Prattville Baptists jump-start crisis pregnancy ministry, play continued role in its expansion

In the 15 years since Grace Place counselors saw their first client in the fellowship hall of First Baptist Church, Prattville, the ministry has grown from a small-scale counseling center to a 3,300-square-foot crisis pregnancy center in the middle of downtown Prattville.
  
It’s all because of the help of the community, the partnership of local Baptists and the provision of God, according to Rachel Gentry, director of Grace Place. 
  
Thanks to the volunteer construction work and financial aid of Autauga Baptist Association and its churches, Grace Place can not only see more clients but can also house a new ultrasound machine, something Gentry said is a godsend in and of itself.
  
Awhile back, she and her staff discussed ways to reach more women and considered adding medical services at the facility. Most pregnancy centers simply provide counseling, but centers across the country are beginning to add sonograms to their services to show these young women the baby they are carrying.
  
As the Grace Place team was weighing this decision, it attended the 2004 National Pregnancy Center Conference, hosted by the National Institute of Family & Life Advocates. About 1,000 conference attendees registered for the grand prize, an ultrasound machine valued at $30,000. Grace Place won.
  
“We are the only place in the tri-county area that gives free ultrasounds,” Gentry said. “It’s just another way we show these women we care for them.”
  
Grace Place averages about 70 clients per month. The center sees women of all ages, but the largest age group is 20 to 24 year olds. Gentry said that over the past year, more than 40 percent of all the women who entered the facility and said they were not believers accepted Christ before they left.
  
Bill Morgan, director of missions for Autauga Association, said Grace Place’s concern for not only the physical well-being of the mothers and their unborn children but also their spiritual welfare is what makes the ministry a great outreach tool for the association. 
  
“It’s really a strong cooperation between all the Christian churches in Prattville,” he said. “So even though it’s not a strictly Baptist effort, the Baptists take a large part in it.”
  
Over the past 15 years, the Autauga Association has stood beside Grace Place, offering help in various ways. The center is a line item in the association’s annual budget. Grace Place’s annual operating budget comes entirely from churches and individuals.
  
And much of its volunteer help comes from local Baptists — like Chris Robinson. A member of First, Prattville, he had heard the call for volunteers to help build Grace Place’s new facility. Robinson, who works for an electrical contractor, eventually volunteered his services and wired the entire building.
  
At the end of the construction process, he thought his work with the center was done. But Robinson was approached by members of a nominating committee who wanted him to serve on the board of directors. He accepted and is now chairman of the board. “I can’t even begin to understand all the effects [Grace Place has] on people.”
  
For more information, visit www.graceplacecpc.com or call 334-365-8266.