Pastor Keith Craft prays for Texas mayoral candidate, calls Islam 'ideology from Hell'

A North Texas pastor says a “spiritual battle” is being waged against a longtime member of his church who is involved in a mayoral runoff election next month.

Keith Craft, lead pastor at Elevate Life Church in Frisco, weighed in on the political battle between Frisco mayoral candidates Rod Vilhauer, 65, a retired construction business owner who has attended ELC for decades, and his opponent, Mark Hill, 50, an attorney who is also Catholic.

Hill has been endorsed by The Dallas Morning News' Editorial Board, which has accused Vilhauer of having made "public statements that exacerbate ethnic and religious division."

In a sermon delivered at ELC on May 3, Craft addressed Vilhauer, who was sitting in the pews, and warned of a “spiritual battle” surrounding the June 13 runoff vote between him and Hill.

“God brought Rod Vilhauer to Frisco, Texas,” in 1986, he said. Since then, said Craft, Frisco’s population has skyrocketed from about 2,800 people to upwards of 250,000. 

And with that population boom, said Craft, has also come “a whole lot of demonic agendas,” including a sharp rise in the Muslim population, which Craft said could lead to a dramatic shift in political power.

“The Muslims are making a play for Frisco, Texas,” he told the congregation. “I want you to really hear me. I'm not being political here. And this is not Islamophobia because we're not afraid of anybody. So it has nothing to do with any of that. But the reality is they've made it known, not in the state of Texas, but in the United States of America, Frisco is the target.”

Craft claimed that "the way that they want to gain power, at least initially, is by the ballot, and eventually by the sword,” adding that “they're not a religion" but rather "an ideology from Hell.”

The pastor’s comments echoed similar comments made by Vilhauer, who has campaigned on curbing the influence of Shariah, or Islamic law, and said in March during a podcast appearance that Islam is not a religion but a “terrorist group.”

Vilhauer and his wife are also featured on the ELC YouTube page in a video titled “Sowing a Legacy" that was uploaded in 2023. 

During his May 3 sermon, Craft said he believes a “battle has been waged” by the media and private donors against Frisco, which was listed as one of America’s most prosperous cities in 2022. 

“The battle is being waged by people like The Dallas Morning News,” he said. “The battle is being waged by a whole lot of people that have a whole lot of money to try to keep somebody who's a Godly man from even having a chance to become mayor of this great city.”

Craft wrapped up his sermon by urging ELC attendees to “show up like an army at the polls” next month, reiterating that "this is not about politics. We are in a spiritual battle for the soul of this city.”

“We're in a spiritual battle," he stated. "Because of what God wants to do in and through this city. You might live in a surrounding area. That's OK. Here's the bottom line. This is our country. This is our state. This is our city. And we're going to fight to the finish.”

The pastor then led the church in a prayer asking God to protect Vilhauer and to use his campaign to bring salvation to the residents of Frisco.

“I pray that in the next 30 days, God, until this election takes place, that your glory will come upon him,” he prayed. “God, that people's lives will be changed for the glory of God. People will come to Jesus because Rod even ran for mayor.”

The Christian Post reached out to Craft and ELC for comment Wednesday. This story will be updated if a response is received.

Considered one of America’s wealthiest pastors, Craft charges clients $84,000 annually to participate in his Life Mastery Mastermind, a life coaching business. According to a 2024 Trinity Foundation report, in addition to owning two houses in Texas, Craft also owns two vacation homes in Destin, Florida, a mountain home in Colorado, a yacht, and a Cessna 650 jet.