“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,’ says the Lord , who has compassion on you.” (Isaiah 54:10)

Every day we see sensational events reported in the news – sometimes horrifying disasters and calamities, other times important scientific breakthroughs or personal triumphs.  We cannot ignore these events, but at the same time our relationship with the Lord should remain constant regardless of what happens around us.  The events of this life, and the situations we encounter in this world, are merely temporary.  Our eternal inheritance is the only thing that lasts forever.  We strive to keep this eternal perspective – the most important thing is the constancy of the Lord’s love for us, and His eternal plan for us, even if we live in an age of turmoil and change.  

  For this reason, our churches do not take strong stances on political issues or endorse political candidates or parties. Our members are encouraged to vote, as this is part of our civic duty, and to consider their choices prayerfully. Members of our churches are entitled to their own personal political views.  The church itself, however, has a spiritual mission: to preach the gospel, to bring salvation to the lost, to fulfill the Lord’s purposes for His people.  We believe that a person’s salvation, which last forever, is more important that a political decision, which has significance for only a few years (if that!).  It would be a tragedy for us to become distracted from our primary mission by being embroiled in worldly politics.

Every political system and institution is comprised of human beings, and we are imperfect; therefore, any political system, plan, or institution will have some imperfections and failures, even if some appear to produce better results than others.  The Bible tells us to pray for our political leaders, both for their salvation and for them to have wisdom as they make policy decisions. We instruct our churches to pray regularly for our government, and we typically dedicate one month of the year (November) to pray and fast for God’s blessing on our government officials.  We pray for our leaders regardless of their party affiliations or political stances.

We are aware that some officials profess to be devoted Christians, while others do not.  We wish that everyone could discover the wonderful blessing of knowing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, so we pray for them all.

This is not to say that the events in the world around us have NO significance.  Some affect our lives in very real ways – wars, economic conditions, and public welfare affect our members as much as their neighbors and other citizens.  We all experience trials in this world, but we believe that the Lord has a special concern for those who serve him.  He does not keep us from encountering difficulties along our way, but He always provides a deliverance or a victory for those who seek him in their times of distress.

We also believe that some of the events we read about in the news are part of the fulfillment of biblical prophecies about the Last Days.  The political events we see unfolding in the Middle East and Europe, the troubling erosion of the global environment, and the shifts and changes taking place in Christian churches are all signs that the Lord’s return is at hand.  We do not react to these developments with fear or alarm (although we certainly prefer peaceful and healthful surroundings to wars and pollution!).  Rather, these signs motivate us to prepare ourselves spiritually for the Rapture of the Church.  God’s love for his children is constant, and we can trust in Him no matter what happens around us.  He is the only source of true peace and happiness.