By Andrew Tome

Chairman of Christians Engaged in Pennsylvania

William Penn once said of Pennsylvania, “My God that has given it to me…will, I believe, bless and make it the seed of a nation.”

In 1682, he wrote laws for Pennsylvania that “shall best preserve true Christian and civil liberty, in opposition to all licentious and unjust practices whereby God may have His due, Caesar his due, and the people their due.”

Those words align with many of our founding principles as a nation, but are largely forgotten or labeled by the mainstream as extreme, radical, and so on.

Our Godly heritage is not radical, and it will be the foundation we need as the culture continues to unravel.

If you’re a follower of Jesus, be encouraged. It’s NOT extreme to hold Christian values or to stand for life and traditional family values. In fact, the opposite of those things are pretty extreme, yet they are being touted as normal by the media and in our schools, etc.

It is time for followers of Jesus to walk uprightly with confidence – as if it’s normal. Let us walk as free people. Now is our time. As the people of God, we can influence the course of our nation and our communities. 

We have an opportunity to do 3 things that can influence the course of our nation and our communities – Be a light, make a difference, and lead the way!

1. Be a Light

A few years ago, I had what I now call a “divine encounter,” through the reading of God’s Word. I was reading in Matthew 5 & 6 about the Kingdom of God. We all know it as the Sermon on the Mount, but in it Jesus is describing what life will be like in His kingdom. Even more than that, He was telling His followers at that time to live out the principles…NOW. He spoke those words, also knowing that we would read it thousands of years later, so He is telling us to live out the principles too.

As I was reading, I was struck at how relevant these verses are to the polarized times in which we live; and that if we, as the Church, applied those principles in our divided culture, how much more we would stand out in a positive way.

We have a right to be angry about a lot of things that are happening in our country right now, but we don’t need to act out on it in a way that will hurt our cause.

As we enter upcoming election seasons when everyone will be focused on politics, we have a tremendous opportunity to be a light!

2. Make a Difference

We all know how important the next few years are going to be for the future of our country. We have major elections coming up later this year and in 2024, as well as pivotal local elections. I believe these elections will be more consequential than what we saw in 2020.

The whole world will be watching to see what happens. What better place for a child of God to stand and be a voice? We, the Church, can play a role in where our country goes from here. We have a window to influence the outcome, I believe.

But what if things don’t go our way? What if our preferred candidates lose?

We have to decide now what we’re going to do, because there will be many who will act out of emotion. Be ready to help one another. Be a light and thrive…even in Babylon. We may see great change, but keep your faith and traditions alive.

In any scenario, we can be in a position to make a real difference!

3. Lead the Way

The very essence of liberty is rooted in God’s Word. God is the source of true freedom; therefore, we in the Church should be leading the way with a message of liberty.

Did you know that many of the principles in our founding documents were preached in churches years before they ever landed on those pages? The Church influenced the narrative of the day. The Church determined the course of history before, and we can do it again.

Christians Engaged is bringing the Church together to do such a thing, empowering ordinary followers of Jesus to pray, vote, and engage for the wellbeing of our nation.

God is raising up the right people for this moment. You’re here for a reason.

The opportunity is here!

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