As the May 8 vote on a proposed marriage amendment approaches, the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina’s executive director-treasurer reminded Baptists of their opportunity to help determine whether marriage will be defined as the union between a man and a woman in the state’s constitution.
Milton A. Hollifield Jr. spoke on the issue during Culture Reach, the Convention’s evangelism conference Feb. 27 at Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem.
“Pastors, I hope that you would use the time always – but especially in these days – to preach and teach your people what the Word of God teaches about marriage and the value and importance of the marriage relationship between a man and woman and their children,” he said.
Register to vote
Hollifield urged pastors and church leaders to encourage members to make sure they are registered to vote. The deadline to register in N.C. is Friday, April 13.
According to the N.C. Center for Voter Education at ncvotered.com/register, those who miss the deadline still have an opportunity to vote during early voting. “It will not matter [that]… we believe this or we believe that,” Hollifield said. “What will determine what happens about this vote will be if your people go to the polls and vote. I pray that this marriage amendment will pass.”
In 2010 a study from the Pew Research Center reported that 39 percent of Americans believe marriage is becoming “obsolete.” “The local church must step up and lead the way,” Hollifield said. “We must teach our people in our churches about God’s design for marriage and family.”
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