Friday feature: Jerusalem, Samaria . . .

This week we presented our rationale for partnering with pro-life ministry overseas, but on Saturday our prayer partners will focus on pregnancy center ministries in our home state. Basically we're featuring Margaret Horvath, who heads up both a PCC and a statewide alliance of PCCs.

Margaret is the executive director of Heartbeat of Monroe, "a faith-based, non-profit, life affirming, pregnancy care and resource center serving the Monroe County Area since 1973." Alliance for Life of Michigan is a loose-knit coalition of PCCs that "works to promote, nurture, unite and expand" life-affirming organizations throughout the state.

Heartbeat of Monroe is one of 34 Michigan centers listed on our website as either an associate or one with which we have a close working relationship. We didn't help start Heartbeat, but Margaret has attended our Summits; we were instrumental in the establishment of the Alliance.

According to Optionline.org, there are at least 46 organizations offering alternatives to abortion within a 100 mile radius of Grand Rapids, our Jerusalem. The Pregnancy Decision Line lists 49 such services in the state, although their list doesn't include every PCC.

That's probably 49 more than are available in entire countries of the developing world. It's helpful to keep that perspective in mind, as a reason to go to "the uttermost parts of the world."

Prayer request: For Tom, Ray, and John as they wing their way to the Philippines today for two weeks of training and consultation with pro-life ministries.

Monday musing: The case for pro-life missions overseas

Corrected 2/19/13: This week Tom Lothamer, president of Life Matters Worldwide, will fly to the Philippines with Ray Paget, our former executive director, and John McCastle, a new board member and the president of Ultrasounds for Life.

They'll be meeting with our partners in pro-life ministry, including Melisa Serata (who does abstinence education in schools) and Dr. Mae Corvera (who leads LIFT ministries at her church and others in Manila).

The trip will be costly -- both in terms of time and money. Some might wonder, why not concentrate on needs here in the U.S. Aren't they pressing enough? Why be "worldwide"?

Indeed the need for pro-life ministry in the U.S. is great, and we must continue to develop and promote alternatives to abortion and euthanasia. Many resources are already devoted to this cause.

In fact, Kurt Dillinger of LIFE International has said that something like 90 percent of U.S. pro-life dollars are spent in this country while 90 percent of the world's abortions occur elsewhere.

That's a sobering thought. Even more difficult to swallow is the responsibility America bears, because we have exported abortion to the world.

The Guttmacher Institute is pro-abortion and connected
with International Planned Parenthood Federation.

How is that possible? Consider two countries: Romania and South Africa. They both achieved new levels of democratic freedoms in the 1990s, and both looked to the U.S. for a model to follow. What did they see? Among other things, legalized abortion on demand. Sadly, as they threw off an old bondage they replaced it with a new one. Today Romania has one of the world's highest rates of abortion.

Life Matters Worldwide has been to both countries to help missionaries and nationals respond to the crises created by sexual immorality and its consequences: abortion and sexually transmitted diseases. In Romania, we helped establish the Clinica ProVita group of pregnancy care centers; in South Africa we trained church members to offer LIFT services to people dying of AIDS.

If you think passing pro-life laws is an uphill battle in the U.S., consider that the task of pro-life ministry in other countries is even more Sisyphean. Depending on the administration in power, the U.S. often ties foreign aid to a recipient country's liberalization of abortion laws. We Christians, therefore, owe an even greater debt to Christians in other countries to help them fight abortion.

Pro-lifers in other countries face added challenges, such as:

• A lack of biblical teaching on the sanctity of human life, even in churches
• A lack of understanding about human development and what abortion does to the unborn
• A lack of respect for women
• A lack of resources*

Life Matters Worldwide is positioned to help people overseas overcome the first three hurdles, but the last is most difficult. We want to avoid making Third World ministries dependent on the so-called First World for support. Nevertheless, many people in other parts of the world who have a great desire to do pro-life ministry must spend a good share of their day simply surviving.

I think of Bentina Alusi who runs the Kibera Community Counselling and Pregnancy Crisis Centre in the world's largest slum (outside Nairobi, Kenya). By our standards she has very little but, like the poor woman of Luke 21:1-4, she gives all she has.

At one point soon after the center opened in 2009, Bentina was counseling with 15 girls a day, two days a week. Missionaries reported that the church that her husband pastors grew because of her ministry through the center. From a small seed comes great harvest! Similar results have been had through PCC ministry in Lima, Peru.

Volunteering at a pregnancy center or AIDS hospice is a luxury that few in developing nations can afford, therefore ministries in these parts of the world are well served if we help them devise strategies for sustaining pro-life work. A few years ago, for instance, we were blessed to be able to give one center in South Asia a grant toward the establishment of a pharmacy to generate income.

God has given Life Matters both the desire and the opportunity to join with others in pro-life ministry overseas. So far He's also supplied resources to enable us to help in small but significant ways. Please pray for Tom, Ray, and John as they make this trip, for Mae and Melisa as they organize the visit, and for the people in the Philippines who will be trained.

We receive new requests every week. Today there was one from a person in Kenya. Ask God to give us wisdom and grace as we steward both funds and opportunities, and as we respond to people.

Truly, life matters worldwide.

*Read about a fifth challenge here.

Related: Go for the Yahtzee -- an interesting take on helping people help themselves

Friday feature: Pennsylvania PCCs

Today our prayer partners will focus attention on two pregnancy care centers in the Keystone State: Lifeline PCC in Millersburg and Delaware County Pregnancy Center in Chester.

We've had a relationship with PA centers ever since 1987 when we helped establish Pennsylvania Baptists for Life & Families and trained their members for pro-life ministry.

Other PA centers that are (or have been) associates of Life Matters Worldwide:

Amnion Crisis Pregnancy Centers, Drexel Hill (Upper Darby)
Chester County Women's Services, Coatesville & West Chester
Cornerstone Pregnancy Care Services, Gap
Genesis Pregnancy Care Center, Pottstown

Friday feature: Women & Teens of Pontiac

In addition to helping people affected by unplanned pregnancies, the main goal of Women & Teens Pregnancy Center of Pontiac, Michigan, is glorifying God. Not only do they help by offering physical and emotional support, but they also aim to lead clients to salvation in Christ and fellowship with a local church.

Women & Teens was one of the first centers that Life Matters (then Baptists for Life) helped start. A steering committee was formed in 1986 to explore the possibility of opening a center on the other side of the state -- one year after our "flagship" Alpha Women's Center opened in Grand Rapids. 

The Pontiac center officially opened its doors June 15, 1988. According to their website, thousands of clients have been served since that day, ranging in ages from eleven on up. "Over 20,000 calls have come in on our 24-Hour Helpline. Our goal is to share Christ with each client who comes through our doors, and if a client professes Christ as Savior, to try to match her up with a local, fundamental, baptistic church."

In 1998, Women & Teens moved to 263 Cesar Chavez Avenue when a permanent building and parking lot was given to them. "We continue to counsel women against abortion and towards Christ. We also have a Learn & Earn Program which has given us many more opportunities to witness as many clients do Bible studies in order to earn the points with which to 'buy' baby items."

Carol Baldwin is the current director. A nurse and former missionary to Bangladesh, she served as the founding director of Flint Crisis Pregnancy Services. For a time after that she served as Baptists for Life's Development Director for Crisis Pregnancy Centers, training other new centers and helping us revise our training manual. Having served on the boards of the Flint center, BFL, and Women & Teens, she knows every aspect of pregnancy center ministry.

Find them on Facebook

Client website

Working Wednesday: The Summit

Our two-day conference for pregnancy care center staff, volunteers, and board members isn't until June 20-21, but we're busy planning it now. Workshop ideas are gelling into a well-rounded schedule, speakers are being contacted, exhibitors will be invited. Then a brochure will be designed and mailed to PCCs across the country. Soon after that we'll begin taking registrations.

Sol Pitchon

This annual event began in the 1990s, with just a few partner directors sitting around a table in our office. We'd discuss common problems and needs. It grew to include one or two speakers of interest. Eventually we moved to an outside location, invited more speakers, and opened it up to other centers. 

This year our main speaker is Sol Pitchon of New Life Solutions, a PCC in Largo, Florida. He has a very interesting personal story to tell and thoroughly understands the issues facing centers. We're also going to ask area pastors to join us for a couple sessions with Sol the first morning.

Workshop speakers will focus on ministry to men, sidewalk counseling, the special challenges that rural centers face, leadership, evangelism, and other important topics.

New location this year: The Kent ISD Conference Center.

Friday feature: AWC Des Moines & Ankeny

Alpha Women’s Center of Des Moines, Iowa, opened in 1995 and recently added a satellite center in nearby Ankeny. In that time they've served countless women. 

Their website notes that, "The average age of our clients is between 15-19 years old. The next common group consists of clients 20-24 years old." Additional data breaks down this way --

Ethnicity:
Caucasian – 57%
Latino – 21.3%
Afro-American – 14.5%
Other – 7.2%

Religious affiliation:
Catholic – 21.3%
Baptist – 10%
Non-affiliated – 20%
Penecostal – 9%
Other – 39.7%

Executive Director Linda Albertson and her team are rejoicing over the Ankeny center's new facility. Please pray with them that the new location and updated signage will lead more women to their doors.

Find them on Facebook

Friday feature: Faith Baptist Community Center

In our partnerships with missionaries, we're usually talking about helping form pro-life ministries overseas. But in this instance of working with missionaries from Baptist Mid-Missions, we're referring to inner-city Cleveland.

Faith Baptist Community Church and Center was founded in BMM's backyard -- their "Jerusalem" -- and continues to be operated by missionaries from that agency. As director Mike Vanek writes, America’s inner cities cannot be forgotten as fields "ripe for harvest."

The community center offers a wide range of services, including:

• Meal program
• Clothing room
• Medical
• Pregnancy services
• Computer classes
• Interdependent living program
• Men’s programs
• Women’s programs
• Children and Teen programs
• Sunday School & Church service
• Prayer meeting
• Discipleship

Pregnancy services are where we came in to help. In addition to consultation on the start-up of ministry to pregnant women, we helped FBCCC obtain their first ultrasound equipment. They not only offer support at the start of a pregnancy, but help women learn proper pre-natal and infant care through one-on-one and video instruction.

How to help:

• Pray for Sherri Vanek, the clinical coordinator, and Jen Lake, the pregnancy program coordinator
• Volunteer opportunities abound
• Donations are welcome, and not limited to funding - food, paper products, gently used clothing, personal hygiene products, OTC medications and medical supplies, new baby items (check website for details)

Tuesday prayer: Being ready

In life, we're certain to meet with disappointment. May we be prepared to give a gracious response.

Other prayer requests this week:

• Joseph Akakpo, one of our ministry partners in Togo, is struggling with a bout of malaria. Pray that God would raise him up to full strength

• "C" has returned to pro-life ministry in South Asia after a furlough and reports being faced with several challenges. Ask God to help her overcome them.

• Flint (MI) Crisis Pregnancy Services recently suffered a break-in at their inner-city location. Pray for recovery of stolen property and protection in this high-crime neighborhood.

• A staff member at HELP Crisis Pregnancy Center in Monroe, NC, needs a kidney/pancreas transplant. Pray for her health.

• New Life Pregnancy Resource Center in Gaylord, MI, requests prayer for families in financial crisis.

• A pastor friend in Bangladesh reports that country is experiencing record low temperatures. Poor people lack sufficient fuel and clothing. Ask God to help him supply them with blankets for warmth.

Friday feature: Maternity Resource Center

A local school donated six cribs to the MRC.

The Maternity Resource Center of Immanuel Baptist Church in Columbus, Ohio, is a fairly unique member of the Life Matters family. Founded in 1988, it grew out of Baptists for Life of Central Ohio, an organization headed at the time by the pastor of that church, Bill Abernathy, Jr.

At the time, several good pregnancy care centers were already operating in Columbus. Knowing this, the board of BFLCO felt the affiliate’s energies should be channeled into a different aspect of pro-life ministry. No one knew what that would be at first.

“In bouncing around ideas of what we could do in direct ministry to women with needy pregnancies,” Bill recalls. (He's currently the pastor of Berean Baptist Church in Portage, MI, and one of Life Matter's pastoral advisers.) “We came up with the concept of a maternity resource center. We saw a need for additional support for these women after they left the crisis pregnancy center, since the centers were not able to meet their needs completely.”

The MRC is located in the church building and assists families who have chosen life for their babies. The center provides free maternity clothes, baby and infant clothes, and other baby items supplied by members at Immanuel and other area churches. Biblical guidance is available to help with spiritual needs. There's also a Maternity Resource Center in the Westerville, Ohio, area -- at Grace Baptist Church.

Here's a recent video taken at the MRC:

They're currently in need of diaper donations. Pray for this ministry and "like" it on Facebook!

Friday feature: Statewide alliances

Pregnancy care centers are often attacked by abortion advocates as being "fake clinics" that offer false information about abortion and trick women into continuing their pregnancies. Nothing could be further from the truth, but countering such misconceptions is difficult. Abortion advocacy groups are well-funded and adept at manipulating the media. What's a center to do?

Most PCCs adopt standards of operation such as those to which we hold our partner centers. That's one level of defense. Another is to band together with like-minded PCCs in statewide alliances.

One such group is the Alliance for Life of Missouri. You can find a full list of their services on their website, but one of the key components is nurturing centers through consultation and training. Our president, Tom Lothamer, has led workshops at several conferences with the Missouri alliance over the years. He also worked with our state's PCCs to form the Alliance for Life of Michigan.

Another key component of alliances is building awareness among state legislators so they understand the value of PCCs to Missouri families. This effort is aimed at forestalling the tactics used against centers in other states that, thankfully, have come to nothing.

To do:

• Ask God to protect PCCs from attacks
• Find the Alliance for Life - Missouri on Facebook
• Read Are we really so bad?

Friday feature: Beacon of Hope PCC -- Bay City, MI

Life Matters has been associated with this pregnancy care center from its founding by our good friends Kim and Patti Lewis. They served the Lord in the Bay City a number of years -- Kim as a pastor and Patti as director of Beacon of Hope -- before recently moving to another church in Beaverton, MI, last year.

Leadership of the PCC is now in the hands of young and energetic Amy Srebinski. A few months ago, however, the mother of four was feeling a little overwhelmed by all her new responsibilities. She called our office. Even though she had no experience directing a center, she seemed to know what she didn't know, and that's often a key to success.

We were able to advise her on a few things, urge her to attend next year's Summit, welcome her as an associate, and give her a Standards for Excellence manual. We also introduced her to Carolyn Doyle, CEO of Lakeshore Pregnancy Centers.

Amy spent a few days on this side of the state, consulting with Sharlene from our office as well as participating in a training seminar at LPC. She also got to sit in on a meeting with directors of all the Lakeshore satellite centers. She probably felt overloaded with information on her way home, but we've already seen an uptick in her confidence level.

We're grateful for the privilege of working alongside directors like Amy -- made possible by our donors, years of experience working in this field, and a fine network of partner centers.

• Find Beacon of Hope PCC on Facebook

Working Wednesday: What is LIFT?

We've mentioned LIFT in the previous two posts, and now it's time to say more about it.

What is LIFT? LIFT is a ministry of compassionate care to the chronically or terminally. Through LIFT, volunteers are trained to visit individuals and provide non-medical assistance. The circle of care also extends to loved ones who are often the individual's primary caregivers and who face pressures that can be physically, emotionally, and spiritually draining.

LIFT volunteers report to a Care Coordinator and meet regularly with each other for encouragement and support. They help their care recipients by ministering in simple, creative, and practical ways:

• Run errands
• Walk the dog
• Help with housework
• Bake a cake
• Bring fresh flowers
• Read the Bible out loud
• Shovel snow
• Help with correspondence
• Do yard work
• Drive patient to the doctor's office
• Be a friend
• Listen
• Bring encouragement

LIFT is an ideal outreach of the local church -- to church members and people in the community. It also sends important messages to the world at-large: 

1. Human life is sacred
2. God is sovereign over life
3. Jesus Christ conquered sin and death
4. God's people serve others through compassion ministries

Learn more:

What is LIFT? from Life Matters Worldwide

Related:
LIFT on our website
LIFT FAQs
The messages LIFT sends
How not to flinch in the face of suffering

Postscript: An award-winning movie -- Amour -- advocates euthanasia and shows why ministries such as LIFT are needed.

Tuesday prayer: LIFT volunteers

Yesterday's musing briefly mentioned LIFT as one way for Christians to ease the suffering of people, stand up for the sanctity of human life, and oppose euthanasia. Today we'll pray for people who volunteer to help people -- primarily those with chronic or terminal illnesses, and their loved ones -- in programs like this through local churches.

For instance, the Care Coordinator at Grandville Baptist Church (MI), Ruth TenBrink, has recently linked five volunteers with five care recipients. Pray that these will be mutually encouraging partnerships, and that the individuals will find sustaining grace from the Lord in difficult experiences.

There are also LIFT-type ministries at other Michigan churches: Calvary Baptist Church in Greenville, Jenison Bible Church, and Calvary Baptist in Grand Rapids. (If your church has a similar program, please let us know. We'd love to pray for you, too!)

Learn more about LIFT on our website.

Monday musing: We wouldn't do that to a dog!

Time was when pet euthanasia was used as a rational for people euthanasia. The logic went something like this: If we can put a dog or cat out of its misery, why can't we do the same for humans?

[For examples of this sentiment, see the following articles: Pro-euthanasia ads air on Australian TV, Is euthanasia for the living or the dying? and Dutch Euthanasia.]

While the pro-life side appreciated the ever-so-slight acknowledgment that human being deserve better treatment than dogs and cats (that was the intent, right?), we reject the rationale. Human beings stand above the animal world as imagers of God. (Genesis 1:26-27, 9:2-4; Psalm 8:6-8)

The death of animals is morally neutral, while that of humans requires scrutiny. In Genesis 9:5-6, God made animals accountable for the death of humans, not the other way around.

 "Better" treatment of human beings, in our view, involves easing suffering -- through  palliative care and hospice ministries that affirm every patient's worth as valuable to God -- not ending it by killing the sufferer. Our LIFT program trains Christians to do that for fellow-church members and others.

So now it's amusing to read about a new twist on the argument. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, dying pets are receiving palliative care rather than euthanasia. In 'It's Just a Dog. Get Over It.', Jessica Pierce writes about how the line is being blurred between pets and other family members. Owners are shelling out big bucks to provide pets with care from one of the approximately 75 veterinary hospice services available around the country.

"Once euthanasia was the default response to an animal's mortal illness. Not any more. . . . Working together, pet owners and veterinarians can often maintain a good quality of life for an animal long after we might, in past times, have simply euthanized it."

Will this mean the end of the euthanasia-for-people argument? Will euthanasia advocates now say, "If we can give pets life-affirming care like hospice, why can't we do the same for humans?" One would hope so, yet it would be sadly ironic that it would take uber-love for pets to get us to view people from the proper perspective.

It's too late for those who have been legally euthanized in places such as Belgium and the Netherlands. And in Oregon and Washington state. (Click the above links for the latest statistics.) Here's some commentary from those who have digested the figures:

• There have been 5,500 cases of euthanasia in 10 years of legal euthanasia in Belgium. The European Institute for Bioethics raises serious questions about the practice, including how intertwined it is with organ retrieval for transplants. Wesley Smith says Belgium has gone "off the moral cliff."

• The Netherlands prize their euthanasia efficiency, but Dr. Bernard Lo questions the extent of government oversight in a recent Lancet article, (volume 380, issue 9845, pages 869-870, 8 September 2012, doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61128-3). Alex Schadenberg says euthanasia there is "out of control."

• The Physicians for Compassionate Care Education Foundation bemoans the steady increase in numbers of physician-assisted suicides in Oregon and the lack of transparency in the process. (This seems to be a common theme.)

• Washington is the latest arrival to the euthanasia scene, but it appears to be surpassing Oregon in numbers, according to the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Church. 

Postscript: Get ready for the next assault on the sanctity of human life -- plant rights! See also Pea Personhood? and (for the inevitable twist) Why Did We Ever Start Calling Patients “Vegetables?”

Friday feature: Pregnancy care ministry in Papua New Guinea

Lori Smith is a missionary nurse in the mountains of Papua New Guinea. She runs a clinic that sees many people every day -- people who've let an illness go on too long, victims of violence. People who can't make it to the hospital in town, or have been turned away from there. Each one hears about Jesus.

Many patients are pregnant women. A few years ago, Life Matters helped Lori get a used ultrasound machine to help them see and bond with their unborn babies. It's a wonderful tool for life. Many have turned from their abortion plans as a result. Here's a report from this week's newsletter:

Four moms . . . came to our clinic seeking abortions. Sharing God’s Word with them, praying with them, and encouraging rather than chastising them for their request made a huge impact on their decisions . . . all have chosen life for their babies. One is just weeks away now from delivery. It will be a choice she will be thankful about for the rest of her life.

Lori and her husband Bill, who teaches at and administrates Goroka Baptist Bible College, have also turned their home into a haven for premature or abandoned babies. Village women help nurture the premies until they're able to go home and the abandoned ones until adoptive homes are found.

I wish everyone read Lori's newsletters. They're jam packed with stories about moms and babies, about patients tended to in the clinic, about churches begun because Christians cared for a newborn belonging to that tribe. Life in PNG is hectic, often frantic, and sometimes frightening with physical and spiritual warfare going on all around. Please pray for Bill and Lori and their family.

• Find them on Facebook
• ABWE website
• Previous mention on this blog

Thankful Thursday: Inspiring thanksgiving in Togo

So many blessings . . . so little time. One day isn't enough to express thanksgiving, but at least our country sets aside a holiday to consider what we're grateful for. It's in danger, however, of being co-opted by football and shopping.

Meanwhile, over in Africa, one of  partners wrote this reflection:

Not in Africa, but only in the U.S. . . . [There is] no Thanksgiving Day as a holiday in any of the 54 countries in Africa nor in Togo, my home country. . . . I do not know about other continents like, Asia, Europe, South America and Australia.

Joseph Akakpo of Togo went on to tell about how it "just happened" he had scheduled a day for thanksgiving and testimonies at the LomNava church on November 25, "not knowing November 22nd is a BIG holiday of thanksgiving in the U.S." Here's how it went:

I want to tell you that, we had a wonderful Sunday morning worship with thanksgiving. After the Holy Spirit led me to preach on the attitude of giving thanks taken from Luke 17:11-19, the saints in the church felt guilty of being ingratitude to the Lord. In fact a lady and a man were crying while they shared their ungrateful hearts. There were lot of inspiring testimonies I have not heard from the brethren before after being with them for three years now. They really poured their hearts this morning and said all to free themselves after the conviction of the Holy Spirit to be grateful to the Lord. . . . 

They even shared a meal -- "not finger food but the real one. Yes, we eat to our satisfaction and we praise God for that." Maybe our brothers and sisters in Africa will lead us back to the real purpose of Thanksgiving Day.

For even though they knew God, 

they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, 

but they became futile in their speculations, 

and their foolish heart was darkened. 

Professing to be wise, they became fools. 

(Romans 1:21-22)

Working Wednesday: Prayer calendar

This is Sue Ellen Doenier, working on the prayer calendar for January and February. It involves retrieving prayer requests from our pro-life ministry partners and arranging them in the grid. Sue also finds appropriate clip-art to embellish the calendar and writes an accompanying letter that helps our Prayer Partners appreciate their role.

That role is significant, and close to 1200 people have stepped up to fill it. Most receive calendars by email, the rest by post. Some are true prayer warriors, never wanting to miss a single day! It certainly is heartening to know they're with us in a spiritual battle that never gets a day off. We also enjoy hearing how God has answered requests that were highlighted in the calendar.

Would you like to join the ranks as a Prayer Partner? Please go to the sign-up page and fill out a brief form. You can access the current calendar here.

From time to time we post urgent requests on Facebook. "Like" us @ www.facebook.com/lifemattersworldwide to receive those updates. You'll also receive them by following us on Twitter.

Friday feature: A question that makes all the difference

I've written about Metro Women's Center of Crystal, MN, in the past, but Director Colleen Tronson keeps writing such good reports that I want to share them with you.

(Hint to other PCCs that want to be featured in this space: Send frequent updates and make sure we're on your email list. It doesn't hurt if you also know how to write in a dynamic, compelling style.)

In her latest e-newsletter, she writes something that any PCC director could write:

The woman came into the office with downcast eyes and and a heavy heart. I prayed silently that I would be able to make a connection with her. My initial questions were met with one-word answers -- yes or no. Since her head was bent in discouragement, I longed to say, "Look up; there is help and hope for you here!" But I knew that this dear one needed me to go slowly and to use gentle words to help her. She gradually opened up and looked up. She shared her fear of a possible pregnancy. She was already struggling to raise her young daughter. My heart went out to her; there was so much to plow through.

Her test was positive. She was resolute. Abortion was her plan, and that was all there was to it! I asked, "What would have to change in order for you to choose life for your child?" She shared that her rent was behind due to unexpected car repairs. Even with working 50 hours a week, she was still overwhelmed. She stated that she knew abortion was wrong but it represented a way out for her. She needed $300 to catch up on the rent. I told her we could help with that amount through our aid programs. "Really, you would help me?" was her shocked response. I told her that if $300 would save her baby's life, we would be happy to help!

She began to cry and and to thank me for giving her a way out. We talked further, and I had the opportunity to share Scripture with her. She said she knew the Lord but had not chosen to obey Him. I John 1:9 was shared, and through prayer this dear one was restored.

$300 and compassionate words saved a baby's life -- amazing! This is why we are here.

It's a story true of any pregnancy care center. Of course, centers can't help women this way without the support and volunteers to make such offers.

They need prayer support too. I love how Colleen remembered to "go slowly and to use gentle words" to help the woman. This takes training and proper attitudes, but also prompting by the Holy Spirit in the moment to apply the appropriate response. 

In that same vein, we just received a prayer request from another pro-life ministry that's also been featured previously (which also sends frequent, compelling updates):

Please pray for a Garden of Hope caller who, even after finding out she is carrying twins, is seeking a place for an abortion. This young mother already has two small children and we believe is being pushed into this abortion by a very difficult boyfriend who seems very agitated that this decision is so hard for her. 

In talking with him he tells us she wants the abortion. His angry, hostile attitude in our conversations with him and her brokenness and tears and confusion in our conversations with her lead us to believe she is being pushed. Please pray that God would give her the courage to step away from this man and flee to the ones who have offered her help, love and care for all areas of her life. 

We pray that our words about the option of adoption would prick her heart, as well, and that she would turn from what she is about to do. Please seek God's intervention in the life of "B" and protect her and her precious little ones from Satan's snare.

You see how crucial prayer is to pro-life ministry? Lives are at stake!

Working Wednesday: Overseas partnerships

We've been talking about our partnerships with pregnancy care centers the past two Working Wednesdays (here and here). The focus has been our U.S. partnerships, but we also have them overseas.

When we began back in 1984, we never imagined we'd become an international ministry, but when the Internet put us on the "world wide web," people in other countries began emailing pleas for help.

Some of those requests involved sponsoring their visits to the U.S. so they could attend a Summit. In 1997, we hosted people from Romania, South Africa, and South Korea. Later that year, we made our first trip outside the country to help a group of centers in Romania open. These experiences opened our eyes to the great needs abroad and to the potential for expanded ministry.

A few years later we met Evelyn Stone, a missionary in Peru who had started a PCC. New Life Prenatal Center in Lima was staffed by people from local churches and, as they witnessed to clients, new believers were added to church membership roles and new churches started. The PCC was proving to be an effective church planting tool.

Evelyn eventually became our International Training Consultant and has traveled to India, Liberia, Kenya, and the Philippines representing us. She has also seen the Lima center sprout several satellites, and hosts regular "summits" for South American pro-life ministries. Recently, we worked with her to publish training materials in Spanish.

Over time, we've learned together that pro-life ministries in other countries can differ greatly from those in the U.S. The physical needs are often much greater, and sometimes cultures are missing a historical respect for human life. Often, even Christians need to be taught that abortion is wrong -- what it is, how human life begins, and what the Bible says about the sanctity of human life.

Our primary model for international ministry is to work with missionaries going out from the U.S. We encourage them to consider using pro-life ministry their church planting efforts -- whether through pregnancy care centers or LIFT -- in because it's an effective way to meet people and offers openings for sharing the Gospel. While they're still in the U.S., we train or help them find training in a local PCC. We'll also provide our materials at no charge.

Sometimes we'll visit their fields of service to help them share the vision of pro-life ministry with other missionaries and nationals, or to help them troubleshoot difficulties. At times we'll help them financially with a special project, such as the purchase of ultrasound equipment.

• Read more in past ministry reports.
• "Like" us on Facebook to keep up with current overseas partnerships.
• Learn more about how the pro-life message is part of the Gospel.

Friday feature: Alpha Women's Center of Grand Rapids

This pregnancy care center will always hold a special place in our hearts. It was our first project, way back in 1985. We hoped it would become a model for other communities, and it did. Within a few years, we had helped centers open in other parts of Michigan (Flint and Pontiac) and the Midwest (Des Moines, Milwaukee, and Crystal, Minnesota) -- to name a few off the top of my head.

Eventually, Alpha Women's Center also expanded into other nearby communities, forming satellite centers in  Cedar Springs, Greenville, Hastings, Lowell, Newaygo, Wayland, and Delton. Then, as AWC-Grand Rapids had gained independence from what was then Baptists for Life in 1988, so these satellites "took flight" from the "mother ship" a few years ago.

Young people from Chapel Point Church pose at the front door.

Locations for AWC-GR have also changed over the years. It began in a suite of rooms at 920 Cherry SE, moved to a building on Michigan Ave., then next to the abortion clinic on E. Fulton. From there it located farther east on Fulton for a spell, and now occupies a former funeral parlor on S. Division (a more beautiful space than you'd think!).

With the most recent move, Executive Director Carolyn Koole has expanded the vision of the center from a focus on pregnant women to helping moms beyond pregnancy. They still offer free pregnancy tests with ultrasound verification, but have added group and individual studies (Bible studies, home economics, and more), GED-prep classes, and something called Community at Heart. This is "a daytime respite for moms with children under the age of six who are without homes or a secure living environment."

How can you help? In addition to financial support and participation in events like their upcoming Open House, there are many volunteer opportunities at Alpha. Visit the website to learn more about their need for mentors, church liaisons, behind-the-scenes assistance, and more.

Know someone who needs Alpha's help? Refer them to their client website, OptionsForYou.org.

Find Alpha on Facebook.