Josh Brahm, President of the Equal Rights Institute, identifies a single step which pastors and church leaders can take to prevent abortion.
Breaking through the silence
He breaks down the fear and protectiveness many pastors feel, hoping to “do no harm” to those already impacted by abortion. For these pastors, Brahm comes alongside pastors to equip rather than criticize their silence. We also discussed the value of learning a strong pro-life apologetic, such as The Case for Life as presented by Scott Klusendorf.
Just one thing
In his article, One Thing Every Pastor Can Do to Prevent Abortions in their Congregation, Brahm provides a template for making church a safe place for those experiencing a problem pregnancy. Pastors and church leaders can learn to put abortion in context–Christians make up one-third of those having abortions each year. It is both common and yet shameful among Christians.
A simple solution each church can do
The solution involves regularly making announcements:
- declaring the value of life before birth
- refusing to promote abortion, whether directly or indirectly through gossip, shame or other passive rejections
- celebrating the pregnancy with support, referrals to pregnancy centers, and even a baby shower in the woman’s small group or where appropriate.
This is a comprehensive approach that every church can implement now.
Read the article as well as ideas for the youth pastors to specifically help with younger church member.
And join us next week for Part 2 of our conversation next week.
From his bio: Josh Brahm is President of the Equal Rights Institute and Host of the Equipped For Life Podcast, providing practical apologetics and training to pro-life advocates. He has spoken in six countries and throughout the US. He has also publicly debated prominent abortion rights advocates and engaged students on college campuses. Read his complete profile here.
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