It was one of the great joys and honors of my life to recently preach the annual banquet for the Pregnancy Resource Center of Cleveland County, North Carolina. The venue was packed with wonderful and different people who all have one core, common belief: Babes in the womb are worth saving from the horrific ravages of abortion.
Genesis 1:27 tells us that humanity is made in the image of God. Even if there were no such thing as a Bible, though, it would be evident just from a cursory glance that mankind and animals are on radically different levels. Every passing decade the animal kingdom remains much the same.
And in every one of those same passing decades, mankind progresses by leaps and bounds. We went from heavier than air flight in 1903 to setting foot on the moon by 1969, and Mars is now in sight.
Mankind builds hospitals and libraries and skyscrapers. Mankind repairs and replaces hearts, harnesses the power of the atom, maps DNA, develops gene therapy and cures diseases. And each and every babe in the womb has all that and infinitely more potential inside him or her.
Even in cases where a deformity or infirmity is detected, we are still dealing with a precious human life, in whose nostrils is the very breath of God (Genesis 2:7).
All of which makes me wonder why any Christian or any church would not be supporting a local PRC.
Before I preached, I watched as a video showed the work of the PRC, and one of the digital slides showed a list of all of the churches who supported it. One denomination made up probably 95 percent of the supporting churches. There were other denominations entirely absent. Even in the majority denomination, I noticed several churches not listed.
Our church has been supporting the PRC as a mission work for nearly 20 years. We regard it as one of the most essential and valuable things we do. How can we be concerned only for those who have already been born and not reach out to help those who might not even be allowed that basic right?
Our church feeds and clothes the homeless, reaches out to the hurting, evangelizes the lost in our own backyard and sends and supports missionaries around the world. But each and every day, frightened mothers, unsure of what to do with the unexpected pregnancy they are facing, deal with the pressure to end that precious child's life. That means that there are two individuals, two human beings made in the image of God, that someone needs to reach out to.
The PRC does that reaching out. They provide maternity clothing, counseling, formula and diapers, ultrasounds and essential information on the precious life that mother is carrying in her womb. The people who serve in PRCs have forgone potentially lucrative careers in order to save and serve "the least of these."
While others clock in at 9 a.m., work a sure and steady job, then clock out at 5 p.m. and go home, leaving the job behind, those who serve in PRCs have a cause, not a job. They may come in at 9 and leave at 5, but the task comes home with them. They pray over it and fast over it and lie awake many nights agonizing over those they were not able to help.
Sometimes they reap the ultimate reward. Not a financial windfall; those boons are reserved for people in the corporate or entertainment world. No, sometimes they get to see a young mother bring a new baby by for a visit, a baby that almost had his or her life ended before a PRC showed a mother a better way. Other times they give their best efforts, then cry themselves to sleep when they hear that a mother chose to abort her child.
My question is this. Not everyone can be part of a PRC. For some, they have other callings and other tasks. But every child of God and every church could support a PRC. Everything given, great or small, is another thread in the rope that holds the life raft they toss out to the drowning and desperate each and every day.
Pastor, would you please consider having your church financially support a PRC? Christian, would you do so on an individual basis? To the Jesus who loved children so much that he chided people who tried to keep them from him, nothing could be more precious in his sight.
Bo Wagner is pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church of Mooresboro, North Carolina, a widely traveled evangelist and the author of several books. Email him at 2knowhim@cbc-web.org.