by Mark R. Schneider, Founder & President, Protect Our Kids

January 2021 marks a new and unchartered chapter in the story of America. The economic lockdown continues amidst new virus strains, vaccine rollout delays and controversy surrounding its safety. Then there was the Presidential Election and the unprecedented turbulence it brought – reflections of a deeply polarized culture. As we await and pray for the incoming Administration, the Mall in Washington D.C. is empty except for the twenty-five thousand U.S. troops encamped there. For anyone hoping the New Year would bring a respite from the stresses of 2020, that hope now seems tenuous.

How did we get here? For most of its history, America was governed by the Judeo-Christian understanding of reality, justice, and law. That understanding informed the operation of our government, voluntary institutions, schools, family structure, in other words – American society. But those institutions have all eroded in direct proportion to our culture’s rejection of the Biblical worldview, such that today the real conflict is not so much between political parties, but between order and chaos.

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
John Adams

Nature, however, abhors a vacuum, and unless we’re granted repentance (“change of mind”), increasing moral chaos will lead inexorably to a kind of imposed order Americans have never known, will almost certainly regret, and that our Founders fought earnestly to forestall. Even now, a creeping authoritarianism is seen to be asserting itself in certain sectors of society, most notably media and academia. Others will follow.

Is repentance possible? Oh yes! Even amidst terrible moral compromise God’s grace knows no bounds. “It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is they faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23  We at POK pray continually for that compassion to fall anew upon America. For without it, it is difficult to see how we can recover from such deteriorating spiritual conditions.

Notwithstanding, the mission of informing parents about the dangers to their children in the public-school system continues. It must, as the threat to their welfare is no longer limited to Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) and all that that entails, but now also from Critical Race Theory and historical revisionism which is increasingly being pushed down into primary education. POK believes that these influences amount to a form of state indoctrination that is so corrupting the only sure remedy to protect one’s children is the remove them from the public-schools for a private or homeschooling environment. That is our message.

With help from our expanding network of POK Ambassadors, for 2021 we’ve launched a major initiative to inform Senior Pastors and other Clergy across the state of California about these public education harms, and to begin equipping them to educate their local attendees. This initiative began with a test mailing recently to churches across the city of Orange. We intend to reach thousands of pastors. POK is also planning other ways to get our message out this year, including articles, media appearances, and podcasts. Indeed, despite the challenges of this difficult season, we’ve been encouraged as our influence spreads. Partner organizations have sprung up in other states. We now have staff in Texas. Our members continue to be asked to speak in various venues. One of our videos was even translated for use in South Korea.

All to say, no matter what 2021 holds, we at POK are committed to continue carrying out the mission we’ve been called to, protecting our kids!