USA (MNN) — Today is Election Day in the U.S. Today, voters submit their choices for national, state, and local leaders. Click here to find your local polling station. Approximately 239 million people are eligible to vote in the 2020 election, and 93 million voted early by mail.
In 2016, Pew Research identified intense political polarization among U.S. voters. The divide has seemingly grown since then, with Americans divided on several key issues. See Pew’s latest findings here. Many U.S. Christians participate in the democratic process. No matter the outcome of this year’s election, at least some congregants will likely be upset.
Elections are one of many difficult topics that pastors and church leaders have to navigate this year, Barna Research reports. People in the pews have varying but strongly-held opinions about policies, race relations, COVID-19 restrictions, and more.
“We’re interacting with pastors all over the country and world, hearing their challenges of meeting [or] not meeting, deciding which part of the regulation makes sense to enforce or not enforce; it’s just a tightrope walk,” Denise Godwin of International Media Ministries says.
Whether the prayer is for navigating pandemic regulations or political fall-out, church leaders need our intercession.
“It’s such an important time to build one another up and hold the arms of the church leadership up as they try to navigate a very narrow field of options between government and what God’s calling them to do at any given moment,” Godwin notes.
Hope rising
There is a silver lining to this season of COVID-19 headlines, U.S. political bickering, and social unrest. “God is at work,” Godwin shares.
“These are times of great challenge but a great opportunity, and it’s important to lift one another in prayer.”
Established in 1981 as part of Assemblies of God World Missions, International Media Ministries produces Gospel-focused media tools in almost 70 languages. IMM also develops mobile technologies for use in closed-access countries and trains local believers to leverage media to further the Gospel.
It is as if God tailor-made their ministry for such a time as this, Godwin says.
“People are responding to online media that shares Christ three times more than normal. People are inquiring about God and looking for hope through media.”
The IMM team on a film shoot.
(Photo courtesy of International Media Ministries)
Pray for IMM’s team as they prepare training materials for church planters around the world. “We’re developing some curriculum to help church planters have some basic tools communicate with people,” Godwin says.
“We don’t want just to tell people about church; we want to invite them into a conversation about Jesus Christ.”
Help IMM continue their work here. Your gift makes this media outreach possible. “It’s so important that we’re telling authentic and real stories about people impacted by Jesus Christ, and using that to help people examine Christianity and faith in a new way,” Godwin says.
“There are a lot of people who won’t go to church, but they’ll watch a video of a testimony or a story.”
Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Element5 Digital via Unsplash.
