April 26, 2024
We live in a country with numerous rights. We do have a need to discuss what makes a right, a right, but that’s a topic for another day. With so many rights, there are often times when rights conflict with one another. One such conflict that has been in the news lately is an individual’s right to life and a woman’s right to choose.
The abortion debate has heated up due to two factors. First, Ohio lawmakers have passed the Heartbeat Bill that will make abortions illegal once an unborn heartbeat is detectable. This bill sits on the governor’s desk awaiting action. Second, President-elect Donald Trump has appointed noted pro-life advocate Tom Price, as director of Health and Human Services and has published a list of judges for possible appointment to the Supreme Court.
These two events have the pro-life movement as excited about the future as I have ever witnessed, but before we start our touchdown celebration, as a pro-life individual I want to give a warning and a challenge. If all we do for the pro-life movement is sign petitions, vote Republican, and yell, then, the pro-life movement will fail.
When discussing the appointment of Tom Price in an editorial piece on CNN by Jill Filipovic, she dropped a bombshell into the laps of pro-lifers that needs a quick and overwhelming response. She wrote “an unintended pregnancy can mean the difference between staying afloat and going under.”
That is a fact. My wife and I are blessed with three rug-rats, and let me tell you, they were and are expensive. Not only does life begin at conception, expenses begin at conception. The pro-life movement must address this in order to build the movement, change hearts, and save human life.
We must stop screaming at scared, confused, overwhelmed, and often impoverished women who are considering an abortion that they are evil for even thinking of this heinous act. We must start putting our money where our mouth is and start proclaiming we are here to offer you aid, support, and an alternative to an abortion.
We must tell expecting women and couples, “We will not let you go under because of this child! The child’s life and YOUR life are precious, and we are here for you and the child.”
From 2000 to 2013, there were between 600,000 to over 800,000 abortions a year. If we truly want abortion to end, we must be ready to give care and aid to millions of children and families. How do we do this? We do this by supporting Children’s Homes and Family Ministries. We must support them with our time, with our effort, and especially with our wallets. We must work to create a visible and very public ministry that tells women, the government, and the public that we not only care about the unborn before their birth, but we are here to care for them and the parents after the birth.
Children’s Homes and Family Ministries exist to provide a place to live for those who cannot live with a guardian or a parent, but they are more than an orphanage. They offer aid, assistance, training, counseling, and more to families in need, desiring to keep their child in their home.
Children’s Homes and Family Ministries will do more than show congress and the Supreme Court that we are ready for Roe v. Wade to be overturned. Guess what? Children’s Homes and Family Ministries are stopping abortions now! There are numerous incredible and brave women who should be applauded for going through with their pregnancies, giving birth, and placing their child in these Homes. Without these Homes providing an alternative, these children would be in danger of an abortion.
There has been a Republican-controlled Supreme Court for decades and Roe v. Wade has not been overturned. We cannot wait for Washington D.C. to become pro-life. We must do all we can to prevent abortions now. We do this through compassion, support, and offering alternatives.
Do you want to see Roe v. Wade overturned? Support a Children’s Home and Family Ministries. Do you want to stop abortions now? Support a Children’s Home and Family Ministries. Do you think all life is sacred, including the unborn? Support a Children’s Home and Family Ministries!
Pro-life is a heartless and sinful movement if we do not offer alternatives and aid to women and couples considering an abortion.
I am so grateful to be a Southern Baptist. We are a denomination that is active in the world. We have 23 separate Children’s Homes and Family Ministries oversaw by 20 State Conventions. Most of these Homes have multiple campuses, and in 2012, we ministered to 530,000 children and family members. Southern Baptist Children’s Homes and Family Ministries fight daily against abortion, not by shaming women, but by proclaiming we will care for you and your child. Also, they fight more than just abortion. They fight poverty, abuse, lack of training, lack of resources, and so much more.
For pro-life to go forward, we must support Children’s Homes and Family Ministries.
I am also grateful to be the pastor of Sunnyside Baptist Church where every time we collect a general offering, a portion of that offering goes directly to the Georgia Baptist Children’s Home and Family Ministries. This is the best way to combat abortion with love and support.
I am thankful for the Georgia Baptist Children’s Home and Family Ministries, their leadership, their work, and their proper fight against abortion. Visit their website and learn about their incredible work. Georgia pro-lifers and Georgia Baptists, it is time to overwhelmingly support our Children’s Home, and let’s open a fourth campus!!
It is time to sign more than petitions. It is time to sign checks. I used the following link to donate directly to the Georgia Baptist Children’s Home and Family Ministries. I implore, encourage, and beg you to do the same. This is after all a matter of life and death.
Prevent abortions and minister to women, compassionately, now by clicking here.
Thank you for giving. Let’s continue the work with love and support.
Jesse Colbert serves as pastor of Sunnyside Baptist Church in Toccoa. This post originally appeared on his blog.
