PORTLAND, Maine – TPUSA Faith is bringing its “Make Heaven Crowded Tour” to the Portland Expo Center on Friday, May 15, placing Portland in the middle of a national conversation over faith, free speech, public facilities, and conservative Christian outreach.
The event will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Portland Expo Center, 239 Park Ave., Portland, Maine, with doors opening at 5 p.m.
The gathering is being co-hosted by Calvary Chapel Greater Portland and is described by organizers as a night of worship, preaching, prayer, and gospel outreach. TPUSA Faith has called the tour a “gospel-centered gathering” focused on repentance, faith, and obedience to Jesus.
The Portland event has drawn criticism from progressive activists and some local officials, including Portland City Councilor Wes Pelletier, who publicly criticized the gathering amid broader opposition to Turning Point USA Faith’s appearance at the city-owned venue. Portland officials have said the city cannot deny access to a public facility based on the viewpoint of the speakers or organizers.
A counter-event, “Love is the Point: A Multi-Faith Response to the Turning Point USA Event,” is scheduled for the same evening from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at First Parish Portland, 425 Congress St., Portland. Organizers say that event is intended to support immigrant and transgender communities.
Calvary Chapel Greater Portland is based in Westbrook and led by Pastor Travis Carey. Carey has said the Expo event was planned as a gospel outreach from the beginning and pushed back on critics who portrayed it as something else.
Carey’s own background has shaped his ministry. According to Calvary Chapel Greater Portland, Carey is a Bangor native who has publicly shared his testimony of addiction, incarceration, faith, recovery, discipleship, and pastoral ministry. He serves as senior pastor of the church.
Turning Point USA was founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk as a conservative nonprofit focused on organizing students around fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government. TPUSA Faith is the organization’s faith-focused arm, aimed at churches, pastors, and Christian civic engagement.
Kirk became one of the most recognizable conservative youth organizers in the country before his assassination in September 2025. After his death, Turning Point USA’s board named his widow, Erika Kirk, as CEO and chair of the organization.
The Portland stop now arrives not only as a worship event, but as a flashpoint in a city where conservative religious expression, progressive activism, and the limits of government control over public venues are colliding in full public view.
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