IRVINE, CA (ANS) -- Chuck Smith, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, has urged his congregation and fellow pastors to support two religious freedom amendments to the California constitution proposed by www.YesJesusIsLord.org, a not-for-profit Christian organization.

The amendments would ensure the right for Christians in California to share freely their faith in Jesus Christ without it being a crime, hate crime or unlawful to do so.

In a February 19 letter addressed to “Fellow Servants” Smith wrote, “It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law. (Psalm 119:126)… The time is fast approaching when we are seeing the move to impose restrictions on declaring the full council of God’s Word…The core issue is that we desire to continue to freely share our faith in Jesus Christ as well as every part of the Bible.”

Smith said he believes this effort to preserve religious liberty in California is “from the Lord,” and urged members of Calvary Chapel churches to sign petitions by April 1 to get the amendments on the state’s November ballot.

Dr. Keith Wiebe, president of the American Association of Christian Schools, and Dr. Dan Davidson, president of the Golden State Association of Christian Schools, also have written in support of the amendments.

Petition drives have been taking place at Calvary Chapel churches and other places for many weeks, according to Pastor Allan Esses, founder of www.YesJesusIsLord.org  and proponent of the amendments.

“We are greatly encouraged by the outpouring of support we are seeing for these amendments,” Esses said. “Anyone who believes in freedom of religious expression should be in favor of them.”

To view the amendment, visit: http://www.yesjesusislord.org/proposed_amendments.html or http://ag.ca.gov/cms_attachments/initiatives/pdfs/i829_initiative_09-0032_(a1-s).pdf
http://ag.ca.gov/cms_attachments/initiatives/pdfs/i830_initiative_09-0033_(a1-s).pdf

To obtain a petition, contact Allan Esses at PastorAllan@YesJesusIsLord.org