On August 8, 2025, Cynthia Halverson filed her candidate affidavit to run for a seat on the Academy District 20 Board of Education. Her campaign arrives with a clear and openly stated mission — one rooted in the Seven Mountains Mandate, a dominionist framework that calls on Christians to “take” seven spheres of cultural influence: Religion, Family, Education, Government, Media, Arts & Entertainment, and Business.
In a December 28, 2023 Facebook post, Halverson wrote:
“Seven years ago, God called me to these mountains. He made sure I was introduced to the seven mountains… Now He has called me… to rise to the top of the mountain of Education. Thank you, Jesus!”
In Seven Mountains teaching, “climbing” a mountain means seeking positions of authority to implement a biblical worldview in that sphere. For the Mountain of Education, that can mean reshaping school policy, curriculum, and governance to reflect a specific religious ideology.
The Seven Mountains Mandate: Christian Nationalism with an End-Times Countdown
The Seven Mountains Mandate has moved from obscure charismatic theology into open political organizing. It teaches that Christians are called to seize control of seven spheres of influence: religion, family, education, government, media, arts & entertainment, and business. The language comes from a symbolic reading of biblical “mountains” as centers of authority.
In its modern form, especially within the New Apostolic Reformation and affiliated ministries, the mandate carries an explicitly apocalyptic edge. Adherents believe that once Christians dominate all seven “mountains,” they will help usher in Christ’s return. The mandate becomes not just a political agenda but, in their eyes, a prophetic countdown to the Second Coming.
Andrew Wommack, founder of Charis Bible College in Woodland Park, Colorado, and co-founder of the Truth & Liberty Coalition, is one of its best-known advocates. Charis trains students to apply the mandate directly, including through its School of Practical Government. In April 2021, Wommack told a gathering at Charis:
“As many people as we have in this school here, we ought to take over Woodland Park… We could elect anybody we want.”
That comment wasn’t idle. Charis-linked candidates soon began winning school board and city council seats, reshaping local politics around a blend of Christian nationalist priorities and end-times urgency. For followers, taking the “mountains” is a divine mandate. For critics, it’s theocratic ambition with a prophetic deadline.
From Charis Bible College to D20
Halverson recently completed her third year in the Practical Government program at Charis Bible College — the same program where current D20 board member Derrick Wilburn served as an instructor within the last year.
In a Charis Unplugged interview just seven months ago, Halverson described her political awakening at the Truth & Liberty Conference and her mission to be a “warrior” in “an army to go out and fight” cultural battles — with public schools as a primary battleground. She praised the Truth & Liberty voter guide and WallBuilders, and encouraged “more conservative Christians” to run for school boards to “change things drastically.”
The Kangen Water Business
Halverson is also an active promoter of Kangen Water through Enagic, a multi-level marketing company repeatedly cited by regulators for deceptive marketing and unsupported health claims.
- Medical consensus: The MD Anderson Cancer Center and Mayo Clinic agree there’s no evidence alkaline water can prevent disease.
- FTC enforcement: In 2021, the FTC ordered Enagic to stop distributors from claiming Kangen Water could prevent COVID-19 (FTC letter).
- Earnings reality: Enagic’s own earnings disclosure shows 50% of active distributors made under $440/year before expenses.
Why This Matters for D20
The Academy District 20 board sets curriculum, science standards, and health policy for thousands of students. Halverson’s candidacy blends:
- A public embrace of the Seven Mountains Mandate’s “Mountain of Education.”
- Training in a politically activist Bible college program also taught by a current D20 board member.
- Alignment with Truth & Liberty and WallBuilders, both politically active Christian nationalist organizations.
- Promotion of a product flagged by the FTC and BBB.
Questions for Her Running Mates
Halverson’s public embrace of the Seven Mountains Mandate, a theology that some adherents treat as a prophetic countdown to the end times, doesn’t just speak to her own worldview. It raises questions for the candidates she’s politically aligned with in this race.
- To Eddie Waldrep: What do you think of the person you’re running with framing her school board candidacy as part of a plan to “rise to the top” of the Mountain of Education in a movement that aims to usher in the end of the world?
- To Susan Payne: Do you share Andrew Wommack’s claims that he has raised people from the dead? Cynthia does, and Wommack is the founder of the Bible college program from which she has just graduated.
For voters, these aren’t throwaway hypotheticals. They go directly to how each candidate understands the role of a public school board and whether they see it as a platform for broad-based governance or a vehicle for advancing sectarian prophecy.
This combination raises clear questions: Will school governance be guided by evidence-based policy and broad community consensus, or by a theological framework that sees public education as a “mountain” to be conquered before the end times?