Kirk Walden is our Gala speaker this year on November 1. He recently wrote this powerful article. I think you can see why places like The Sparrow’s Nest are very much included in Christ centered pregnancy help ministries. I would love to know what your thoughts are about his challenge. And if you decide to accept his challenge I encourage you to look at our GIVE page. Leave a note for me in the comments section. ~Carissa
If you read this column often, you know we touch on a number of issues related to life; from politics to stories of hope to anything else that jumps into my head.
On a regular basis however, you see a recurring theme:
I believe that a culture of life can again prevail in this country. I believe in fact, that abortion could be obsolete in the next decade, regardless of what the law says ten years hence.
Why?
Because I see Christ-centered pregnancy help ministries as the key. When these ministries become the first choice (instead of Planned Parenthoods and other abortion centers) for those facing unplanned pregnancies and other relationship-oriented issues, the number of those choosing life for their children will skyrocket and as a natural result, many (if not all) will shut their doors.
The more we build these pregnancy help ministries, the more abortion becomes unwanted, unchosen and ultimately, perhaps virtually obsolete.
Ordinary people run these ministries. Ordinary people fund them. And we see over and over that God rarely uses the elite to accomplish His work; He uses the ordinary. This is exactly why I believe the end of this cultural tragedy takes a path directly through these ministries.
Many people, I’m sure, consider the idea of ending abortion as we know it as a pipe dream, as pure fantasy in the society in which we live. And when I follow that up with what I would like to see me–and you, my reader–accomplish in the next few weeks, more will say, “He’s crazy.” Maybe I am.
So let me preface an outrageous idea with this:
These ministries, 2500 strong, are poised to become the first choice. Honestly, 20-30 years ago many of these centers were “mom and pop” operations that could do little more than provide encouragement and stop-gap assistance to those in crisis. No longer.
Today, plans are in place, powerful initiatives are being implemented, staffing is growing. Many, of not most of these centers are medical clinics, providing everything from ultrasound to testing and treatment for STDs. Walk into one of these centers today and you might find it offering prenatal care, mentoring for parents, fatherhood initiatives, interviewing skills, educational opportunities and much more. These are not our mother’s “crisis pregnancy centers.”
Certainly, these ministries have needs. They range from personnel to strategic planning for the future.
And yet there is one need I know we can take care of: Funding. Don’t leave me. Stay here for just a minute, then change the channel if you’d like. You may be about to make the exclamation, “He’s crazy.” It’s okay–but here goes:
I believe we can raise $250 Million for these ministries in a very short time. Perhaps less than a month. That’s an average of $100,000 for every single pregnancy help ministry in the country. In a short, short time. I honestly believe–crazy as it sounds–that we could do this.
The census and polls tell us there are about 50 million pro-life families in America. If one in five wrote a check for only $25 (or popped in a debit or credit card) to a pregnancy help ministry in the next few days or weeks, that’s 10 million people X $25. The result? $250 Million.
What would these funds do? Seeing as the average center’s budget is just over $200,000; we would revolutionize the entire operation of some smaller centers. Average centers would be able to add new services and marketing initiatives so that they could reacheveryone in their communities. Larger centers would avert funding crises and likely add needed staff.
And we could accomplish all of this in just days.
“Well, that’s not going to happen,” some may say. “People just won’t respond like that.” This may be the case. But the truth is, the Christian community can do this; it’s just a matter of the course we choose. Before I wrote this I realized that it only takes one person to act, so I did.
First, I went to this site, found the center
closest to my home, then found its donor site on the web. In five minutes, I and my debit card placed $25 in its account.
If I could do something this easily, why couldn’t a few million others? Some will give more (maybe much more), some may have to give less. But . . . together we could do this. It’s our decision.
Second, I’m going to email my friends and point them to this column–letting them know that I’m asking them to join me. Because my buddies are all over the country, they can support the centers closest to them. And I hope they ask others to join them. I’ll use Facebook and Twitter, too. I even came up with a hash tag: #Life250. Fancy, right?
If you are reading this, why not do the same? Other than my efforts above, there is no slick plan to take this viral. It’s just us.
It’s interesting though; if we did this just four times a year, our giving would total $1 Billion. With this kind of giving, abortion would likely be a thing of the past in a decade. I wrote a book about that–but that’s another post for another day.
Is this idea crazy? Sure. Unreasonable? Absolutely. But I just thought,
What if, instead of fretting about abortion and the politics behind it,we supported the life-affirming, love approach offered by these ministries and just ended it?
These ministries are winning the hearts of those who come in their doors. So why not . . . instead of waiting for the Supreme Court to turn over, or for this political office or that one to change occupants . . . we solved the issue as Jesus would; by providing compassion, help and hope?
In the end, I figured it is better to be seen as naive or unrealistic by some; yet be able to tell God, “I tried, and figured You could do something with an idea that was so outlandish only You could make it work.”
So then, let me ask: Will you join me in writing a check? And why not tell others in any way you see fit? Use your own words, or send a friend to those written here.If you want to Facebook the idea, fine. Tweet, Pinterest–anything that pops into your head. Whatever works for you.
Wouldn’t it be great to see what God could do with just a little effort from each of us? Seems to me it would be fun to watch.
Kirk Walden is a husband, father, writer, pro-life speaker–and is not smart enough to realize when something cannot be done.