The Political Mission Field: Riley’s Forge Story

Riley Spencer always believed she was called to overseas mission work. From a young age, she pursued that calling with determination—applying for overseas trips and seeking opportunities to serve. But after eleven failed attempts to go abroad, she began to question where she was meant to make an impact. It wasn’t until college, when she started a pro-life group and the director of the local pregnancy resource center shared with her: “This is the mission field, helping serve children, mothers, and families in need” that her perspective began to shift.

Then came the 2024 Forge Leadership Summit in Nashville. For Riley, Forge brought clarity. It bridged her passion for service with a new sense of purpose: public policy as her mission field. What she once thought had been detours were actually preparing her for a calling she hadn’t yet seen clearly. Through Forge, Riley discovered how her heart for ministry could thrive in the world of politics—serving families, defending conservative values, and advancing truth in her home state of Georgia.

Riley attended college at Kennesaw State University, where she co-founded the Young Women for America chapter on campus. Her husband, now a fellow legislative aide, launched the College Republicans at Kennesaw, and together, they championed conservative values in a setting where they were often challenged. Riley had already interned at the Family Research Council and heard several colleagues speak highly of Forge.

“Honestly, I thought, ‘What’s one more political conference? It’ll be fun,” Riley recalled. But the Forge Summit proved to be far more than she expected.

From the opening day of the Summit, Riley was struck by the level of substance. It wasn’t just policy talk or networking—it was training with purpose.

“At the Summit, I expected the usual speakers and networking, but what I got was something much deeper,” she said. “The mock legislature, committee work, and campaign simulations gave me hands-on experience that made policy come alive. And the people—these weren’t just ambitious young conservatives. They were thoughtful, humble, and grounded in their faith.”

The legislative simulation, in particular, stood out to Riley. “Participating in committees and voting on legislation on the Tennessee House Floor gave me a whole new perspective,” she said. “I was in the shoes of the very Senators I now work for.”

Following her Summit experience, Riley was chosen for the Forge Mentorship Academy’s 2024-2025 class. With the encouragement and support of Forge mentors and peers, she stepped into her current role as a Legislative Assistant in the Georgia State Senate—something she had not anticipated just months earlier.

“The Forge Summit came right before I was hired in the Senate,” she said. “I don’t think I would have walked into this opportunity with the same confidence or skillset without it.”

Forge didn’t just prepare Riley for her job—it gave her something far more rare: a network of peers who shared her political convictions and Biblical worldview.

“One night after an Academy call, I got on the phone with some girls from Forge, and we talked for two hours,” she said. “We debated ideas and challenged each other, and it struck me: this is the first time I’ve had friends who understand both policy and Scripture in the same way. Usually, it’s one or the other.”

That kind of community was game-changing.

“It warmed my heart and fueled my vision. How powerful it is to unite young people like this for a common cause. I knew then—I want to be on this team.”

“There’s a real heart behind Forge. It’s not about creating political celebrities. It’s about shaping people of character who can lead without losing who they are.”

As she continues to grow in her career, Riley is thinking long-term. She hopes to move into donor relations and nonprofit leadership in Georgia, but for now, she’s investing in her state and learning the ropes of policy from the inside.

“Forge has cemented my goals and given me actionable ways to obtain those goals. It has relit a fire for Christian love in public policy in me and given me people to lean on when I begin to get burnt out in the harsh and difficult world of politics. Politics is always relational, and Forge has connected me with some of the most driven, kind, and faithful people I’ve ever met,” she said. “It’s a network I’ll lean on for the rest of my life.”

Riley Spencer’s story is still being written, but thanks to your investment in her through Forge, she has clarity, conviction, and a team behind her.

Thank you for reading Riley’s Forge Story and supporting the mission and vision of Forge Leadership Network!