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Welcome to the Life Matters Worldwide blog, designed for pregnancy care workers. Hear from experts who educate, equip, and provide resources to the pro life community.

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The Full Story of Proposal 3

October 2022

Written by

Trevor Holloway

Parents want what’s best for our children. 

Abortion

Medical

Pregnancy

Teens

Statistics

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Compassion, not condemnation

January 2022

Written by

Colleen Tronson

When I think of the men and women who've been harmed by the aftermath of abortion, it is breathtaking. Whether it be mentally, physically, and/or spiritually, damage has been done to those involved in abortion.

Clients

Post-Abortion

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A life raft in the mayhem

January 2022

Written by

Anonymous

Pregnancy care centers strive for competency and professionalism, but as the following client testimony illustrates, the human touch is always worthwhile. Entering Spero was a different environment then what I was expecting. I guess ...

Volunteers

Staff

General

Clients

Medical

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Connections for life, part 2

January 2022

Written by

Stuart Carver

As we saw in Part 1, the disconnect is real.  The Body of Christ and life affirming ministry haven’t been connected as God wants them to be for a long, long time.

Bible

Church Relations

Clients

Ministry

Mentoring

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How you can make a difference for life internationally

January 2022

Written by

Phil Holsinger

Ten years ago, a small group of Americans began looking into starting a pregnancy resource organization (PRO) in eastern Europe. The idea had sprouted when a couple of men in the group had been on a business-as-missions tour to...

Directors

Encouragement

Leadership

Testimony

Mentoring

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Connections for life, part 1

January 2022

Written by

Stuart Carver

As a relational discipleship engineer and replicator, it is my God given job to specialize in making connections between the Body of Christ and people in need.

Bible

Church Relations

Clients

Ministry

Mentoring

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What's "typical"?

January 2022

Written by

Ardy Berens

Ardy Berens is the Volunteer Coordinator for a maternity home. She wrote a moving and insightful Facebook post about the typical resident that would also resonate with anyone involved with other pregnancy-related ministries.

Clients

Evangelism

Testimony

Culture

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Are American churches ready to practice what they preach?

January 2022

Written by

Trevor Holloway

It is indeed an exciting time for the pro-life movement in America. As reported by the US news agency NPR, “For the first time in nearly a half century, there is a six-justice conservative supermajority on the U.S. Supreme Court — six...

General

Abortion

Bible

Church Relations

Evangelism

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We need a missional model of medicine

August 2021

Written by

Mark B. Blocher

This article is excerpted with permission from a forthcoming book by Mark Blocher, Missional Medicine: Restoring the Soul of Healthcare, due out in September. Watch this space for updates on how to obtain copies, or inquire at...

General

Medical

Culture

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More or less

August 2021

Written by

Stuart Carver

We are going to explore three examples of how life-affirming ministries may be able to accomplish more, even with less. Why? Because: There is a tendency to believe more money is what we need. We intuitively think more ministry...

Directors

Board Members

Bible

Fundraising

Leadership

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Sanctuary cities protect the unborn

August 2021

Written by

Michele D. Shoun

On the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, with President Joe Biden in office only 24 hours, he and Vice President Kamala Harris issued a statement unequivocally supporting the “right to choose” abortion. The Biden-Harris administration...

General

Church Relations

Government

Culture

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Welcoming diversity

August 2021

Written by

James Sprague

Pregnancy care centers serve clients regardless of race, creed, color, national origin, age, or marital status, and always treat clients with kindness, respect, compassion, and honesty. But as our government, schools, businesses, and...

Directors

Board Members

Administration

Communication

Culture

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How many?

January 2021

Written by

Stuart Carver

A legendary parable goes something like this: A small village of people once lived along the edge of a fast-flowing river. Several people of the village were fishing along the river’s edge when one noticed a baby being washed...

Directors

Board Members

PCC Services

Testimony

Men

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Having a plan for greater engagement with churches

January 2021

Written by

Michele D. Shoun

If you follow Alpha Grand Rapids’ Facebook page, you’ll notice a positive point of view in every post. For instance, it was refreshing to read on December 16, 2020:  “AGR is thankful for our church partners in the community! Churches...

Directors

Staff

Board Members

Administration

Church Relations

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A pro-lifer’s progress: “Put on the full armor of God”

January 2021

Written by

Ann L. Coker

What is needed for a victorious fight in the pro-life arena? How do we prepare ourselves? What equipment do we acquire? In John Bunyan’s classic, The Pilgrim’s Progress, his main character is named Christian. His burden of sin fell off...

General

Bible

Encouragement

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Brace for impact!

January 2021

Written by

Jor-El Godsey

The forward momentum of the pro-life movement over the last four years is about to run head-on into an empowered pro-abortion offensive bent on recovering all lost ground and establishing its own forward momentum.  By any...

General

Government

Culture

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A unique perspective: Need more proof?

January 2021

Written by

Bethany Bacon

Imagine not being able to speak for the entire time your girlfriend or your wife was pregnant, from conception to delivery of the baby, because you didn’t believe she was pregnant. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord...

General

Bible

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Let Ascent lift you up!

July 2020

Written by

Michele D. Shoun

Steventhen Holland is an author, recording artist, passionate worship leader, motivational communicator, national pro-life speaker, and founder of the nonprofit Broken Not Dead Ministries. He has an incredibly moving life-story...

General

Encouragement

Events

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Women don't get pregnant

July 2020

Written by

Stuart Carver

Myths have always been a part of the human experience. Here are a few examples: bats are blind, elephants are afraid of mice, and mustard seeds are the smallest seeds. Do you still believe any of these myths? Google them later...

General

Communication

Culture

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Come to The Summit!

July 2020

Written by

Michele D. Shoun

The Summit is a two-day conference for pregnancy care center directors, staff, volunteers, and board members. It's designed by Life Matters Worldwide to strengthen and sustain PCCs as effective Gospel outreaches. Our speakers...

General

Leadership

Events

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One volunteer's testimony

July 2020

Written by

Ann L. Coker

May 1993 marked my third year as a volunteer counselor at a pregnancy care center. My timeslot was Friday afternoons, but it was like any other day at the center when counselors struggled not only with the clients' needs but also...

Volunteers

Clients

Counseling

Encouragement

Testimony

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Pregnancy centers respond to COVID-19: We are essential

April 2020

Written by

Olivia Aveni Briscoe

The coronavirus pandemic has changed life as we know it. Many non-essential businesses and services are shuttered across the country as people hunker down and socially distance themselves to prevent the spread of infection...

General

Encouragement

Leadership

Medical

Ministry

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Resource roundup for COVID-19

April 2020

Written by

Michele D. Shoun

"When historians report on this tragic time, I hope they mention the heroic work of life-affirming pregnancy centers and medical clinics. In this time of sadness, darkness, and death, these dedicated nonprofits didn’t flinch...

Directors

Board Members

Administration

Encouragement

Government

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What makes a good working environment?

January 2020

Written by

Ann L. Coker

University studies have concluded that social interaction promotes better cognitive functioning for workers’ productivity and forms better relationships between employees and their supervisors.* Would that be any different for a...

General

Administration

Leadership

Communication

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DESTRESSING when life is DISTRESSING

January 2020

Written by

Kyle Farran

As we serve the Lord in ministry, we are going to face problems. Lots of them. Learning to destress is vital for our quality of life. However, there’s an even greater reason for learning to destress. When we face problems, others are...

Directors

Bible

Encouragement

Leadership

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Don't underestimate the importance of environmental messaging

January 2020

Written by

Andrew Mollison

Your pregnancy care center is speaking all the time, and not just through the voices of the people. The physical objects that surround the users are sending messages of their own. The environment in which you work can either...

Directors

Staff

Administration

Marketing

Culture

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How should PCCs talk about Safe Baby Haven?

January 2020

Written by

Heather Burner

Infant abandonment is far too common in this country. Over 40 babies were illegally abandoned in the U.S. in 2019. According to unofficial statistics recorded by the National Safe Haven Alliance (NSHA), half of these infants did not...

Directors

Staff

Clients

PCC Services

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Good Soil is for PCCs

January 2020

Written by

ABWE

Women who contact pregnancy care centers are looking for answers, a confident caring friend, counsel regarding one of the most important decisions they have ever faced, and—in many cases—inner peace and hope.  A Bible-based...

General

Bible

Evangelism

Mentoring

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DNA – The human scientific fingerprint of God

January 2020

Written by

Jeanne M. Pernia

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are you works; my soul knows it very well.” Psalm 139:13-14 The Bible describes David...

General

Bible

Medical

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APR news roundup

January 2020

Written by

Michele D. Shoun

At the Center magazine published a story on abortion pill reversal and the PCC back in 2015. Since that time, the network of trained doctors willing to prescribe APR has grown from 300 to 800. According to Heartbeat International...

General

Clients

Medical

PCC Services

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Strengthen the bond between PCCs and churches

January 2020

Written by

Kevin Manning

Life Matters recently reached out to a number of pregnancy care centers to participate in a survey. Surveys are not exciting, so we thank each one who took part.  The goal of the survey was to identify the needs of pregnancy care...

Directors

Staff

Church Relations

Encouragement

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Into the lion's den: Doing ministry when you feel inadequate

June 2019

Written by

Tonya Delnay

We can all identify with feelings of inadequacy and incapability: I'm not smart enough, don’t know my Bible well enough, am not rich or pretty enough ... simply not good enough.  Then there’s failure. We try to be good enough, but we...

General

Bible

Encouragement

Testimony

Sexual Purity

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Reporters are people too

June 2019

Written by

Michele D. Shoun

Must we be antagonistic toward the news media? I remember when it was thought to be important for pro-lifers to cultivate relationships with members of the press, for the purposes of getting a fair hearing and telling our side of the...

General

Media

Testimony

Communication

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Spread the word about 2 helpful resources

June 2019

Written by

Michele D. Shoun

CheckMyClinic.org - This website is a comprehensive database of health and safety violations at abortion facilities. They post the Department of State Health inspections and responses to FOIA requests, and may also post substantiated...

General

Abortion

Clients

Medical

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2019 Summit roundup

June 2019

Written by

Michele D. Shoun

The annual Summit is a two-day conference in May. For the 150+ in attendance, it's a refreshing get-away from the day-to-day pressures of PCC life.  Six women from Another Way Pregnancy Center in Farmington Hills, Michigan, were...

General

Events

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Healthy Tomorrows: Revisioning pregnancy care ministry

June 2019

Written by

Mark B. Blocher

As the abortion debate rages and all sides gear up for the prospect that the Supreme Court might overturn Roe v. Wade, the work of pregnancy care centers continues just as it has for the last 40+ years. While much of the attention...

Directors

Board Members

Medical

PCC Services

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Choosing your next banquet speaker

June 2019

Written by

Bob Foust

Hey Bob, do you know any good banquet speakers?   I am asked this question more than any other as I mentor pregnancy centers. It seems as though every board member and director is looking for a “magic bullet” that will provide...

Directors

Board Members

Fundraising

Events

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15 questions to improve your supporter website

January 2019

Written by

Mike Brady

Do you want to raise more funds, recruit more volunteers, and mobilize prayer?  Investing time in improving your supporter website can help. First, be sure to have a separate supporter website in addition to your client website. Why?

Directors

Staff

Board Members

Advertising

Fundraising

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Birth of a Family: 12-week program inspires positive change among Michigan families

January 2019

Written by

Karen Ingle

When Barb Hernandez, director of client services at West Shore Pregnancy and Family Support, attended Life Matters Worldwide's Summit in Muskegon, Michigan, last May, she was hunting for lasting solutions to her clients’ repetitive...

Directors

General

Church Relations

Clients

Ministry

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Bring God into the conversation through your website

January 2019

Written by

Michele D. Shoun

When Life Matters Worldwide added Questions about Abortion to our website, we experienced a dramatic uptick in email inquiries from women around the world: My husband wants me to terminate this pregnancy. Will God forgive me if I abort?

Directors

Staff

Abortion

Bible

Clients

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New book to serve as textbook for pregnancy crisis intervention

January 2019

Written by

John Ensor

John Ensor of PassionLife has written a book he hopes will serve as a textbook for our movement. Pregnancy Crisis Intervention: What to Do and Say When It Matters Most, from Hendrickson Publishers, (2019) puts everything in...

General

Clients

Counseling

Ministry

Pregnancy

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Reaching the world for Christ through pregnancy centers

June 2018

Written by

Melissa Heiland

A young girl timidly walks through the doors of the pregnancy center, because she does not know where else to turn. She is lost, alone and frightened. She’s not even sure why she is there, but she feels compelled to go...

General

Bible

Church Relations

Evangelism

Ministry

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How does teaching purity fit into your center?

June 2018

Written by

Rebecca Hughes

Sixteen years ago, The Delton Women’s Center began to take shape--first in the hearts, minds, and prayers of people in the faith community, and ultimately as a physical presence with an ambitious mission. It would be a pregnancy...

Directors

Bible

Leadership

PCC Services

Mentoring

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Why pro-life ministry is so challenging — and why that’s a good thing

June 2018

Written by

Susanne Maynes

We were almost to our goal. “Lisa” had been meeting with me for over two months for post-abortion recovery. Having realized that her past substance abuse was directly related to her abortions, she was engaged in the process...

General

Clients

Counseling

Encouragement

Ministry

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Reaching more clients

June 2018

Written by

Mike Brady

A young woman’s constant companion these days is her cell phone. She knows how to work it well. Restaurant? “Let me pull up their menu, and their reviews.” Shopping? “They’re closed right now. It’s on their website.”

Directors

Staff

Advertising

Clients

Marketing

Read Full Story
EnCOURAGE one another

January 2018

Written by

Michele D. Shoun

Pregnancy care centers are in the business of encouragement. Their stock in trade is reaching out to women who are being encouraged (or forced) to abort their babies. Indeed, if ever there was a misuse of the word “encourage” it’s...

Volunteers

Clients

Counseling

Encouragement

Evangelism

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Should your center have a pastoral advisory council?

January 2018

Written by

Tom Lothamer

Life Matters Worldwide has had a pastoral advisory council for many years now, and I’ve found it to be very beneficial. It’s good to have a group of men I can call on for informal advice, especially on matters relating to the Church.

Directors

Board Members

Administration

Church Relations

Encouragement

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Your clients need to know sex is good

January 2018

Written by

Rev. Steve Harduk

At the completion of creation God looked at all He had made and declared it “very good.” And it was so until the first couple plunged our race into sin and subjected the creation to its destructive effects.  Despite sin’s corruption we...

Volunteers

Bible

Clients

Counseling

STIs/STDs

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A director's walk for life

December 2017

Written by

Myra Lautner

I celebrated my 60th birthday in a manner different than most. I walked and biked across a portion of northern Michigan, ending at Lighthouse PCC in Manistee, where I’m the director. I stopped at other pregnancy care centers along...

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What to do when protesters show up

September 2017

Written by

Michele D. Shoun

Plans for the September 9 walk were proceeding smoothly, and then Shelly Burkhart, executive director at HerChoice (formerly Bowling Green Pregnancy Services) experienced a moment of panic. A coworker had learned through...

Directors

Board Members

Leadership

Legal

Media

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More than one way to "hold them back"

June 2017

Written by

Stephanie Garcia

Many years ago I heard that pregnancy care centers were places where the pieces were compassionately put back together when people's lives fell apart. But there was another option -- one that just might hold a young person back...

General

PCC Services

STIs/STDs

Testimony

Sexual Purity

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How churches (and Christian schools) can prevent abortion

June 2017

Written by

Michele D. Shoun

Most women who obtain abortions say they rarely attend church, if at all. According to the research, Protestants are actually under-represented in the population of women having abortions. But it's troubling to learn that "one in five...

General

Abortion

Church Relations

Encouragement

Pregnancy

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Board committees: Work smarter, not harder

June 2017

Written by

John McCastle

If your center has been around a while and the board only has a few members, breaking it down into committees doesn’t make sense. But a healthy board that has been around 5 or more years with sufficient members could benefit...

Directors

Board Members

Administration

Leadership

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What's she worth?

June 2017

Written by

Ann L. Coker

I met her first in the waiting room of our rural crisis pregnancy center. I overheard her boyfriend speak into her sad face: “I can’t believe you think you might have some disease. Who else have you been with?”  As I talked with...

Volunteers

General

Bible

Clients

Counseling

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Summit roundup + plans for 2018

May 2017

Written by

Michele D. Shoun

Life Matters' staff came away with positive feelings about this year's Summit, and they were confirmed by our guests' evaluations. Here's what some had to say: [This Summit] has been a blessing to me not only in my pregnancy...

General

Encouragement

Events

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Why should your center attend the Summit?

March 2017

Written by

Michele D. Shoun

What is the Summit? The Summit is a two-day conference for pregnancy care center directors, volunteers, staff, and board members. It’s designed to sustain PCCs as effective Gospel outreaches. We enlist speakers who will challenge ...

Directors

Volunteers

Staff

Board Members

Administration

Read Full Story
They come to us

January 2017

Written by

Ann L. Coker

Sitting before me in the counseling room is a young girl whose life is “sitting on empty.” She just endures life. For her, life may not have been kind or just. She wants only to make it through another day and without this pressing...

Volunteers

Bible

Clients

Counseling

Evangelism

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Financial health for your center

January 2017

Written by

Tom Lothamer

Most ministries struggle to remain financially healthy. They seek to keep a balance between living by faith and operating realistically.  Some will say, "Let's move ahead by faith, God will supply our needs as we step out for Him."

Directors

Board Members

Administration

Fundraising

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What it's like to do pro-life ministry in India

January 2017

Written by

Michele D. Shoun

Abortion is very common in India – readily available and cheaply performed. It’s often referred to as “getting cleaned out,” which softens and obscures reality.  Often, a woman doesn’t understand what’s being done to her and her baby.

General

Abortion

Testimony

International

Culture

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Combat human trafficking: Policy recommendations

Written by

Darlene Pawlik

Pregnancy resource centers have a unique opportunity to fight the injustice of human trafficking. Most pregnancy centers have policy manuals that specify how volunteers and staff treat clients, guests and one another.

Directors

Volunteers

Clients

Counseling

Legal

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