When I was in pastoral ministry in Texas, it was brought to my attention that our surrounding area had one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country. I was also aware of the fact that Planned Parenthood had attracted a number of wealthy and influential donors, and it was thriving. So, along with some dear saints, I set out to open a crisis pregnancy center that would minister, physically and spiritually, to women with unwanted pregnancies, or who had already terminated a pregnancy.
There was, at that time, one such center in town, but it was opposed to advocating anything Christian. In those days, the Christian Action Council had a substantial network of crisis pregnancy centers across the nation, and, after some discussion, we linked our efforts to them. In order to try to garner support for our effort, we decided to have a local banquet. The intent of the banquet was to inform those who came of our vision and to see if there was enough support in the community to continue. We explained the need and the opportunity. At the end of that first banquet, we had more money than we initially needed, an offer for free office space near the hospital district, an offer for free furniture from a local furniture company, and numerous other offers and gifts.
In a matter of months, the Amarillo Area Crisis Pregnancy Center opened its doors. Its goal was threefold: (1) to counsel abortion-minded women; (2) to counsel women who had had abortions; (3) to communicate the gospel to those who came to the center. The motivation behind the center was goal three. We were convinced that the problems surrounding unwanted pregnancies and abortion were, at root, problems that only the gospel could adequately address.
That crisis pregnancy center, fully Christian in its ministry, which began with one office, now has four separate branches, and sees around 4,300 clients per year. Since the legalization of abortion, there have been 50 million children killed and approximately 1 million are being killed per year. With the destruction of children (in, and, now outside of the womb) now firmly entrenched in our legal system and in the platform of one of our two political parties, there remains an urgent need for Christians, as the Lord provides opportunity, to be active in opposing this national tragedy and disgrace.