Dear Friend of Life,
Sometimes, it’s the little things that count.
That’s no less true for reaching a women-in-crisis, especially in a critical moment in which she’s considering abortion.
This week, we thought we’d share with you a few little tidbits to keep with you on the sidewalk in order to make yourself more approachable to an abortion-bound woman…
- Be a person, not a protester — This is the main thing we want you to remember: be someone she feels she can talk to. Be a “safe person.” Think about it this way — if you were caught in a desperate situation, who would you want to talk to? The person yelling at you? Or possibly, a person who looks like you and simply says,“Good morning …how can we help you?” It’s really something to think about.
- Avoid “ganging up” on someone — Even the best sidewalk counselors sometimes miss the opportunity to look around them and say, would this setting be intimidating to a woman-in-crisis? She’s not going to want to talk about her business with a huge group of people around, so try to separate yourself from the prayer group a bit and create a more personal, confidential space for you to converse with someone and share vital information. A car naturally creates this, but think about the setting for someone who might approach you on foot.
- Don’t be a billboard — Peaceful messages are fine, but avoiding looking like a pin board for a bunch of angry messages meant for the culture. Remember: your audience is the heart of a woman-in-crisis; your main goal at an abortion center is to reach her. You want to be a safe, approachable person. You don’t want a woman to dismiss an opportunity to talk to you because you are “preaching at” them through your clothes. Be someone who looks professional and approachable.
- Project your voice, but don’t yell — I still remember the day I called out to a woman across the parking lot of an abortion facility — I naturally had to project my voice, otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to hear me. Unfortunately, she went in anyway. However, she came out about 30 minutes later and came over to talk to me at the fence. She said, “I decided to come talk to you because you weren’t yelling at me.” I marveled at that because I naturally had to call out to her in order to reach her. Again, there is a difference: if I had yelled out, “Hey, you, what do you think you’re doing?!” or related, we would’ve never had the conversation. But because I said, “Hi, I’m Lauren! We’d like you to know that we have real help available …You can come talk to me at anytime…” and projected my voice in a friendly manner, that made all the difference.
- Watch your lingo — To be sure that you are relatable in the conversation, watch your pro-life lingo. If you are having a conversation with someone and constantly refer to the abortion facility as a “death mill” or a Planned Parenthood escort as a “deathscort,” you better believe you’ll get puzzled looks. (If you want to avoid giving that place the dignity of calling it a “clinic,” no problem, call it a “center” or “facility.” If you want to avoid giving the abortionist the dignity of calling him a “doctor,” no problem, call him what he is — an “abortionist.”) Again, anything you can do to make yourself sound relatable is a plus. You want to be sure that folks feel like they can make a personal connection with you through their words. (Keep in mind that between pro-lifers, this isn’t as much of a concern; however, in attracting people into the movement, you might still keep this in mind.)
- Be peaceful, prayerful and law-abiding — Self-explanatory, right? Be peaceful …so that you are a “safe person” to talk to. Be prayerful …because “apart from God, we can do nothing” (cf: John 15:5) and “with God, all things are possible” (cf. Mt 19:26). And be law-abiding …so that you keep the scene peaceful and can stay out there and converse with as many people as possible.
Again, we hope these little strategies bless your personal outreach at the abortion center!
Friends, thank you for supporting us in this work to save lives, transform hearts and end abortion through the grace of God!
Angela tells us that they had 36 people attend the Port Charlotte, FL training held at Murdock Baptist Church in Port Charlotte just a couple weeks ago!
The group uses a combination of strategies in the pro-life movement to reach the heart of a women-in-crisis. Besides using our Sidewalk Advocacy program to effectively reach out with their words, they also have an ultrasound bus as Gulf Coast Save-the-Storks. This enables the location to not only offer a woman help through local resources, but the ability to view an ultrasound and see her child in the womb.
Angela not only co-leads the program in Port Charlotte, but recently helped to start a brand new location in Sarasota, FL with long-time pro-life leaders there, as well!
Since establishing a regular prayer and Sidewalk Advocacy presence, they note: “We are currently at a 56% no show rate. Since we began tracking, there have been 15 no shows for abortions – 15 lives!”
They also know of 10 lives that have been saved since June of this year — what a huge blessing!
Angela says, “We continue to organize a presence at the Port Charlotte abortion site during all the center’s hours of operation. We have a faithful team of 38 volunteers of sidewalk counselors and prayer warriors that serve at the site. …We continue to minister to the staff at the Port Charlotte abortion site by offering them love, support and encouragement to leave the business.”
Praise God!
In short, we look forward to seeing more beautiful fruit from Florida’s Gulf Coast!
WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL (OCTOBER 12-18, 2014): “AN INVITATION TO LOVE”
by Dan Miller, Program Advisor, Sidewalk Advocates for Life
Verse(s): “Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and elders of the people in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. …But when the king came in to meet the guests, he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. The king said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’ But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’ Many are invited, but few are chosen.” – Mt 22: 1-2, 11-14
Reflection: It always bothered me that this man was brought in off the streets – INVITED – to attend the wedding, but was shown the door because he wasn’t wearing the right clothes. What I learned was that in those days, the “wedding garment” was a white tunic, given freely at the door to those arriving to wear at the ceremony. That means he REFUSED to pay respect to the king’s son by wearing the garment. “Many are invited, but few are chosen” – and the choice was his to make. Of course he’d be tossed out! What does the wedding garment really represent? Is it baptism or faith? You’d already be inside the church if you had those things, right? Anyone left outside would be someone who has not yet come to believe. If we look at our own church as the house of the marriage feast, we must be careful to clothe our hearts in Christ’s love. The wedding garment represents LOVE. The man tossed outside represents those with faith, yet had not love. He had enough faith to enter the banquet, but did not love the king or his son – illustrated by his refusal to wear the wedding garment – the garment of LOVE.
Faith Challenge: Let us be ready for Christ’s arrival at all times, wearing the white garment of love for Him on our hearts – ALWAYS! Love is what moves us to the sidewalk to help mothers and save their children. Meditating on 1 Corinthians 13 this week — the definition of LOVE — how can we be more loving to those around us?