Christians from around the country gathered for the Inaugural Pray Vote Stand Summit in northern Virginia this week.
The event, which was held at Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, was sponsored by the Family Research Council and FRC Action. The aims to equip and encourage Christians to tackle issues facing the nation and the church in an ever-changing world.
The Pray Vote Stand Summit builds on the groundwork laid by the Values Voter Summit and addressed issues such as protecting the unborn, the importance of the nuclear family, domestic and international religious liberty, developments in our nation’s education system, and others.
“We need to pray like we never prayed before. We need to vote every time we have the opportunity and vote our biblical values and we need to stand for truth regardless of what the culture may be saying,” said Tony Perkins, president of FRC and FRC Action.
The hope is to get Christians to respond overwhelmingly from a biblical worldview including at the voting booth.
Among the biggest concerns was what’s happening in the classroom, including a national push for Critical Race Theory and transgender policies.
Teacher Monica Gill is part of a lawsuit challenging the Loudoun County, Virginia School District’s new policy that includes forcing teachers to call students by their preferred pronouns.
“It’s been a process over the last couple of years watching the school board make decisions that are ideological, not educational,” said Gill.
Florida mom, Quisha King says it’s time for a mass exodus from the nation’s public schools.
“You do not have the right to indoctrinate our children. They were given to us by God and you do not have the right to teach this nonsense,” King stated.
Conservatives are also lashing out over the “woke” policies and “cancel culture” they say is jeopardizing the U.S. military.
“It’s true for our State Department and all levels of government. We have secularized in a way that presents real risks to our republic,” said Mike Pompeo, former U.S. Secretary of State under President Trump.
“Our national and military leadership as forced us into a constitutional minefield where our service members are forced to choose between their faith and saving their country, said Mike Berry, general counsel at First Liberty Institute.
Pro-life advocates are rallying fellow Christians amid what they believe is new momentum to save the unborn – including Texas’ new law banning abortions after 6 weeks.
“Encourage people. Their voice matters. Their vote matters and their prayers matter,” said Mary Szock, director at the Center for Human Dignity, FRC.
This comes as crucial elections including the Virginia governor’s race and the midterm elections draw near.
“Christians have been on the sidelines. They haven’t been engaged. My hope is to help the evangelical vote count to raise our voices not in an abrasive way, but in a way our voices count are heard,” said Pastor Gary Hamrick of Cornerstone Chapel.
That includes protecting the ballot box.
“Get involved at the local level in the election process. We need eyeballs, hands, hearts, and minds to make sure we have a very transparent system,” declared Ken Blackwell, Former Ohio Secretary of State and Senior Fellow at FRC.
Other topics covered during the event included the immigration crisis, vaccine mandates, and Christian persecution.
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