BRANSON – People of faith must vote next fall to remove abortion from the state constitution, former Missouri Governor Mike Parson told Missouri Baptists gathered in Branson late last month.
“I firmly believe this is our last chance,” Parson said. Last year, Missouri voters passed a constitutional amendment that enshrined abortion through all nine months of pregnancy and removed all existing pro-life protections.
BRANSON – Willie Isaacson, who finished his term as chairman of the Missouri Baptist Convention’s Christian Life Commission, challenges Missouri Baptists to point Missourians to biblical truth.
In 2026, Missouri voters can change the constitution, restoring many of these pro-life protections, by voting “yes” for Amendment 3 on the ballot. If they don’t do this, the consequences will last for years to come.
“If we don’t get it done this time,” Parson said, “you’ll be fighting this issue for a long, long time.”
But pro-life support in Missouri isn’t without hope, he added. “All we need is to engage the people sitting in the pews and get them to go vote. It’s that simple.”
A longtime Missouri Baptist church member, Parson shared about how God brought him from the farm to the Governor’s office, and he noted the difference that church members make when they pray for their government leaders.
“It works,” he said. “I felt it time and time again in that big old governor’s office, somebody reaching out and praying for us. I would never have made it had it not been for that.”
Parson urged Missouri Baptists to remain faithful in handing down the vision that America’s founders penned in the nation’s founding documents and passed down to us.
“If the American dream is truly to stay alive, it stays alive in all of us,” he said. “If we do not pass that down to the next generation, … then we fail. … I tell you it is our job to keep the American dream alive. And the only way we can do it is by clinging to our faith, helping one another out in a time of need, and being involved – being involved because it is the right thing to do and because it is God’s way.”
CLC Chairman Willie Isaacson likewise urged Missouri Baptists to be involved.
“There comes a time when God cries out for the urgency of the need, and we’re encountering one of those times right now,” Isaacson said. “The need is for (God’s) people to show the way. … Right now, people are searching and yearning to better understand the value and purpose of life.”
If followers of Jesus don’t respond and get involved now, he asked, “who will show these people, seeking in this moment, the way of Jesus?”
The Christian Life Commission is the public policy arm of the Missouri Baptist Convention. To learn more, visit https://mbcclc.org.