By Dr. Clif Johnson, President • BMA of America
The United States is still reeling from the Dobbs decision on abortion handed down by the Supreme Court. The church of Christ should still be reeling from it as well, and by reeling from it I mean turning cartwheels on the church lawn and rejoicing that innocent lives have been and will be saved. But after the cartwheels (and pulled muscles), there is ministry that the church must continue to do.
One argument made against the pro-life cause is, “What about all the unwanted babies that are born? What are we to do about them?” Those are great questions, and as one might expect, the Bible has great answers. Here is the summation of it — we are to care for them, protect them, provide for them and train them.
So how do believers, and the church, practically accomplish this? In addition to prayer, I offer five ways the church can continue her work in the pro-life movement:
• Adopt — The most direct way to make an impact is by providing a forever home for children who have no parents to care for them. Adoption by a Christian family gives hope and light to a life that might forever live in the darkness of someone else’s poor choices.
• Foster — Another avenue to making a direct impact is by allowing children who need a stable home to live with you until they can be reunited with their family or find a forever home. This can also provide an opportunity to pour into the family as a whole through relationships with biological families, changing generational patterns.
• Celebrate and support foster and adoptive parents — Your church can provide a place where foster and adoptive parents can get together to laugh and cry together, all while people from your church provide a meal and childcare for them. Sometimes foster and adoptive parents just need some time and space to breathe and remember they have people in their corner with them.
• Support the Call Ministry in your county — The Call is a non-profit ministry in Arkansas that mobilizes local churches to serve local children and youth placed in foster care. They provide a way for Christians to invite the mission field into their homes and to serve those most vulnerable in their communities. You can find out more about this incredible resource at thecallinarkansas.org.
• Start the Call Ministry in your county — If your county does not have The Call in place, prayerfully consider getting the ball rolling to have one established.
