DALLAS — In his first home-state appearance since leaving the presidential race, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz told supporters at the Texas GOP convention Saturday not to lose hope in the face of uncertain times.

A conservative movement had grown around his campaign, he said on stage before thousands of Republicans, and it would continue to grow, though it would not take the White House.

He made no mention of his primary opponent, Donald Trump, whom many Texas Republicans are struggling to accept as their standard bearer. Instead he seemed to speak to many of their concerns: that the party and nation had moved from its roots and must be pulled “back from the abyss.”

He referenced “the sentiment every one of us feels: We have got to save our country.”

The 20-minute speech, welcomed with a standing ovation, became a sort of seminar on what it means to be conservative, tailored to his Texas supporters who consistently throughout the convention voiced concern about Trump’s values.

Some party members here have pledged to stay home if Trump locks down the nomination, and others said they would vote Libertarian. Most said they would hold their noses and vote Trump for the sake of party loyalty, though they worried what his potential White House tenure could entail.

“I don’t know what the future will hold. We may face some challenging days ahead,” Cruz said. “I am convinced from all of my soul: God is not done with America yet.”

He stressed the success the movement has found, reminding the audience of the widely pessimistic predictions for both his 2012 U.S. Senate campaign and his 2016 presidential bid, both of which far exceeded expectations.

Cruz recognized the tens of thousands of Texas volunteers who pushed his campaign, and the 12,000 in particular who traveled cross-country with the “Texas strike force” in an unprecedented mobilization of grass-roots activism. He thanked them all, offered them his love and reflected fondly on his 13-month campaign.

“It sparked a movement,” he said, predicting those who rallied behind him “will be the core of the movement pulling this country back from the abyss.”

Challenges remain to be tackled, Cruz said, naming “big-government-left-wing socialism” among them. For any supporters who felt lost by Cruz’s defeat in the presidential race, he offered an agenda.

It includes reforming military rules of engagement that Cruz said tie the hands of American soldiers; abolishing the IRS, the Affordable Care Act, common core teaching standards and the U.S. Education Department, all standard components of his stump speech throughout his unsuccessful presidential bid.

“America remains a center-right country,” Cruz said. “A country that embraces the Judeo-Christian values that built this nation.”

Beyond avoiding any mention of Trump, Cruz also stopped short of saying “unite,” a recent buzzword among Republicans eager to mend the fractures of a viciously divisive primary race.

He made no call for his former supporters to vote Republican — to vote Trump — in the general election, which many Republicans worry could see exceptionally low turnout because of ideological splits in the electorate. Still, Cruz left strong indication that he would be back on the national political scene again.

“For those that are discouraged, let me simply say this: Truth will prevail,” Cruz said. “Texas will lead the way.”