LOUISVILLE, Ky. (KT) – Laurelen Muller grew up in a Christian home where her parents read the Bible with her daily and took her to church biweekly — but she doesn’t recall hearing abortion addressed often in the local church. She’s seeking to change that.
“I learned things from my parents and from … my own research, but (the church) wasn’t the setting where I learned about why Christians are pro-life. That just kind of struck me,” said Muller, who serves as executive director of Speak for the Unborn, a ministry that equips churches to seek and save the lost through holistic pro-life ministry.
Muller and Speak for the Unborn are launching a new resource on August 1 that will teach churches to talk about abortion from both a biblical and a scientific perspective. Youth Voices for Life will help fill the gap Muller felt growing up, engaging middle, high school and college students in a crucial discipleship conversation.
Recent studies on the intersection of abortion and the local church served as a motivation for Muller to write the curriculum: seven out of 10 women who pursue abortion identify as Christians, and a majority of women who have abortions are between 18- and 24- years old.
“And so, with those two statistics in mind, it just became very clear to me that our churches need to be doing more to talk about abortion and to make that (conversation) a part of the culture of the church,” Muller said. “And we need to do it at a younger age. It needs to be part of discussions in youth groups and college groups.”
The three-part Youth Voices for Life program will address the “why” of pro-life ministry, explore practical application of the biblical, scientific foundations for a pro-life ethic and teach students how to have gospel-centered conversations with pro-choice, abortion-minded people. And where resources to support women and families facing unplanned pregnancies are lacking, students will be encouraged to create what their communities need.
“What if we could eliminate that seven-out-of-10? What if those who identify as Christians could understand why abortion is wrong?” Muller said. “What if our churches could play a key role in that? That’s why we created Youth Voices for Life, and that’s the goal of the curriculum.”
“Youth Voices for Life is an amazing tool to help prepare future generations for standing on the truth of God’s word and living a life of action for the unborn,” said Grant Heckel in a recommendation letter shared with Kentucky Today.
Heckel, who serves as youth pastor of White House First Baptist Church in Whitehouse, Tenn., led his church’s student ministry through the middle school curriculum this summer as a pilot group.
“Our students were longing for a biblical response to the pro-choice rhetoric they hear in their classrooms and from their culture,” Heckel wrote. “Youth Voices for Life provided our students with the biblical knowledge they needed.”
Muller noted the response of one high school senior who changed her mind about abortion after going through Youth Voices for Life: “I never thought abortion was a big deal. I’ve had friends who have gotten abortions. Now I know the truth.”
Speak for the Unborn is offering Youth Voices for Life to churches at no cost.
“We just ask that they become a network church with us, which only has benefits,” Muller explained. “Basically, it just means that they’re officially partnered with us to receive resources and support, and for us to just help keep them (as) engaged as they can be for pro-life ministry.”
To learn more about Youth Voices for Life or sign up for updates on the curriculum’s launch, visit speakfortheunborn.com/yvfl or email info@speakfortheunborn.com.
Friends of Life KY 