Christian Thought Leader Honored with 38th Annual Wilberforce Award from The Colson Center

Christian Thought Leader Honored with 38th Annual Wilberforce Award from The Colson Center

Honoring Dr. Os Guinness' Work to Address Societal Issues form a Christian Worldview

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO. (February 4, 2026) – The Colson Center (TCC) Board of Directors along with TCC President John Stonestreet today announced the winner of the 38th annual Wilberforce Award – author and social critic Dr. Os Guinness. The award honors his work to advance truth, address societal issues from a Christian worldview, and help the Church think wisely about life and culture in a post-Christian age.

The award will be presented to Guinness during the 2026 Colson Center National Conference in May in Knoxville, Tennessee.

"The Colson Center is proud to recognize Os Guinness as the recipient of the 2026 Wilberforce Award. Os has dedicated his life to advancing truth for decades," said TCC President John Stonestreet. “In the spirit of William Wilberforce, Os has consistently called the church to authentic Christianity, faithful action, and the pursuit of truth and freedom. For that reason, we are proud to honor him with this award.”

For more than three decades, Os has advanced truth in Western society by:

• 1988: Drafting the Williamsburg Charter, a celebration and reaffirmation of the First Amendment and the religious liberty it recognizes.
• 1991: Founding the Trinity Forum, dedicated to the cultivation of the Christian mind.
• 2012: Writing the Global Charter of Conscience, affirming the rights and responsibilities of freedom of thought and conscience for people of all faiths, all societies, and all times.

Dr. Guinness has also served the church by helping believers discern between competing visions of humanity and advocating for the Biblical notion of calling. He is the author or editor of more than thirty books, including The Call, The Magna Carta of Humanity, Our Civilizational Moment, and most recently America Agonistes: America’s 250th and the Restoration of a Nation in Conflict with Itself and Its Past.

“Os Guinness is one of the most influential Christian thought leaders of our time,” said John Zeiser, Chairman of the Board for The Colson Center.  “He looks at culture with uncommon clarity, observes the times, and interprets them through the lens of Truth. He offers Christians the clarity necessary to live with courageous faith in this critical moment.”

Since moving to the United States in 1984, he has engaged in policy and academic discussions on themes of faith, freedom, and public life in America as a:

• Guest Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Studies,
• Guest Scholar and Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution; and
• Senior Fellow at the Trinity Forum and the EastWest Institute in New York.

In 2025, Os was featured in Truth Rising, a documentary produced by The Colson Center and Focus on the Family.

Each year, The Colson Center (TCC) presents the Wilberforce Award to a Christian leader who has made a lasting difference in their sphere of influence by exemplifying the courage and commitment of British abolitionist William Wilberforce. To learn more about the Wilberforce Award, visit https://colsoncenter.org/ww-award.

Os Guinness joins a long list of Wilberforce Award winners, including David and Barbara Green, owners of Hobby Lobby and Maggie Gobran, Nobel Peace Prize nominee and CEO of Stephen’s Children.

To learn more about Os Guinness’ work, visit https://osguinness.com.

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About the Colson Center: The Colson Center exists to equip Christians with the clarity, confidence, and courage in this cultural moment. Our podcasts and digital resources, including Breakpoint, the Identity Project, and the What Would You Say? video series equip hundreds of thousands of Christians each year with the clarity they need to celebrate good, resist evil, create what’s missing, and restore what’s broken right where God has placed them. Our formation programs, Colson Fellows and Colson Educators, have equipped thousands of men and women to pursue their vocational callings and daily lives with a courageous faith.  

Media Contact:

Krista Buckel

press@colsoncenter.org