LOUISVILLE, Ky. (KT) – Kentucky Baptist Convention churches will join with other Southern Baptist Churches throughout the nation Sunday to celebrate and affirm the sanctity of human life — that every person is made in the image of God.
This year, Sanctity of Life Sunday falls on the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized elective abortion in the U.S. That landmark court case was overturned in June 2022, returning regulation of abortion to the states and triggering Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban.
And while abortions have flatlined in the commonwealth, the life-affirming work of local congregations called to carry out the Great Commission by caring for and discipling families facing unplanned pregnancies is not yet done— not this side of eternity.
As you consider how you and your church can actively advocate for the sanctity of human life in 2023, explore these practical steps.
1. Partner with a local pregnancy resource center
There are several ways you can support these life-affirming ministries:
— Volunteer to clean the facility, help with office administration, meet with pregnant women and families as a peer coach, organize donations, run their social media accounts, pray, etc. Each center has different needs, and your gifts may be perfectly suited to fill in a gap.
— Donate new maternity clothes and baby items such as formula, clothing, diapers and food. Pregnancy centers provide thousands of dollars worth of free material resources to Kentucky families each year, and much of what they distribute is donated by local churches, businesses and community members.
— Do a baby bottle fundraising event as a monthly giving emphasis at your church and encourage the congregation to collect their spare change. Many centers have baby bottle giving campaigns you can join each year.
— Attend an annual fundraising banquet to learn more about a nearby center’s community activities and needs.
Over 50 pregnancy resource centers are serving communities across Kentucky, and they rely on the financial, volunteer and prayer support of local churches. Find the one nearest to you and learn how to get involved by visiting kybaptist.org/pregnancy-resource-centers/.
2. Invest in a foster child through life coaching
There are over 8,400 children and teens in Kentucky’s foster care system, and not every family or individual is called or equipped to pursue adoption or foster care. But Orphan Care Alliance has a Life Coaching ministry where you can pour into one child for a single calendar year, providing them with consistent and ongoing support and care!
Coaches meet at least once a week with their mentees, who are at least 12 years old, have foster care or adoption experience and are willing to connect for one calendar year. Life coaches are often the only non-paid adult in a foster child’s life, and these mentorships provide valuable life skills, healthy coping habits, discipleship and friendship as Kentucky children transition out of the foster care system and into adulthood. And don’t worry—Orphan Care Alliance provides all the training you will need.
Learn more about Life Coaching here or email questions to lifecoaching@orphancarealliance.org.
3. Donate to an adoption fund or directly to an adoptive family
Adoption, whether domestic or international, is a financial burden for many families who faithfully follow God’s call. Adoption funds provide interest-free loans and grants to families walking through the adoption process, and you can provide monetary support by partnering with Christian organizations like ABBA Fund and Lifesong for Orphans. Gifts of stocks, property and other non-liquid assets can often be accepted, and your church can also pursue starting its own adoption fund. Learn more about that here.
But if you know a family who has recently adopted or is in the midst of adoption, prayerfully consider offering financial support. Many families start crowdfunding pages through ABBA and Lifesong, and you can search for a specific family or donate toward a random family’s adoption. Search for families to bless here and here.
4. Start an Embrace Grace group for single & pregnant moms at your church and in your community
Embrace Grace equips churches to care for women and families facing unplanned pregnancies by providing support groups and a place of belonging within the congregation. If you want tools for discipling local moms and dads, Embrace Grace can help you walk alongside your community and welcome them into your church.
You can request a group starter guide here, and receive previews for the video curriculum, study guide, a sample class schedule, group material cost sheet and an overview of the free online leadership training directly in your email inbox. Learn more about the Embrace Grace, Embrace Life and Embrace Legacy group discipleship programs here.
5. Start a Bible study for post-abortive women in your life
Nearly one in four women will have an abortion by age 45. And while seven in 10 women who have had an abortion identify as Christians, 36% were attending church at least once a month at the time of their first abortion. Our church pews are filled with women (and men) who have been impacted by abortion directly and indirectly, and those both inside the church walls and outside in the community need healing only the Gospel can bring.
There are many Bible studies designed specifically for women who have had an abortion, including Surrendering the Secret, Forgiven and Set Free and Save One. You can offer this resource to both women in your congregation and those in the community around your church.
A local pregnancy resource center may also offer a post-abortion Bible study or retreat facilitated by women who have walked that path. You can reach out to them about partnering to care for and disciple women in need of hope and healing after an abortion.
6. Pray
Scripture not only speaks about the power of prayer (James 5:16b), but also commands us to pray (1 Thess. 5:17, Col. 4:2, Phil. 4:6).
Consider lifting these requests to the Lord in 2023:
— Pray that legalized abortion would be abolished in Kentucky and beyond (a legal challenge to the state’s trigger abortion ban is ongoing, but elective abortions are currently illegal as the case proceeds through the courts)
— Pray for your elected officials to lead with wisdom and to vote in ways that affirm the sanctity of life and promote human flourishing
— Pray that the Lord would bless and protect your local pregnancy resource center (PRC)
— Pray for adoptive and foster families in your circles of influence, that the Lord would sustain and provide for them
— Pray that the Lord would call more believers to adopt & foster and serve & support pregnant women this year
— Pray for the Lord to open your eyes to needs in your church and community that you are uniquely equipped to meet, whether that be providing childcare or a rent payment for a single mom, visiting a local nursing home to love on residents or volunteering at the nearest PRC
Life-affirming ministry can take many forms for you and your church. However the Lord leads you to stand for the sanctity of every human life this year, may you hold fast to what is good and persevere in doing good, compelled by love and the grace of Christ’s Gospel.
Tessa Redmond reports on life issues for Kentucky Today. You can reach her at tessa.redmond@kentuckytoday.com.
Friends of Life KY 