Next Steps

Strengthen preventative efforts in your church related to the pro-life cause. For example, how is your church training the next generation to embrace biblical sexuality? We recommend:

• Axis.org – A website and app for connecting parents, teens & Jesus in a disconnected world. Gives parents and mentors hope by being a guide through culture into a conversation around Jesus.
• Thewholesextalk.com – An online course that gives parents the motivation, confidence, and tools to talk to their kids about sex.
• God’s Design for Sex Series – A parent’s guide, and four age-appropriate books that enable families to develop a healthy dialogue about sexuality.

Building a life team at your church takes prayer and perseverance. Don’t worry if you only have a few people who want to join at first. God can multiply your efforts and provide the increase. Determine to meet regularly, even if it is just to spend time in prayer seeking God’s provisions. As He leads, make a note of what resources are already in place to serve this mission field.

You’ll find effective tools to approach church leaders on our FOR PASTORS page HERE. You can also use our downloadable “Talk & Pick” promotion card HERE. This gives two steps a pastor can take to help prepare the church to lead with love in the post-Roe reality.

“Success is when preparation meets opportunity.” This being the case, gather a list of resources in your community. Again, life decisions need life support. Consider the needs of those facing an unplanned pregnancy: transportation, housing, counseling, job placement, food, finances, etc. Consult your local pregnancy center or other ministries as well, so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

One of the most important milestones in implementing Making Life Disciples is to have your team build a relational bridge between a church point person and a pregnancy center point person that is sufficiently focused and strong enough to implement systems and processes that connect center clients with local church discipleship. Your church and center can then work together to answer this question: How will you connect clients with the flourishing that comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ and discipleship in a local church? Again, ministry flows at the speed of trust, and it may take you 1-2 years to get to this step, but it will be well worth it!

“Life decisions need life support,” and it is important that others know who to reach out to in your church community. A COMMISSIONING CEREMONY for those who serve is one way to promote awareness (see two options here), and another is to post flyers in strategic locations.

If your church has a website, you might also want to offer your “life-support” on the site. You could include links to your “life team” and/or your local pregnancy center. Here are various downloadable images for a website designed to connect the abortion-vulnerable with trained individuals in your church that can offer compassion, help, and hope.

Remember, you are not alone. Our support team is also here to help. Sign up at the bottom of the get involved page on this site, and we will connect you with one of our regional coordinators.

MAKING LIFE DISCIPLES’ LIFE-AFFIRMING PARTNERS

These ministry partners all have excellent resources that can educate, train, and further equip your team.

Healing Resources for Abortion Recovery

Abortion Recovery and Care (ARC) You are not alone in having complex feelings and competing emotions after an abortion. It is normal and wise to acknowledge those feelings in an environment where you can process them in a healthy way, with an eye towards healing. Care Net is in the process of creating brand new resources to help you receive care, recover spiritually and emotionally from your abortion, and connect with other people who have been where you are. Many of these resources will be available in 2022. For now, the following resources will help you get started on your journey.

My Ashes to Beauty is a ministry that integrates the Word of God, prayer, recovery tools, and a safe, loving environment for women to share their abortion stories. Their site hosts blogs to read and meditate on, resources, information about a weekly Sunday afternoon Christ-centered topical conference call, Bible studies, and individual support when needed. All inquiries are confidential. Ministry verses are Isa. 61:1-3

SaveOne offers help for men, women, and family members/friends, through group study, online study, or answering questions and giving encouragement through self-study. They have a Bible-based curriculum that was written by our founder Sheila Harper. Sheila chose abortion in 1985 for her first child and lived with mental and emotional anguish for seven years following that choice. Their book is written from her personal experience of healing after abortion. Check out their “Success Stories” to see what other people are saying about the help SaveOne gave them.

Building a Culture of Relational Apologetics Around MLD
Equal Rights Institute – Equal Rights Institute trains pro-life advocates to think clearly, reason honestly, and argue persuasively. They use speaking, writing, podcasts, campus outreach, and online courses to equip pro- life people in the areas of practical dialogue tips, pro-life philosophy, and relational apologetics. They believe that the pro-life movement becoming more loving and thoughtful is a necessary (although not sufficient) condition to change our culture enough to end legal abortion. This is why they speak so often on relational apologetics, which they define as “cultivating relationships with people who have different beliefs, for the sake of genuine friendship and for discovering truth together.”

Building a Gospel-Centered Team Around MLD
Churches for Life – The mission of Churches for Life is to nourish churches as gospel-driven champions of life. Their distinctive focus is to start Life Teams in churches who work with the church leadership to equip their congregation to honor and dignify all life from conception to natural death. Churches for Life trains Life Teams and then provides support and encouragement through ongoing coaching. Their three passions are 1) The gospel of Jesus Christ 2) the local church and 3) championing life.

Discipleship Content/Event for the End-User
Embrace Grace – Embrace Grace is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed to provide emotional, practical and spiritual support for single, young women who find themselves in an unintended pregnancy. The primary goal of Embrace Grace is to empower churches across the nation to be a safe and non-judging place for the girls to run to when they find out they are pregnant, instead of the last place they are welcomed because of shame and guilt.

The Vox Project wants to inspire and equip pastors and ministry leaders to lead the way in speaking the truth about abortion with grace and compassion. Through prayer and fasting, compelling videos from prominent Christian leaders, a film, and other resources, Vox seeks to get churches engaged in the life issue.

Download your free copy of the eBook “Best Practices for Connecting Clients With Local Church Discipleship.”