Our Plan to Reclaim Missouri For Christ
Step One: Pray
We are engaged in a spiritual battle in which we see the effects visibly in the culture around us. God’s formula for the renewal of a backslidden nation and state, will still work today. II Chronicles 7:14 says “If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
Do not underestimate the power of repentance and prayer. As Christians, we have the privilege to boldly enter into God’s throne of mercy and grace in time of need through our Savior and Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are encouraged to worry about nothing, but PRAY about everything (Phil. 4:6) and we are guaranteed that prayers of the righteous avail much (James 5:16). The very clear solution is to repent of our sins and bathe our State in prayer. But along with our prayer, we must be ready to work.
Step Two: Evangelism
The 20th century theologian, Francis Schaeffer, stated that the best way to contend for the culture is to win people to Christ. To that we say AMEN! We are to be reaching the unsaved with the blessed Gospel and then disciple them to Christian maturity. But we have abandoned evangelism. We no longer GO OUT to reach the lost. Instead, we have gone into the entertainment business and tried to attract them to church. Quite frankly, a church that preaches the whole counsel of God without compromise will never be attractive to the lost. Rather than reaching the masses, today’s churches in America are successfully taking members away from each other.
The Bible’s methods always work. Consider the exploits of the Apostle Paul as recorded in the Book of Acts. He preached publicly and from house to house. We must preach the truth in love and equip our congregations to be evangelists who are comfortable and capable with sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There are many programs including Way of the Master and Evangelism Explosion that are effective tools to be used by churches.
www.eeinternational.org www.wayofthemaster.com
Step Three: Education
To paraphrase Proverbs 23:7, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” That’s why totalitarian governments have always and MUST take control of education and the media if they are going to maintain control of the people. At one time, the media and schools were largely influenced by Christianity and promoted a Biblical World View.
The first public education act in the American Colonies was called the “Old Deluder Act” of 1647. the purpose was to make sure that every child could read the Bible for themselves and thus not be “deluded” by Satan as had occurred during the Dark Ages.
Unfortunately, our schools have been hijacked by secular humanism. We have revised our history books, removing the deep roots of Christian heritage in America. We have thrown out Biblical morality and replaced it with teaching the failed theory of evolution as “fact” and convincing our kids that God doesn’t exist.
A recent study of 1,000 children from conservative “churched” homes found that of these children that attended public schools, roughly 40% no longer believed the Bible was true by the time they graduated 8th grade and almost 90% no longer believed the Bible by the time they graduated high school. Again, let me emphasize that these were kids that grew up in Christian homes. You cannot counter the effect of 40 hours per week of secular humanistic indoctrination with 1 – 3 hours of Bible teaching. The children are led to believe that truth is taught at school, and “good” stories or myths are taught at church. Abraham Lincoln once said that “the philosophy of the classroom in one generation becomes the philosophy of the government in the next.”
www.asleepknowmore.com
Step Four: Activism
Activism simply means to “get active.” Pastors ask for volunteers within your church to start a Patrick Henry Club that can assist you. This is not an exhaustive list that your Patrick Henry Club can do, but these are some ideas to get started:
Monitor web sites like World Net Daily, One News Now, Pass the Salt, America Asleep kNOW More, Operation Save America and other sources for REAL news that impacts the culture in Missouri and keeps members informed about attacks on Christianity and Liberty. The Patrick Henry Club can help keep the pastor informed about news and issues that threaten the Christian morality and liberty in our State and Nation. Provide Patrick Henry Alerts to be approved by your pastor and inserted into the bulletin. Also, compile a church e-mail list for the dispersion of information quickly and connect with other like minded groups within our churches. We need to be aware of certain legislation that impacts Christian Liberty both at local and national levels and let our representatives hear from us.
Prepare petitions on issues of importance to the Christian community, with the approval of your pastor, and set up a table in the foyer for those that wish to sign. Many Christians want to make their voice heard, but don’t know how. This will help to simplify the process of the Christian voice being heard.
Monitor the Reclaiming America for Christ and the Reclaiming Missouri for Christ websites—These websites are continually growing and our goal is to make them a convenient spot for information and education about our Christian heritage, updates on bills and issues critical to Christians, links to helpful resources, and reliable news sources.
Monitor Patrick Henry Action Alerts sent out periodically through Reclaiming Missouri and Reclaiming America for Christ. Action alerts will be sent out to you as issues come up on the local and national level that need our prayers and immediate attention.
Provide materials and lesson plans to reestablish the truth of our Christian Heritage and the Role of Bible Believing Christians and Churches in America’s History. Bill Federer and David Barton have great resources including books and DVD’s on this subject so that you can teach classes in your church, Christian school, or home school and/or be available for public speaking in other churches, prayer breakfasts, or civic meetings.
Promote voter registration drives in your church. As citizens of the United States, Christians have the right to vote and must be registered. This is a legitimate function that can be performed within the local church. Make voter guides available to your congregation. We must be informed, as the scripture says in Proverbs 29:2 “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people mourn.”
Promote and participate in major events. As an example, February is the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade where they legalized the killing of pre-born children. Go to your local Planned Parenthood on the anniversary date and lift Jesus up as the Standard. There is no reason Abortion should be legal in this country, let alone in Missouri.
*These are just a few suggestions to start with, but there is no limit to the ways you may serve your community.
Step Five: Partnership
There is strength in numbers. To make a difference within a state, you need one pastor who really sees the “big picture” to take a leadership role in reaching out to other pastors with a pit-bull tenacity. It will not be easy at first and you may brow tired and get discouraged, but you cannot quit. Christian Liberty in America depends on you.
Reach out to other pastors and friends and share your vision for your state. Get together on a monthly basis over lunch or breakfast for prayer, discussion and fellowship. Coordinating your efforts with local Christian Radio Stations might be helpful.
In Missouri we have a monthly meeting the last Saturday of each month with guest speakers and teachers.
Let Us Reclaim Missouri for Christ!
Mark Kiser
President
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