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WEEKLY NEWS SUMMARY - OCTOBER 16, 2024
In this week's Intersect, read about:
More Than 100M People of Faith Could Sit out 2024 Election: Study
“As many as 104 million people of faith, including 32 million self-identified Christians who regularly attend church, are unlikely to vote in the upcoming 2024 presidential election on Nov. 5 mainly due to lack of interest, research from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University shows. The findings of the study released Monday by longtime Evangelical pollster George Barna and his team of researchers are based on data collected in two related surveys of a national sample of 2,000 U.S. adults during August and September 2024.” read more at the Christian Post
THINK.
- Why did so many regular churchgoers indicate that they won’t vote? One reason could be that many churches are failing to urge congregants to steward their God-given civic responsibility. According to Barna, “...an estimated five million regular churchgoers would be likely to vote as a result of that simple exhortation.”
- “What a great way for believers and churches to use their platform—not by replacing their spiritual mandate with political emphasis, but by teaching people to live a culturally engaged life based on biblical principles,” Barna continued. “And it’s not only voting for the next president, but also determining who will hold many other federal, state and local offices, and what will happen with numerous referenda.” When Christians could be the deciding factor in matters of life and death, good and evil, how can we stay home?
- While the survey revealed Christians’ complacency, it also showed that many would appreciate instruction from their church on how to think about the issues from a biblical perspective. Those who are currently apathetic don’t have to stay that way. Galatians 6:9-10 exhorts us, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
PRAY.
Lord, thank You for establishing government for the good of our neighbors and for the security and freedom to live peaceful and godly lives and share Your gospel (Romans 13:4, 1 Timothy 2:1-4). Forgive us for squandering our opportunities to vote for such a government. Help us urge our fellow believers to vote for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.
ACT.
This is the last week to participate in Write Now, a My Faith Votes’ campaign where we send handwritten notes to Christians in key states, encouraging them to vote according to biblical principles. Can you help us reach 10, 25, or even 50 voters? Sign up here and we’ll give you all the instructions you need! This just might be the encouragement a fellow Christian needs to go vote.
Tim Walz: ‘The Electoral College Needs to Go’
“The Democratic Party’s vice presidential contender is calling for the Electoral College to be abolished. At a fundraiser with California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) on Tuesday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D), who Vice President Kamala Harris has named as her running mate, said, ‘I think all of us know, the Electoral College needs to go.’ Walz continued to say that the Electoral College should be replaced by ‘a national popular vote’ because too much emphasis is being placed on a handful of battleground states.” Read more at The Washington Stand
THINK.
- The Harris-Walz campaign later clarified that Governor Walz’s view is not the campaign’s position. However, Tim Walz is not the first to propose abolishing the Electoral College. In fact, many politicians have called for its abolishment over the years, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore. Additionally, data from the Pew Research Center suggests that more than 60% of Americans also believe the electoral college should be abolished.
- The only way to officially abolish the electoral college would be by passing a constitutional amendment which requires approval from both the House and Senate as well as three-fourths of the states. However, there is an effort by some states to make it obsolete another way. This alternative is called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. States that sign on to this compact agree to award their electoral votes to the candidate who wins the national popular vote. As of this writing, 18 states have passed such bills.
- The Heritage Foundation has done extensive research on the benefits of the electoral college stating that “the Electoral College allows more states to have an impact on the choice of the President.” Given that the majority of the United States’ population lives in dense urban centers in a handful of states, eliminating the electoral college would mean that the president is decided by those states alone, hanging citizens of states like Montana and the Dakotas out to dry. Given this, My Faith Votes believes that the electoral college is essential to ensure all citizens’ votes count—just as the Founding Fathers intended.
PRAY.
Ask the Lord to bring clarity and open the minds of voters across the nation who are researching this issue. Pray that America would remain a nation that gives every citizen a say in who runs it.
ACT.
The electoral college is just one of many issues on the ballot this November. As you make your plan to vote, take advantage of My Faith Votes’ My Voter Hub—a comprehensive voting resource that helps you with everything from researching your ballot to locating your polling place. Visit MyFaithVotes.org/MyVoterHub to get started.
Tren de Aragua Comes for US Kids: Gang Member Accused of Trying to Recruit Middle School Students in Texas
“A Tren de Aragua gang member has been busted after allegedly trying to recruit middle school students, according to cops — and experts warn that it’s a sign the brutal Venezuelan gang has already infiltrated American schools. Jorgenys Robertson Cova, 32, who has multiple arrests for theft since crossing the border illegally two years ago, is suspected of trying to make contact with students at Jane Long Academy and Las Americas in Houston, federal law enforcement sources told The Post.” read more at the New York Post
THINK.
- Our September 18th Intersect mentioned how this particular gang has been wreaking havoc in cities across the country. But recruiting children is a particularly egregious evil. In Times Square, Tren de Aragua is using children as young as 11 to rob tourists because they receive lighter punishments than adults.
- According to the New York Post, multiple sources who work in Homeland Security confirmed that the gang makes it a priority to recruit “vulnerable young men and women…usually [from] fatherless homes.” The breakdown of the family and the breakdown of law and order is hurting these young children. It should break our hearts and spur us to biblically based action.
- On Sunday, the National Border Patrol Council—the union of border patrol officers—endorsed Donald Trump for president. Immigration is a concern for many people this election, and both candidates claim to support a strong border. The Bible is clear that nations must protect their citizens and residents. As Christians, we can love our neighbors by voting with clarity and discernment.
PRAY.
Heavenly Father, we pray that our government would make and enforce just laws, protecting the innocent and vulnerable. We pray for a restoration of strong families and loving, present fathers. In Jesus’ name, amen.
ACT.
In an insightful interview, Tim Barton, president of Wall Builders, joined Matthew Thrower of My Faith Votes to discuss the importance of biblical principles in America’s founding and how these principles should guide our political decisions. To hear Tim’s excellent 7-minute explanation of immigration, click here.
Report Shows About 14,000 U.S. Minors Got So-Called Sex Change Treatments in Four-Year Period
“Watchdog database Stop the Harm reported that just under $120 million in medical expenses were submitted to insurance companies for treatments designed to hide a minor’s gender characteristics in the United States between 2019 and 2023. The database, launched by the medical advocacy group Do No Harm, reported about 14,000 minors receiving such treatments within the four-year period. About 8,500 minors received hormone blockers and more than 5,500 minors underwent actual surgeries to hide their gender characteristics, the database reported.” Read more at World
THINK.
- 14,000 minors…14,000 young boys’ and girls’ bodies—beautifully designed by their Creator—that have been permanently mutilated. Allowing this—either directly by enacting legislation that protects doctors who perform such procedures and prescribe such medications, or indirectly by remaining silent as this goes on—will forever be a great failure of our nation.
- Several of the medical facilities complicit in these “gender transitions,” are the nation’s largest children’s hospitals, like the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. These institutions, originally established to heal children, have begun harming children. What’s worse, a report released earlier this year revealed that many doctors have performed procedures on minors or prescribed medications to minors that have not been adequately tested or researched. The same report revealed discussions amongst doctors trying to determine whether a child’s mental illness or disability impairs their ability to give consent—with some doctors arguing it does not. Think about it, doctors are performing life-altering, gender mutilating surgeries on children too young to fully comprehend what is happening.
- The Bible teaches that God created humans as male and female, intentionally designing each person's gender (Genesis 1:27), and the Scriptures call believers to embrace God's design for identity, affirming that our bodies are part of His divine purpose and plan (Psalm 139:13-14). Gender is not fluid, it is God-given. To affirm radical gender ideology is to implicitly deny the workmanship and sovereignty of God.
PRAY.
Pray for all the young children whose minds and bodies have been permanently altered because of radical gender ideology. Ask God to intervene and open the minds of doctors and parents who have been complicit in these dangerous procedures and decisions. Pray that His design for men, women, boys, and girls would be cherished and protected in the United States and around the world.
ACT.
Grandparents can play a vital role in the lives of their grandchildren. That’s why My Faith Votes Board Chairman, Sealy Yates, created an Action Guide for Grandparents—to inspire and equip them to take meaningful steps toward building a lasting legacy of faith. Download this special Action Guide today to discover just how much you can do to impact the next generation. If you are not a grandparent, consider sharing this with a grandparent in your life or community.
My Faith Votes— is a ministry that motivates, equips, and activates Christians in America to vote in every election, transforming our communities and influencing our nation with biblical truth. An estimated 25 million Christians who are registered to vote, fail to vote in presidential elections. My Faith Votes is on a mission to change this statistic by helping Christians act on their faith and vote in every election. When we pray unceasingly for our nation, think biblically about the issues, and vote consistently in every election the impact of Christians taking action from the local to the state and federal level will be unprecedented.
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