Tell me your story of how you came to the Lord and to care so deeply about the issue of abortion.
I was entering what I thought was going to be my “empty nest” season of life, so I devoted 21 days of prayer and fasting to asking the Lord to align my heart with what mattered to Him and to lead me into the ministry of His choosing. A few weeks later, my husband took me on a date to see the movie, “Unplanned.” I reacted to its message by thinking, “Wow! That was powerful. Someone should do something about that abortion issue, but that’s not really my thing.”
The next month, our state legislature passed a bill that would effectively ban abortions here if Roe ever got overturned. My four daughters (older teen and adults) were upset with the decision, so we began to discuss and debate life issues. Their bottom line was concern for these moms who would be forced to have a baby with no support and for the child who would likely end up in foster care. “What’s the church doing to help?” they challenged me. I answered honestly, “I don’t know, but I’ll find out and let you know.”
Sadly, the more research I did, the more obvious it became that our church–and most others–weren’t really doing anything other than supporting pregnancy centers. Nothing was set up in the church itself to help. That’s when I encountered Care Net’s Making Life Disciples, a video-based curriculum designed to train church members to know how to walk alongside families facing pregnancy decisions. The goal was to get them grafted into the church where lifelong discipleship could happen. After reviewing the course on my own, I realized fully that God’s beautiful Bride, His Church, had wounds that must be addressed. If one part is hurting, we are all affected. It was no longer “someone else’s problem.” It became my calling to help equip the Church to step into this place of need and become the answer to the abortion issue.
What has God done in your life to prepare you for this work?
I grew up in the church, and my dad was an administrative pastor. I know what it’s like behind the scenes, so it makes approaching and talking with pastors easier. I get where they’re coming from, so it helps me know how to communicate the need better.
What made you decide finally to become a sidewalk outreach/city director?
Once Shaylene, a fellow Alabama Love Life Missionary, and I attended the first Love Life boot camp in July of 2020, we were both all in. We knew immediately that we wanted to bring the mission of Love Life to our city and state.
What are your hopes, goals, and dreams for this ministry?
Our goal this year is to enroll at least 1 House of Refuge Church in all 67 Alabama counties so that each county has a safe place for moms and dads facing pregnancy decisions. We’d like to see trained Life Teams in every church.
Highlights and struggles you have already faced
It’s a marathon, not a sprint! It takes a long time for many pastors and churches to understand the issues and become willing to try something new. Other churches find it easy and have wanted to jump right in. With every pastor we encounter, it’s always an adventure. Highlights: Talking a couple out of aborting their daughter at Planned Parenthood and instead getting them connected with an HRC and local PC. We got to hold baby K’yla, and her parents shared their testimony at our Week 40 in 2022.
Also, in June, all of our abortion clinics were forced to stop providing abortions.
Highlight of the current climate and how we can pray:
Pastors seem very open to the House of Refuge concept. Please pray that we reach our goal of expanding our reach across the state and eventually into Mississippi and Louisiana as well.
If you would like to support the work God is doing in Birmingham, please click here.
