Abortion Related Ministry Resources
Recommended for Assemblies of God Churches
The Assemblies of God has always held that the life of unborn persons must be protected. However, our concern does not end at birth; our concern for the mothers and their children continues after birth. At the same time, we also have compassionate concern for those women that chose to end their pregnancy.
The District Council has prepared the following list of abortion-related ministry resources to assist churches in ministering to those that are facing (or have faced) these circumstances.
Life Affirming Resources
The Church is uniquely placed to create a culture that affirms the Imago Dei (Image of God) at every stage of life. Intentionally and strategically providing life-affirming resources within the local church will build an environment where:
Those struggling with an unplanned pregnancy will choose life due to the support and love of the church.
Those struggling with the pain of a past abortion decision will find healing and wholeness.
Those in an unplanned parenting situation can find support, encouragement, and hope.
Please find the resources below as you provide life-affirming support at your church.
Post-Abortion Healing
Offering post-abortion healing, whether internal or a trusted referral to a local pregnancy resource center, brings healing to the entire church body.
Most Pregnancy Centers offer post-abortion healing Bible Studies and can be a great resource for you. To find a center near you, click HERE or HERE.
In-person day of healing: Truth Ministries: Precious Gifts Class. This class is designed for after-abortion care for women and men who desire to be healed from guilt, shame, suppressed grief, unforgiveness, secret scars, and deep-rooted pain. They give individuals the opportunity to honor and bring dignity to their baby, who was lost through abortion or miscarriage. For more information, please click HERE.
In-person weekend of emotional and spiritual healing from a past abortion experience: HOPE Retreat – for those who may feel alone with the memories of their experience. They may have taken all those complicated feelings surrounding their decision and stuffed them down, hoping they would someday just go away. But they haven't. During our weekend HOPE Retreat, we gather as a small group of 5-8 who have experienced the struggle with an abortion decision. Together, we will process the painful thoughts and emotions like guilt, anger, shame, unforgiveness, regret, and depression. Healing and restored hope is possible. Click HERE to schedule your retreat.
Post-abortion healing curriculum for women and men: Surrendering the Secret. Surrendering the Secret (STS) is a ministry designed to help women and men heal from the hurt of abortion. Abortion affects people of all walks of life. At STS, they provide resources for those that have had abortions as well as training for facilitators. For their training and curriculum, please click HERE.
Post-abortion healing curriculum for women and men: Save One: A Guide to Emotional Healing After Abortion. The local church should be the first place people turn to for help, not the last. Pastors will have a tool to deal with the abortion issue from the pulpit using love and acceptance, not judgment and condemnation. For their training and information, or to start a chapter in your church, click HERE.
Post-abortion healing curriculum for women: Forgiven and Set Free. Forgiven and Set Free, an inspired Bible study that can be used by individual women or a group, effectively ministers God's healing grace to women suffering remorse and guilt after an abortion. For more information, click HERE.
Post-abortion healing curriculum for men: Healing a Father's Heart. Abortion inflicts pain on men as well as women. These fathers are "silent, wounded warriors" suffering from fear, anxiety, anger, guilt, grief, and depression. Men who have lost a child to abortion often have an unexplainable need to defend their masculinity, causing confusion and strife in their relationships. For more information, click HERE.
Post-abortion training and resources: Support After Abortion. Their vision is to end the demand for abortion by healing those impacted by abortion. Support After Abortion is a catalyst to inspire compassion among people, promote collaboration with leaders, and build capacity for programming. For more information, click HERE.
Miscarriage Support
Anchored: A Bible Study for Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Loss by Erin Cushman. Anchored invites you to grieve in an honest and faith-filled way. With personal stories, seasoned insight, and gentle questions, you are invited to lay your deepest hurt at the foot of the cross and allow God to anchor your brokenness. To purchase, click HERE.
Grace Like Scarlett by Adriel Booker: Adriel tackles complex questions about faith, suffering, and God's will with sensitivity and clarity, devoid of religious clichés or pat answers. Ultimately, Adriel invites you to a wide-open place of grace, honesty, and genuine hope as you discover a redemption story unfolding in the shadows of your loss. She also includes practical resources to help guide children through grief, advice on pregnancy after loss, and special sections for dads and loved ones. To purchase, click HERE.
Miscarriage Hurts: Hope After Loss. A confidential website for those who are touched by miscarriage, whether the experience happened recently or years ago. It is a refuge for those who wish to tell their story and begin the process of healing. Click HERE.
Pregnancy Loss Memorial
Sacramento Memorial Garden. The mission of the Sacramento memorial Garden is to glorify the Lord through a peaceful garden to honor and memorialize those lost through miscarriage, stillbirth, and abortion. For more information, click HERE.
Adoption
Lifetime Adoption Center. They create a custom adoption plan for birthmothers. Since 1986, they've helped to connect birth parents and adoptive families to create bright futures for their children. There's never any cost for expectant mothers. For more information, click HERE.
Supporting Single Mothers and their Families
Embrace Grace. Embrace Grace exists to help inspire and equip the church to love and encourage single and pregnant young women and their families. Women experiencing unexpected pregnancies receive practical, spiritual, and emotional support through support groups.
Through the message of love, women are being helped to see that they can have their baby and their dreams too! Being pro-life is a stance, a belief system, a vote. And it's important. But being pro-love is an action, the boots on the ground, the hands and feet of Jesus, the church. For more information, click HERE.
Abortion Pill Reversal
An unplanned pregnancy can be scary and many women make decisions to abort when they are terrified and stressed. We know that after some time, many women change their minds about a chemical abortion.
IT MAY NOT BE TOO LATE TO SAVE YOUR PREGNANCY.
There is an effective process called Abortion Pill Reversal that can give a woman the ability to give their unborn child a second chance at life.
Abortion Pill Network has providers throughout the nation. Their 24/7 HELPLINE will connect a woman who regrets taking the abortion pill to a provider closest to her. Many of them are Pregnancy Medical Clinics https://www.abortionpillreversal.com/.
Their helpline will connect the woman with one of their medical professionals nearest her who can guide her towards reversing the effects of the abortion pill. They will help her every step of the way. Time is precious, and so is the unborn… call asap.
Training & Education
eBook: Life Tribe – Creating a Culture for Life. Download a free eBook and be empowered to create a culture for life at your church. Learn: How Abortion Affects the Church, Why Churches Don't Engage & Why They Need To, How To Bring Change, Resource Guide, Messaging Ideas, Next Steps. For your free copy, click HERE.
eBook: Life Tribe Ministry Manual. To start a life-affirming ministry at your church, download your free Ministry Manual for ideas to get started. Click HERE.
Care Net's Making Life Disciples. MLD is a simple, easy-to-access basic training that allows your church to begin a non-political, holistic, gospel-centered approach to caring for the abortion-vulnerable. This training teaches people in your church how to offer practical help and discipleship to people who are in the midst of making difficult pregnancy decisions. For more information, click HERE.
Book: Why Can't We Say the "A" Word in Church by Joni Williams Shepherd. Joni raises a call to the Church, and particularly to those in spiritual authority, to break the chains of silence and shame that have bound the victims of one of modern history's greatest moral catastrophes, abortion. Click HERE.
Book: Is There Not A Cause by Sheila Harper. Sheila dispels the biggest myths surrounding the abortion issue and shows pointedly how we can take back the fight for life! This book is the pastor's answer to a tangible course of action with the abortion issue. You can speak up about this cause with love, not politics; acceptance, not rejection. Use this book to learn how you can reach out to this huge portion of our population sitting right on our church pews week after week but yet suffering the aftermath of abortion in silence. Click HERE.
Book: Stand for Life by John Ensor and Scott Klusendorf. A manual for young people that addresses tough questions about abortion in a concise and straightforward manner. Empower young people to understand the sanctity of human life and develop a Christian response to abortion. Click HERE.
Teacher and Student Guides: Courageously Pro-Life by Sarah Bowen. Learn about tough topics like abortion, euthanasia, and eugenics. Examine your role in this movement and discover practical steps you can take to relegate abortion, euthanasia, and eugenics to the ash heap of history. Click HERE.
Book: Answering the Call: Saving Innocent Lives One Woman at a Time by John Ensor. A life-affirming message for those who counsel couples facing an unplanned pregnancy. Encouraging readers to reach out with compassion and sensitivity, Ensor offers updated scientific knowledge, practical applications, and theological insights to help you gently guide women to choose life and prospective fathers to protect and provide for their children—especially those in the womb. To purchase, click HERE.
Book: Pregnancy Crisis Intervention: What to Do and Say When It Matters by John Ensor. Whether you're a volunteer at a pregnancy center, a counselor, or simply a family member or friend who knows a pregnant woman in crisis, Pregnancy Crisis Intervention examines what a pregnancy crisis is and will help you know with confidence what to do and say when it matters most. To purchase, click HERE.
Video: The Baby Olivia Project. Baby Olivia was created by Live Action and reviewed by accredited OBGYNs to show audiences the spectacular life of a baby growing within the womb. With scientific accuracy, this video depicts the moment life begins and beyond to show the humanity of the preborn throughout each stage of human development. For more information, click HERE.
Pregnancy Resource Centers
Pregnancy Resource Centers outnumber abortion clinics by about three to one. They are usually faith-based and are powerful organizations on the front lines journeying through life with their clients. They often offer services such as options for education, pregnancy tests, limited obstetric ultrasounds, post-abortion healing and support, parenting and life skill classes, and more—all free of charge. Partnership between the local church and pregnancy resource centers is invaluable. To find a pregnancy resource center near you, click HEREhttps://www.heartbeatinternational.org/worldwide-directory or HERE.
Informative Messages and Blogposts
Information Brochures
There are many brochures you can ascertain that may be helpful for initial discussions. Please visit Focus on the Family by clicking HERE to find brochures (also available in Spanish) on the following topics:
First Nine Months
Healthy Pregnancy
The Abortion Pill
Embracing Hope: After Miscarriage
Healing the Hurt: Post-abortion
What I Didn't Know About Adoption