All eyes are on Iowa today as the first votes are cast for who may be our next President.

Pennsylvania’s Primary is still nearly three months away – April 26. But there are several things you can be doing in the meantime to prepare for Election Day:

1) Teach worldview principles.

Consider these words from Al Mohler about the upcoming election:

Very basic worldview issues are at stake….Worldview is more fundamental than politics. That is to say, that we eventually vote what we believe. We eventually bring our political action in line with our worldview….Before we think about the nation, before we think about the election, before we think about any electoral choice, we need to be very clear about what we believe about God. About truth. About the reality of human beings. About what’s broken in humanity. And about what Government can do and what Government cannot do. We need to keep in mind, understanding the human dignity and human liberty, of the sanctity of human life. We have to keep all of this in mind because eventually that’s what must inform our vote.

For examples of how to teach biblical worldview, consider Focus on the Family’s The Truth Project – an excellent initiative aimed at answering the question of, as a Christian, what do you believe?

Another resource is the TrueU series – an apologetic study into big questions like Does God Exist? and Who is Jesus?.

2) Pray.

Before the last presidential election, Gov. Mike Huckabee offered these insights:

I’m amazed sometimes when I talked with people who say, “I’m a Christian but I’m not going to vote because I don’t believe in getting involved in all that political stuff – it’s so dirty.” Well, if it’s dirty, maybe somebody needs to be willing to help clean it up. You go to a restaurant and everybody wants to eat from a clean plate but didn’t somebody have to do the dishes? And if politics is as dirty as maybe you think it is, maybe you could be a part of helping to clean it up. One way to do that is to be in prayer for those who are in government because God said that he can turn the King’s heart wherever he wishes just like channels of water in the hands of the Lord (Psalm 21:1).

Pray for our elected leaders. And pray for those who will be elected in 2016 to lead Pennsylvania and this nation in the years ahead.

I Voted3) Register to vote.

4,156,554 – That’s the number of Pennsylvania citizens that were of voting age that did not vote in the 2012 election.

The deadline to register to vote is March 28. You can register online to vote by clicking here.

4) Plan to use our Primary Voters Guide.

PA Family Institute is already working towards our primary election guide. Whether it be through your church, your school or other venues, you can use this resource to help inform voters about the candidates. Stay tuned for updates on its release – you can sign up for email alerts by clicking here.

5) Be serious about voting.

You may have seen this political cartoon already – from the Houston Chronicle before the 2014 election showing the fact that the majority of eligible Texas votes would not go vote:

Two Thirds of Eligible Texans Dont Vote

 

Make sure to vote on April 26 (and to register by March 28). In 2012, only 67% of registered voters actually voted – down from 88% in 1960. There’s more to the Pennsylvania ballot than the Presidential race and there’s more than enough reason to be part of the electoral process.