September 10th, 2025: the tragic day an assassin killed Charlie Kirk — and Andrew Kolvet lost a best friend. Kolvet is both the spokesman for Turning Point USA and the executive producer of The Charlie Kirk Radio Show. Over the past three months, the organization has received a massive outpouring of support.
CBN News saw the evidence up close inside the TPUSA mailroom, filled with crosses, books, letters, and more. “We are getting prayers from so many strangers, so many people we know,” Kolvet tells CBN News. “Everybody’s reaching out, rooting for us, and that part has been tremendous.”
The desert can be a very lonely, quiet, and desolate place — but not for TPUSA. They’re headquartered in the desert in the Phoenix area. There’s been a lot of hustle, bustle, and growth ever since that horrific day on September 10th. You can see it throughout TPUSA headquarters as they plan for this month’s big AMFEST conference. More than 20,000 people are expected this week — a record.
There’s other growth as well. College chapters have increased from 900 to 1,400 over the last three months. In their high school “Club America” program, the numbers are even more impressive. Since September, they’ve gone from 1,200 student groups to 3,100. There are also more than 130,000 inquiries to start new chapters. While Kolvet understands things will naturally change to a degree, he maintains the core essentials will remain the same.
MORE: TPUSA Popularity Explodes: 500 Chapters in TX High Schools, 350,000 New Student Signups Nationwide
“There’s things that work and we know they work,” says Kolvet. “The campus tours work. We’re going to launch a ‘Make Heaven Crowded’ TPUSA Faith tour — a revival tour all across the country,” he said. “Our role is very simple when it comes to faith. That there has been a lack of leadership in the public sphere from Christians. And that if we seed that ground, you create a vacuum that others are going to fill — and you’re not going to like their ideas nearly as much as other Christians and your own.”
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It’s been well documented that since Charlie Kirk’s death, there have been signs of revival — people returning to church and Bible sales increasing. But there’s another biblical aspect that’s raising concern. Poll after poll among young conservatives under 30 shows a significant drop in support for Israel.
“Absolutely, we’ve seen a shift,” Kolvet says. “There are going to be some immovables here — non-negotiables…that Israel has a right to exist. That it has a right to defend itself. That we fully reject hatred of Jewish people — antisemitism, all that stuff. Because I think there have to be definitive lines. Now, when it comes to how much we should fund Israel, should the foreign policy status quo be continued or altered — those are worthwhile debates to have. And if you’re willing to engage in those topics, you’re actually going to inspire more trust with young people… If it’s not okay, you’re going to alienate the young people that Charlie worked so hard to bring into the fold.”
This week at the AMFEST event, attendees will hear from anti-Israel critic Tucker Carlson, despite concerns from some TPUSA donors. So what kind of pushback has TPUSA received?
“Honestly, I think it was worse before Charlie was killed,” Kolvet said. “Since then, there’s still concern and people voicing opinions, but it was very clear in the aftermath that Charlie was committed to having Tucker at AMFEST 2025…Charlie was all about open debate. Turning Point is all about open debate and dialogue. And so we’re going to foster debates between leading personalities.”
To that end, pro-Israel defender Ben Shapiro will be there as well. One person not receiving an invite is former staffer Candace Owens. The popular podcaster has been suggesting conspiracy theories — without any evidence — that TPUSA staff are involved in some sort of secret cover-up.
Charlie’s wife Erika Kirk and the new CEO of TPUSA have had enough. “This is not OK. This is not healthy. This is a mind virus,” Erika Kirk said recently.
Kolvet weighed in as well. “When you look at the people that have been harmed by this — our team, our staff, the movement — people get caught up in it,” Kolvet added. “There’s been a lot of carnage, and I don’t want that for the movement. I hope we can get through this sooner rather than later.”
Kolvet sees this as spiritual warfare, especially considering that after Charlie’s murder, the conversation and attention focused fully on God.
“When there is a mass outpouring of grace, love for God, goodness, and light, you have to expect opposition,” he said. “You have to expect that the demons are shuddering, screaming, and screeching. You’re never going to have, on this side of eternity, clear sailing.”
Kolvet is often reminded of a very important Bible verse. “Joshua 1:9 — ‘be strong and courageous.’ Of all the verses people have sent me after Charlie’s assassination, that’s probably the number one,” Kolvet tells CBN News.
Asked what people should pray for regarding TPUSA, Kolvet was humbled and pensive. “Pray that we would somehow manage, maybe in the new year, to really absorb everything we’ve been through in the midst of all the busyness,” he said. “If things were fair, there would be time to rest and grieve for an extended period. Hopefully, over the holidays, our team is able to do that.”
A prayer for rest in the middle of a labor of love for the Kingdom.
