We recently posted an article from Josh Brahm called “One Thing Every Church Can Do To Prevent Abortions in Their Congregation.” The article explains how pastors can save lives by making a public commitment on behalf of the whole church that they will treat women who become pregnant with grace and compassion instead of shame and rejection, by making this clear:

• Here’s what we believe: It is not sinful in and of itself to be in the state of pregnancy. The actions that led to becoming pregnant may have been sinful, but there is nothing intrinsically wrong with being a mother, with having a child growing inside your body. We love babies here, and we hate it when babies are killed.
• Here’s what we won’t do: We will not encourage anybody to have an abortion, because we believe that every unborn child is a bearer of God’s image. We will not kick a woman out of the church for being pregnant. We will not shame her. We will not let people tease her.
• Here’s what we will do: We will celebrate the life in her womb, and connect her with the local Pregnancy Resource Center. We will do our best to love unwed mothers well, the way Jesus loved the woman at the well and the woman caught in adultery. We will approach her with grace and friendship. We will teach our students and this young woman how to deal with shame through forgiveness. We will throw a baby shower for her (perhaps through her small group) and celebrate the baby’s birth just like we do all births in our church.

You can read the full article here including practical tips for approaching pastors with this idea in a spirit of humility, but we created this page to just have the pledge form and some resources to share with pastors who are already convinced to do this.

Click the video below to watch a video version of the article.