever He saw it," Mace said. "But also, the Bible reminds us that forgiveness does not forfeit justice."

These words echo the very essence of why women of faith are often on the frontlines of the fight to uphold conservative values -- because we know firsthand the cost of silence and the necessity of action.

Crisis Leads to Testimony that Leads to Action

It is no secret that women are leading the charge in pro-family policymaking. Contrary to media narratives that portray conservative women as passive players in policy debates, the truth is that many of us are active precisely because of our personal stories. We know the sting of exploitation, the pain abortion inflicts, and the tragedy of divorce in families. Like Mace, we are not bystanders; we are warriors for justice, guided by faith and conviction.

Mace's revelations were deeply personal, yet they spoke to a broader crisis in our society -- the dehumanization of women. She spoke of her fiance drugging her and taking pictures of her without her consent, then finding on his phone hundreds of videos and photos of other women that had been taken without their consent. There were also more than 10,000 videos of unconscious women being raped -- some of whom she knew personally.

In exposing him and his business partners as a network of predators, Mace put a face to the reality that so many women endure in silence.

This is what it means to live out our calling. Scripture reminds us in Jeremiah 6:16: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it."

Mace has stood at that crossroads and chosen to walk boldly, using her testimony to pursue justice through policy. Over the past 14 months, she has introduced 13 bills aimed at protecting women, including the Stop Voyeurs Act, the Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act, and the Rape Shield Enhancement Act. This is what principled leadership looks like -- turning personal trials into legislative action.

Women, Shape Policy

For too long, Christian women have been told that our place is simply to support the men around us, not lead anything in any way. But stories like Mace's prove otherwise. We are not side characters in policy discussions; we are shaping them.

We are advocating for family values because we have seen what happens when those values are abandoned. We champion policies that protect women and children because we understand what is at stake when society turns a blind eye to exploitation and abuse.

As a young girl, my home was broken and as a result, I was not as close to my dad as I could have been. I later married a godly businessman who had been delivered from years of drug addiction — but 10 years into our marriage, I found out that he had paid for multiple abortions for his girlfriends. Though he knew he was forgiven through the blood of Jesus, shame held him captive for years, and that impacted our marriage. Our story has impacted my work in the pro-life movement for years. My testimony has shaped policy.

We all have our scars, but I have learned that our scars and our testimonies are our greatest weapons in bringing change to our culture.

Mace's speech reminds us that we must not shrink from the battles before us. We must step into our callings with boldness, knowing that our testimonies inspire change.

As she declared, "I will not be silent. I will not be intimidated. I will not be threatened. I will continue to speak out, to stand up, and to fight back." This is the spirit of the conservative woman -- unwavering in the pursuit of justice and truth.

To those who have suffered in silence, let this be an encouragement: Your story matters. Your voice can shape policy, change lives, and uphold the values that build strong families and communities.

Like Mace, we must embrace the power of our testimony, stepping forward in faith and conviction to do the work God has called us to do. As she rightly pointed out, "Forgiveness does not forfeit justice." Your pain can be turned into purpose as part of God's plan to change the future.

Bunni Pounds is the president and founder of Christians Engaged, a ministry activating the Body of Christ to pray, vote, and engage regularly. She is the host of Conversations With Christians Engaged and Jesus for America and is the author of Jesus and Politics: One Woman's Walk with God in a Mudslinging Profession as well as a senior vice president for the Family Policy Alliance and the Family Policy Alliance Foundation. 

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