Amendment 3: A Pastoral Call to Engage
Pastor Tom Estes, Founder of MO Protects
Why Missouri’s Shepherds Cannot Stand Back in This Moment
There are cultural moments when God’s people and especially God’s ministers must speak clearly. Amendment 3 is one of those moments. Jesus told us the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the second is like it: love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37–39). These commands are not simply private matters. They define how the church should act in the world.
When a law involves human life, the bodies of children, the safety of women, and the truth itself, pastoral silence is not an option. Amendment 3 calls for the engagement of Christ’s people and Christ’s shepherds.
Here is the pastoral case for why.
1. Amendment 3 Protects the Unborn and Pastors Must Say So
Since the 2024 abortion amendment passed, abortion facilities including Planned Parenthood have opened again in Missouri. innocent unborn babies are being killed in our state.
We know what the Bible says. God forms children in the womb (Jeremiah 1:5). God calls His people to rescue those being led to death (Proverbs 24:11). We know this and we have no right to stay silent or be toxic in these matters. Our pastoral responsibility requires we speak.
Amendment 3 will close these murder mills and stop most abortions in Missouri. Pastors need to speak plainly because lives are truly at stake.
2. Amendment 3 Protects Children From Gender Mutilation and Shepherds Must Stand in the Gap
Children across the country are being pushed into irreversible sex-change operations as well as puberty blockers, and hormonal drugs. These practices permanently brutalize children that God created and confuse young impressionable minds that God intended to flourish.
Again, we know what God’s Word says. God made humanity male and female (Genesis 1:27). Jesus explained the terror He would bring upon those who harm children (Matthew 18:6). When adults promote or profit from harming children, pastors are called to protect the flock and to defend the innocent.
Amendment 3 bans sex change surgeries for minors and the drugs used to transition them. Pastors are not entering politics when they support this. They are fulfilling their calling to guard children from harm.
3. Amendment 3 Protects Women From Lies and Abuse
Pastors have counseled many women who were pressured and misled into having abortions. They were lied to about what they were doing and no idea the harm they were bringing upon themselves.
You do not need to be reminded that God commands honesty among His people (Zechariah 8:16). Scripture teaches that genuine love does no harm to a neighbor (Romans 13:10). When an industry deceives women or injures them while profiting from their pain, Pastors must speak up.
Amendment 3 gives women the ability to pursue justice when abortion doctors lie to them or injure them. Pastors who care about the women in their congregations cannot remain silent about this.
4. Amendment 3 Touches Areas Where the Church Must Speak
Pastors are not required to become political experts. They are required to teach God’s Word and lead God’s people. But when public policy deals directly with the things God has spoken about, pastors must engage.
Amendment 3 deals with the lives God creates, the bodies God designed, the children God treasures, the women who need truth and safety, and the moral clarity God demands. These issues are not optional for the church. They are part of the calling of every shepherd.
Pastors do not support Amendment 3 because it is strategically useful. They support it because it brings our state closer to God.
5. Amendment 3 Requires Pastoral Leadership From the Pulpit
Missouri is now living in a culture that often calls evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). Christians are being discipled every day by voices that contradict Scripture. If pastors are silent, the culture will happily shape the moral worldview of God’s people.
This moment a clear Biblical voice, which is the job of the God-called pastor. Pastors have been entrusted with a tremendous task to care for souls, and to speak, without fear, against the evils of our day.
Supporting Amendment 3 is not a political act. It is an act of faithful pastoral leadership. It is guarding the flock, protecting the vulnerable, and applying biblical truth to real-world decisions.
Conclusion: Missouri’s Pastors Must Lead in This Moment
Missouri has changed dramatically since the 2024 abortion amendment. Abortion facilities have reopened and they are actively killing unborn babies. Planned Parenthood has regained a foothold in our state. Children face pressure from wicked adults to permanently harm themselves. Women remain vulnerable to deception and injury from the abortion industry.
This is not a moment for quiet pulpits. It is a moment for pastoral courage.
To love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength is to honor what He has spoken.
To love our neighbor as ourselves is to protect the innocent and confront what harms them.
Amendment 3 requires the engagement of God’s people and especially God’s ministers. Not because it is political but because it is right.
Shepherds must lead.
And now is the time.