Lord, I don’t believe abortion is right. I know Your Word teaches against it and I know I want to make a difference in this fight, but I don’t know how. I don’t even know where to begin, or who to talk to, or what ministries are out there. What can I do, as an individual, to stand up for the unborn?”
Has that conversation ever played out in your head?
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and Focus on the Family have teamed up to sponsor the first Evangelicals for Life (EFL) conference Jan. 21–22 to educate and equip evangelicals on topics such as abortion, human trafficking, adoption and end-of-life issues.
Held in conjunction with the March for Life on Jan. 22 in Washington, EFL will host several guest speakers who will share resources and information on why evangelicals need to be in the pro-life movement; why abortion is a social justice issue for all evangelicals; why Hispanic evangelicals are distinctly pro-life; how to connect the sanctity of life and the Great Commission; how the gospel shapes sanctity of life; why being pro-family includes being pro-life; and many other subjects.
‘Unique opportunity’
ERLC President Russell Moore said during a conference call Jan. 6, “The EFL conference will be a unique opportunity to come and fellowship together with likeminded people and to have resources for the year to come … for instance learning from a pastor who is doing remarkable work dealing with men in the aftermath of an abortion. That’s someone other evangelicals need to hear from and learn how to implement that type of outreach into your own church and your own ministry.”
Some of EFL’s guest speakers will be Moore; David Platt, International Mission Board president; Charmaine Yoest, Americans United for Life CEO and president; Jeanne Mancini, March for Life Education and Defense Fund president; John Stonestreet, Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview president; Nathan Lino, pastor of Northeast Houston Baptist Church, Humble, Texas; Paige Cunningham, The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity executive director; Casey Mattox, Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel; and Jim Daly, Focus on the Family president.
March for Life
EFL participants also will walk together in the March for Life, something evangelicals have largely not been a part of in the past.
“(At the March for Life) the burden of leadership falls disproportionately on our Roman Catholic friends. … Given the strong pro-life witness evangelicals have, we need to be present and join arms with our allies (at the march),” Moore said.
Daly said during the conference call, “For evangelicals to come together to support life in the context of EFL and the march is the right thing to do. I’m surprised it hasn’t happened in years past. We feel now … we need to band together to say we are all in favor of life. To create a culture that every child is wanted.”
Moore said, “A conscience that is awakened to the unborn is a conscience that is awakened to human dignity. The pro-life movement is a multipronged movement. … It can change people’s minds that unborn children ought to be protected. … It affects ministry in every community where people are not just caring for a person at the moment of crisis but leading them in job training, childcare and after the birth of a child. … And the idea of adoption comes out of that concern for the unborn and the women who are vulnerable.”
Beyond participating in EFL and the march, Moore said some practical steps that churches and communities can take in the pro-life movement include pastors preaching about abortion “not only in terms of justice for the unborn but in extending mercy to those who have aborted.”
“Our churches often empower the abortion industry with [our] silence,” Moore said.
“We need people in local congregations asking the question, ‘What would You have me to do to stand up for life, Lord?’ That’s not going to be one answer for every person. … There are a variety of ways that each part of the body of Christ can be involved to witness to the pro-life cause,” many of which will be discussed at EFL.
Talking about the issue
Daly said, “I hope we can begin to think about how to make abortion rare. Let’s begin that dialog. I hope we can talk to people who have a different opinion than us and try to find a solution to avoid taking human life.”
For more information about EFL, visit http://evangelicals.life.
Some pregnancy resource centers of Alabama
Sav-A-Life of Tallapoosa County
Alexander City
256-329-2273
Sav-A-Life Family Hope Center
Andalusia
334-222-0644
Sav-A-Life of Calhoun County
Anniston
256-237-9999
savalifecalhouncounty.org
Sav-A-Life of Limestone County
Athens
256-233-5775
savalifeathens.org
Sav-A-Life Bessemer, Inc.
Hueytown
205-491-2626
savalifebessemer.org
Sav-A-Life Escambia County
Brewton
251-867-4947
Sav-A-Life of DeKalb County, Inc.
Fort Payne
256-845-0838
Shoals Sav-A-Life, Inc.
Florence
256-740-0640
shoalssavalife.com
Sav-A-Life Birmingham area
Birmingham / 205-979-0302
ptcbirmingham.com
Vestavia Hills / 205-979-0302
Near Center Point / 205-545-5878
Sav-A-Life Pregnancy Center
Decatur
256-355-3828
decaturpregnancy.com
Sav-A-Life of Lanett Valley, Inc.
Lanett
334-642-8832
lanettpregnancy.org
Sav-A-Life Shelby Pregnancy
Resource Center
Pelham
205-664-1667
ichoosetoday.org
St. Clair County Sav-A-Life, Inc.
Springville
205-467-7322
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