Christian Activists Mobilize Against Abortion Petition and For School Board Candidates
Christian leaders rally against a petition to enshrine abortion rights in MO constitution, endorse school board candidates.
Christians Uniting for Political Action
March 19, 2024
Dr. Wes Scroggins on Abortion and Petition Reform
Dr. Wes Scroggins, who teaches at Missouri State University and serves as the Executive Director (ED) for Abolish Abortion Missouri, spoke about the Biblical Christian response to abortion in the state. He discussed efforts to end abortion through initiative petition reform, which allows citizens to get issues on the ballot by bypassing the legislature. However, these efforts are being defeated by legislators Rowden and O'Laughlin.
Scroggins explained that to get a petition on the ballot, it must be filed through the Secretary of State's (SOS) office, certified, and then enter a signature collection phase requiring 170,000 signatures from across different congressional districts by May 5th. He warned about a petition started in St. Louis aiming to enshrine abortion rights, including late-term abortion, transgender affirmation, and allowing minors to undergo transgender surgeries, in the state constitution for the November ballot. Scroggins urged making it as difficult as possible to reach 170,000 signatures and for the church to defeat the petition at the ballot if it qualifies.
Alex Bryant's Call for Christian Unity
Alex Bryant, a Christian and Nixa School Board member, called for synergizing and magnifying the Christian voice. He encouraged being open about beliefs instead of "tip-toeing" and provided his cell number (239-940-2405) for others to connect, as he wants to create a spirit-filled community, including starting a "Pastor's Perspective" radio program during his travels for US Missions with the Assemblies of God.
Dr. Jon Vaughn on Voter Engagement
Dr. Jon Vaughn urged people to decline signing the pro-abortion petition and distributed a pamphlet with 10 reasons against it from Missouri Right to Life. He cited a favorable article aiming to spur opposition involvement, noting that 4/5 of registered voters didn't cast ballots in past elections, resulting in tens of thousands of uncast votes allowing corruption.
Vaughn referenced the biblical story of Hezekiah showing his treasures to Babylon, warned against spiritual complacency, and stressed the importance of the upcoming school board election, endorsing candidates Landon, Maryam, and Chad while criticizing the current board leadership as corrupt and power-hungry.
Calvin Morrow on Christianity's Role
Calvin Morrow stated that the paradigm is shifting to allow discussing politics and religion together, as "we are dealing with doctrines of demons." He thanked attendees for their boldness and suggested the church should respond to Pride Month with a large Christian presence, being the "salt and light." Morrow declared Christianity as the "one countermeasure to Marxism" and urged occupying and reordering businesses until Christ's return, leveraging Christian numbers to change the culture.
Landon McCarter on School Board Elections
Landon McCarter, having narrowly lost a previous school board election by 254 votes against a $60,000 campaign contribution from the United Springfield PAC, stated their candidates stand against "bad values" plaguing the board.
Reggie Mitchum on Learning from History
Reggie Mitchum referenced the "Letter to the American Church" movie by Eric Metaxas, which highlights how only 3,000 of 18,000 pastors stood against the Nazis, allowing the holocaust of 6 million Jews after communism took over. Mitchum said America can learn from this, as 150 people attended the meeting, including county commissioners, state representatives, and 5 pastors. He stressed supporting candidates with prayers, voices, actions, and votes. Attendee Lynn Morris ordered 10 copies of the movie to distribute and show.
Upcoming Events
The meeting concluded by announcing upcoming events, including churches engaging in fasting and prayer over multiple days leading up to the election.
A Q&A with the endorsed school board candidates Chad Rollins, Landon McCarter, and Maryam Mohammadkhani was scheduled for Sunday, March 24th at 7 PM at The Well on Norton Rd.
