As the presidential election approaches, the incumbent government seeks to win support with aid to churches and pastors.In many countries, politicians try to win over religious voters by highlighting areas of shared interest between their agenda and the faithful’s priorities. In Venezuela, candidates are offering pastors cash.With less than three months until Venezuela’s presidential elections, incumbent Nicolás Maduro is expanding two initiatives specifically aimed at the evangelical community, which represents 30.9 percent of the country’s population.Bono El Buen Pastor (“The Good Shepherd Bonus”), created last year, and Plan Mi Iglesia Bien Equipada (“My Well-Equipped Church Plan”) offer resources to pastors and their churches, including cash, chairs, construction materials, and expensive sound equipment—no strings attached. Mi Iglesia Bien Equipada exists under Misión Venezuela Bella, a government program that invests in recreation and arts spaces, which has remodeled nearly 3,000 churches since 2019.At the beginning of March, Maduro gathered 17,000 people in a pastors-only event in the northern city of Carabobo and announced that 20,000 additional pastors had become beneficiaries of the Bono El Buen Pastor program, which would deliver a monthly stipend of 495 bolivars (around $14 USD) to each new member. (Venezuela’s minimum legal monthly wage is 130 bolivars or $3.50.)Officially, the government says the program aims to give churchgoers dignified spaces where they can develop their faith. There are, however, those who view the state’s generosity with some suspicion.César Mermejo, president of the Evangelical Council of Venezuela and a leader of the Federación de Iglesias Mizpa de Venezuela, called these efforts by Maduro an attempt to buy the souls ...Continue reading...

About 43% of Israelis support the establishment of a moderate Palestinian government to replace Hamas.

As the presidential election approaches, the incumbent government seeks to win support with aid to churches and pastors.In many countries, politicians try to win over religious voters by highlighting areas of shared interest between their agenda and the faithful’s priorities. In Venezuela, candidates are offering pastors cash.With less than three months until Venezuela’s presidential elections, incumbent Nicolás Maduro is expanding two initiatives specifically aimed at the evangelical community, which represents 30.9 percent of the country’s population.Bono El Buen Pastor (“The Good Shepherd Bonus”), created last year, and Plan Mi Iglesia Bien Equipada (“My Well-Equipped Church Plan”) offer resources to pastors and their churches, including cash, chairs, construction materials, and expensive sound equipment—no strings attached. Mi Iglesia Bien Equipada exists under Misión Venezuela Bella, a government program that invests in recreation and arts spaces, which has remodeled nearly 3,000 churches since 2019.At the beginning of March, Maduro gathered 17,000 people in a pastors-only event in the northern city of Carabobo and announced that 20,000 additional pastors had become beneficiaries of the Bono El Buen Pastor program, which would deliver a monthly stipend of 495 bolivars (around $14 USD) to each new member. (Venezuela’s minimum legal monthly wage is 130 bolivars or $3.50.)Officially, the government says the program aims to give churchgoers dignified spaces where they can develop their faith. There are, however, those who view the state’s generosity with some suspicion.César Mermejo, president of the Evangelical Council of Venezuela and a leader of the Federación de Iglesias Mizpa de Venezuela, called these efforts by Maduro an attempt to buy the souls ...Continue reading...

As the presidential election approaches, the incumbent government seeks to win support with aid to churches and pastors.In many countries, politicians try to win over religious voters by highlighting areas of shared interest between their agenda and the faithful’s priorities. In Venezuela, candidates are offering pastors cash.With less than three months until Venezuela’s presidential elections, incumbent Nicolás Maduro is expanding two initiatives specifically aimed at the evangelical community, which represents 30.9 percent of the country’s population.Bono El Buen Pastor (“The Good Shepherd Bonus”), created last year, and Plan Mi Iglesia Bien Equipada (“My Well-Equipped Church Plan”) offer resources to pastors and their churches, including cash, chairs, construction materials, and expensive sound equipment—no strings attached. Mi Iglesia Bien Equipada exists under Misión Venezuela Bella, a government program that invests in recreation and arts spaces, which has remodeled nearly 3,000 churches since 2019.At the beginning of March, Maduro gathered 17,000 people in a pastors-only event in the northern city of Carabobo and announced that 20,000 additional pastors had become beneficiaries of the Bono El Buen Pastor program, which would deliver a monthly stipend of 495 bolivars (around $14 USD) to each new member. (Venezuela’s minimum legal monthly wage is 130 bolivars or $3.50.)Officially, the government says the program aims to give churchgoers dignified spaces where they can develop their faith. There are, however, those who view the state’s generosity with some suspicion.César Mermejo, president of the Evangelical Council of Venezuela and a leader of the Federación de Iglesias Mizpa de Venezuela, called these efforts by Maduro an attempt to buy the souls ...Continue reading...

The National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA is launching a series of events known as "Freedom Summer," hoping to mobilize voters and observe the 60th anniversary of the original summer of civil rights activism.

Poll: Supermajority of American Voters Oppose Abortion Past 12 WeeksPoll: Supermajority of American Voters Oppose Abortion Past 12 Weeks...

Poll: Supermajority of American Voters Oppose Abortion Past 12 WeeksPoll: Supermajority of American Voters Oppose Abortion Past 12 Weeks...

Evangelical voters' focus on policy over character came much earlier than you think.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Family Research Council today announced a new mobile billboard campaign that is traveling around Politico's DC headquarters and its New York bureau in response to recent comments from POLITICO national investigative correspondent Heidi Przybyla on MSNBC claiming that anyone who believes their rights are derived from God are "Christian nationalists."...

Tony Perkins, Family Research Council President, joined CBN's Faith Nation to discuss how Christian voters are responding to the current political climate and how we as a nation can posture ourselves for God's blessings....

Muslim leaders from key swing states are urging Muslim voters not to support President Biden in the 2024 presidential election in response to his handling of the Israel-Hamas war.The post Muslim Leaders from swing states vow to drop Biden support in 2024 appeared first on Baptist News Global.

A few weeks ago, voters in Ohio rejected a ballot measure that would have made it harder to amend the state's constitution. As it stands, to amend Ohio's constitution only requires 50% of the vote plus one. Issue 1 would have raised that threshold to 60%.The turnout for this vote was unexpectedly high for what appeared to be a procedural change. It was the only issue on the ballot. However, this vote was not merely about a procedure. It was also about abortion.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Last night, ahead of the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), pro-life leaders, and Iowa voters gathered at Experience Church in Des Moines for a Townhall Meeting for Life. ...