5 Ways To Be Courageous For Life
By: Christina Maurice (Creative & Communications Manager, New Life Solutions)
HOW TO PRACTICALLY PUT YOUR PRO-LIFE BELIEFS IN ACTION
WHAT IS COURAGE?
courage noun
cour·age | \ ˈkər-ij , ˈkə-rij \ : mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty
The late Rev. Billy Graham once said, “Courage is contagious. When one man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened.” As humans, our social behavior is highly influenced by those around us. When we surround ourselves with people who often complain, we find ourselves complaining more. Conversely, if the people we spend time with display generosity, humility, and forgiveness, we are encouraged to follow suit. This is also true of bravery and courage… and we all want to be courageous, right?
When you choose courage, you inspire others to follow you. Imagine the widespread impact of everyone at your church choosing to be courageously pro-life. By putting boldness into action, more babies’ lives could be saved and more people could be transformed by the Gospel.
So if your heart breaks for innocent lives being lost to abortion, for women facing unplanned pregnancies, and for those struggling with abortion grief or trauma, then it is time to be courageous and put your beliefs into action.
Here are some practical ways to be more courageously pro-life:
Share your story
Our worldview is affected by our own experiences as well as the experiences of others. Therefore, within your own sphere of influence, sharing why you are pro-life is powerful. Take time to reflect on why you are passionate about being pro-life. Why is it important to you to protect the unborn and empower women and families? Was there a turning point in your life?
Don’t underestimate the ability of your story to minister to others.
To share your story with New Life Solutions, contact us on social media or via email! You will be encouraged as you encourage others to share their stories!
Start the conversation
It can be intimidating to openly discuss pro-life issues, especially when you aren’t aware of the other person’s stance. When initiating a discussion, ask their permission to share more, “If I may, I’d love to hear more about…” or “Would you mind sharing why you hold that position?” No matter where they are coming from, remember, they have a unique set of experiences just as you do, and it is best to listen and be sensitive to any potential past trauma.
If having a conversation like this makes you uncomfortable, you might choose to engage in some pro-life apologetics. To learn more, check out our newest curriculum called The Whole Truth About Choice™ (https://passagesofhope.org/whole-truth-about-choice). Other helpful resources include the Life Training Institute (https://prolifetraining.com), Care Net (https://resources.care-net.org/free-resources/), and the Courageously Pro-Life study curriculum (https://www.sarahmbowen.com/courageously-pro-life-curriculum).
Stay informed
Another thing that could be holding you back from engaging in conversation about the sanctity of life could be self-doubt about what you know and/or feeling uninformed. Learning pro-life apologetics helps with the “why”, and the next step is staying up-to-date on what is happening in the pro-life movement, especially in your local area. Be sure to stay connected with those who are on the front lines, such as your local pregnancy medical clinic/pregnancy resource center ministry.
New Life Solutions is one of these ministries, serving women, men, teens, and families throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Everyday throughout New Life Solutions’ family of ministries, our team is meeting with abortion-vulnerable women in need of support, people struggling with abortion grief or sexual trauma, and students who need information about building healthy relationships.
To stay up-to-date with ministry updates, be sure to follow us on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and subscribe to our emails.
Share New Life Solutions’ stories
Right now there are women who are in the midst of struggling with a pregnancy decision. The clinic staff at all four locations of A Woman’s Place Medical Clinic are daily meeting with these women, following up with them, and showing them love, compassion, and support. Oftentimes, these women and families desire to help others like them be empowered to choose life as they were. The same goes for women and men who find healing and restoration through our Passages of Hope ministry; whether they finally found freedom after 30 years or 30 days, their stories show the importance of restoration ministry for people struggling with grief and trauma following an abortion loss.
The real-life stories of those we serve throughout our family of ministries are testimonies of courage and strength. They ought to be shared, so that others may also be inspired to be courageous. These stories may be shared on social media, in an email or letter, or at an event. Look out for new stories, and then be courageous enough to share them with others.
A good start is to forward this blog to friends or share it on your Facebook page!
Support the mission
The best and most courageous way to support the mission of the pro-life movement is to get involved. At New Life Solutions, there are two major fundraising events that occur each year which enable the work of our mission: Walk For Life in the spring, on Mother’s Day weekend, and the annual Benefit Dinner in the fall, which is actually only about 3 weeks away from the time of this article. If you have not already registered, visit https://newlifesolutions.org/benefit-dinner to reserve your seat for the event.
Other opportunities throughout the year include corporate sponsorship, monthly financial partnership, planned giving, volunteering and/or job openings, representing the ministry as a Liaison at your church, welcoming our ministry staff to speak at your church or organization, and of course, prayer. There are endless ways that you can support our mission to protect the unborn, share the Gospel, and transform our communities - one life at a time. Together, if we are more courageous, we may see the tremendous blessing of lives saved on earth and for eternity.
“Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what seems good to him.” -2 Samuel 10:12 ESV
For more information about any of these ways to get involved, please visit https://newlifesolutions.org/get-involved or email info@newlifesolutions.org.