How You Can “Speak”

Order at CPH: How You Can “Speak” booklet

This booklet was updated on December 29, 2022.

The Lord be with you, Gospel-motivated voice!

Did you know that Lutherans For Life speaks hope and joy in more than one language? We share truth AND we show love. We declare the Heavenly Father’s truth in courageous conversations, and we also demonstrate our Savior’s love with acts of compassion. The sanctity of life sounds magnificent in dozens of different dialects and accents! So you can organize events and recruit volunteers—or something else. You can sidewalk counsel outside the clinic—but you don’t have to. You may talk politics and contact lawmakers—but there are other ways as well.

Maybe the Lord God is inviting you to another approach. Our message means more than memorizing arguments, mounting soapboxes, listing statistics, reciting textbooks, and having answers. (Although each of these methods has its own useful place!) Telling how God creates, redeems, and calls each member of our race as His own precious treasure forever—no matter what age, appearance, or ability—takes all kinds of approaches and methods.

Gratitude, not guilt, motivates our Gospel voices. Excitement inspires us, not anxiety. We rejoice that you have unique vocations. Our Almighty Maker has given you distinct skills, experiences, and interests. He places you in relationships and roles that suit you better than any other. He makes you a missionary wherever you may go and in whatever you like to do.

This booklet offers examples accumulated over forty years from all fifty states. Since 1979, we’ve listened to suggestions and learned from mistakes. We’ve brainstormed, we’ve observed, we’ve undertaken, we’ve refined. And we’ve identified a variety of effective—and enjoyable!—opportunities to proclaim the sanctity of all human life. In these pages, you’ll find ideas for finding and lending your voice in the church and through worship, with children and families, encouraging others and advocating throughout communities, making displays, raising funds, reaching legislators, and much more.

As you do, rest assured you are planting seeds that will change hearts, heal hurts, save lives, serve neighbors, and glorify our good and gracious God!

Rev. Michael W. Salemink
Executive Director, Lutherans For Life

Contents

God’s Promises for Those Who Speak in His Name
Speaking in the Church
Speaking through Worship
Speaking to Our Families
Self Speak
Helping Others to Speak
Speaking with/through Children/Teens
Speaking through the Media
Speaking to our Communities
Speaking through Displays and Booths
Speaking through Government and Elected Officials
Speaking by Doing
Speaking through Fundraising Efforts
Notes

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture marked NIV is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

God’s Promises for Those Who Speak in His Name

“‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6b).

“‘Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,’ declares the Lord … ‘Behold, I have put my words in your mouth’” (Jeremiah 1:8, 9b).

“But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them” (Jeremiah 1:17).

“‘They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to deliver you’” (Jeremiah 1:19).

“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil … Have no fear of them, nor be troubled” (1 Peter 3:12, 14b).

“[W]hoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:11).

“Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear not the reproach of man, nor be dismayed at their revilings” (Isaiah 51:7).

“[F]or God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7).

“Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak” (Exodus 4:12).

The first three in our list of ideas we believe to be of critical importance. People will not be moved to take action For Life until they realize the connection between the Word of Life and the life issues. Making that connection in our congregations and families is a primary focus of Lutherans For Life.

Speaking in the Church

Share Life Quotes and Life Thoughts in the Church Year from Lutherans For Life with your pastor.
Provide copies of Grounded in God’s Word: Commentaries on Life to your congregation (cph.org; Item 124552). Give one to your pastor.
Offer to facilitate a Bible study on one or more life issues in your congregation or provide Bible study materials available from LFL to your church’s board of education. (Bible studies are available in each issue of Directions and in our Life Sunday materials.)
Speak to organizations in your congregation—short presentations of 15 to 20 minutes. They may extend the time with Q & A. Video and PowerPoint^® sermons are available from LFL.
Volunteer to serve on the human care board or similar committee in your congregation.
Set up a display table a few times a year (or quarterly) at your congregation. Have up-to-date materials/displays and be there to answer questions or give information.
Sponsor Creation events by utilizing speakers, videos, book giveaways, etc.
Using the model of Titus 2, host a small group of grandmothers, mothers, and daughters to discuss biblical womanhood, purity, and love for God’s gift of life. (Resources are available at titus2-4life.org.)
Using the model of Titus 2, host a small group of grandfathers, fathers, and sons in your home or in the youth room at church to discuss biblical manhood, chivalry, and protection of human life. (Go to titus2-4life.org.)
Place a small literature rack with brochures and booklets on sexual purity, post-abortion healing, etc., in the restrooms at church.
Review a life-affirming book or movie for your church newsletter.
Design a life-affirming page—or submit articles—for your church newsletter and/or website. Include quotes and facts as well as suggested LFL brochures, booklets, videos, Bible studies, and curricula.
Link to national Lutherans For Life on your congregation’s website (and link to your LFL State Federation website, if applicable).
Pass out LFL membership brochures (Item LFL1600) as the congregation leaves church. Have LFL Life Chapter or Life Team members do this so it is more like a personal invitation. Encourage membership in Lutherans For Life.
Host a mother/daughter tea event and have a female Christian medical professional speak. Show a video on fetal development.
Host a father/son event and have an environmentalist speak about how male animals care for their young. An outdoor/nature theme could be incorporated.
Host a father/daughter or mother/son dinner or other event.
Hold a class for parents of preschool children at your church to include your pastor discussing Baptism, Sunday school, and other opportunities for Christian education and family ministry. A Christian financial planner and a Christian psychologist could also speak to the class, providing helpful information.
Put For Life materials in the church library.
Have an annual soup/sandwich supper on Life Sunday and invite a speaker, sing songs/hymns, and have a prayer vigil.
Provide life issue bulletin inserts for your congregation—such as LFL’s Life News.
Sponsor an annual “Resurrection Workshop” at your church. This workshop led by your pastor will let participants share their wishes concerning their will, funeral, and burial arrangements. Have LFL materials concerning end-of-life issues available for the class. Participants may also fill out and sign a notarized form that states their desire to have pastoral care until life’s end. This has shown itself to be important for dealing with situations when the spouse or children are unbelievers. (Also see Medical Directive Statements/Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare.)
Design and print For Life Christmas cards and give one to each family in the congregation using the church mailboxes or sending out with the church newsletter.
Establish a life-affirming bulletin board at church with simple life-affirming messages and cartoons. This could be set up in the fellowship area where lots of folks will see it. Keep it current.
Speak about the ministry of Lutherans For Life and the importance of addressing the life issues at your church’s new member orientation activities.
Sponsor Lenten soup suppers for your congregation.
Sponsor a Mother’s Day or Father’s Day breakfast.
Show videos about Lutherans For Life to church groups.
Host a coffee hour after worship and distribute life-affirming/LFL materials.
Speak to church groups and community organizations about the ministry of Lutherans For Life and the importance of connecting God’s Word to the life issues.
Place LFL’s Life Quotes in your congregation’s weekly bulletin and/or monthly newsletter.
Give a life issue and/or LFL Life Chapter or Life Team report at congregational voters’ meetings.
Set up a “Life” Christmas tree in a prominent place.
Sponsor a candlelight memorial service in front of the church.
Hold a “Celebrate LIFE!” party.
Provide copies of LifeDate for members of your congregation. (Contact Lutherans For Life for bulk ordering information.)
Post baby/baptismal pictures on church bulletin board.
Place a small Christmas tree somewhere outside the sanctuary, along with red hearts on ornament hooks. Anyone who has lost a child through any means (abortion, miscarriage, illness, etc.) has the opportunity to write the child’s name on a heart and hang it on the tree, offering a private prayer.
Make laminated crosses for Mother’s Day with life-affirming Bible verses on them.
Encourage your congregation to observe a Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. New materials are available each year from Lutherans For Life (bulletin insert, sermons, worship service formats).
Organize special shut-in visits on a Sunday afternoon or other day of choice. This should be in addition to your pastor’s regular visits. Calling for an appointment provides a welcome conversation. Invite your congregation to participate in the scheduled visits. Join together for lunch before splitting up to make visits or enjoy fellowship back at church after the visits are over. This is a great opportunity to reach the elderly and disabled and bring comfort and encouragement as they struggle with personal life issues.

Speaking through Worship

Provide altar flowers dedicated to mothers on Mother’s Day and give them to moms after the church service has ended.
Have your adult and/or children’s choir sing “God Knew Your Name” during the worship service. Have the lyrics printed in the bulletin.
Place a white flower in the chancel or on the altar when a person is baptized (representing the new life found in Christ).
During worship services, display banners designed as crib quilts which can later be donated to a pregnancy center.
Have a “Celebrate Life” service on March 25 (the Annunciation of our Lord). Check with LFL on available resources.
Make a For Life banner for church in conjunction with Life Sunday or other event.
Distribute “God Loves Life” sheet music.
Check on availability of LFL Mother’s Day and Father’s Day bulletin inserts.
On Life Sunday, celebrate the Baptism of all children baptized since the previous year’s Life Sunday. Each family gets a letter of invitation prior to the Life Sunday “celebration.”
Use LFL’s Memorial Service for the Victims of Abortion.
On All Saints Day, encourage a remembrance of children who perished in miscarriage or stillbirth.

Speaking to Our Families

Support speakers and hold regular educational events for families on all life issues—including the adoption option and the need for foster families.
Bring the Touch of Life fetal models (available through Heritage House, hh76.org) with you to family reunions, on vacation, Bible camps, etc. Then just take them out to powder (clean) them, and soon you will have a crowd of kids/adults around you asking about them!
Teach your children about abortion. Teach your children that life is precious from conception to natural death.
Teach your children sexual purity/chastity.
Talk to family and friends about what God’s Word says about life issues.
Share God’s Word about the blessings of Baptism.
Encourage a study of Genesis and God’s plan for families.
Encourage praying together with others for a different life issue, or for/with someone facing these issues, on a daily basis.

Self Speak

Read and study God’s Word and pray!
Join and support Lutherans For Life and read the materials you receive from LFL—and sign up to receive LFL email.
Participate in quarterly LFL Frontline conference calls.
Use LFL’s website and Facebook page to become better informed on the life issues and their connection to God’s Word.
Subscribe to email services that provide life issue news: lifenews.com, lifesite.net, nrlc.org, spuc.org.uk, christianliferesources.com).
Learn more about adoption as a loving alternative to abortion.
Read magazine articles, books, etc., on life issues.
Get a free subscription to LifeDate from LFL.
Wear “Precious Feet” or “Precious Hands” pins and be prepared to answer when people ask about them.
Use positive, life-affirming address labels and stickers on all your personal mail. Use For Life checks to pay bills, buy groceries, etc.
Thank your pastor after a For Life sermon or Bible study.
Send Christmas or birthday cards with a For Life message.
Give a “Precious Feet” or “Precious Hands” pin to a confirmand along with a For Life resource (brochure, booklet, CD, DVD, or LifeMarks bookmarks).
Participate in your local LFL Life Chapter and keep in contact with local Lutheran pastors and congregations.
Run for political office.
Wear life-affirming T-shirts.
Put a life-affirming bumper sticker on your car or a static sticker on your car window.
Support hospice care.
Talk to your doctor about abortion and physician-assisted suicide.
Subscribe to For Life publications.
Learn how you can help women and men who need ministry after an abortion through Word of Hope (word-of-hope.org; 888-217-8679).
Publish a For Life newsletter.
Keep informed about your church body’s stand on life issues and share with members of your congregation.
Serve as a “sidewalk counselor” in front of an abortion clinic. Check with a local pregnancy center for training.
Peacefully witness/pray/hand out LFL materials in front of an abortion clinic.
Sponsor a needy child through Children’s Christian Concern Society or similar ministries and organizations.
Know why you are For Life.
Financially support Lutherans For Life and other life-affirming efforts.
Be ready for opportunities to witness. Keep life-affirming resources (brochures, booklets, CDs, DVDs) in your purse, briefcase, or car.
Come to an LFL conference.
Don’t assume the “experts” know more about the fundamental issues than you do.
Become informed and talk about the scientific and medical facts regarding fetal development.
Speak the truth in Christ-like love.
Speak of Christ’s forgiveness and the power (by the Holy Spirit) to live a new life.

Helping Others to Speak

Place flyers at church or give them to friends/neighbors/acquaintances when congressmen and congresswomen should be contacted regarding bills in the House of Representatives or the Senate.
Support Christian Medical & Dental Associations’ medical students, etc., with speakers, funds, and encouragement.
Give Christian Medical & Dental Associations’ students life-affirming Bible materials, pocket Bibles, etc.
Host an “in-home” Bible study on life issues. Provide time for prayer, discussion, and fellowship.
Invite people to attend LFL State Conferences as a group.
Raise money to send congregational members or local LFL members to LFL National and Regional Conferences.
Adopt a seminarian.
Hold a “Pastor’s Breakfast.” Distribute information about Lutherans For Life. (If pastors do not come, hand-deliver the information to them and encourage them to speak out about life issues from the pulpit.)
Offer scholarships to students to attend Lutherans For Life National or Regional Conferences.
Hold a workshop on life issues for Sunday school teachers.
Encourage your pastor to apply the Law and the Gospel to all life issues.
Encourage your pastor and congregation to form an LFL Life Team or Life Chapter.
Give a list of community For Life speakers, services, and organizations to your pastor.
Encourage people to visit with their grandparents and other older people. Help them to learn and appreciate the wisdom that comes from living many years.
Support For Life teachers and administrators by sending cards, offering encouragement, and providing them with life-affirming resources.
Host a baby shower for a single mother in need who decides to keep her child.
Promote the “Adoption Option” with seminars, workshops, or informational brochures.
Distribute the A Lutheran Catechism on Abortion and Life booklet (cph.org; Item LFL104B).
Distribute copies of the brochure, “Abortion and the Message of the Church: Sin or Salvation?” (cph.org; Item LFL205T).
Start an LFL Life Chapter.
Organize a Life Team Seminar where area Lutheran churches can come to learn about how to start a Life Team in their own congregations. Invite an LFL representative to come and speak about the importance of Life Teams and how to use the Life Team Tool Kit.
Sponsor a Mother’s Day baby shower for a local pregnancy center.

Speaking with/through Children/Teens

Have the youth sponsor a “dresser drive.” The congregation is asked to fill a refinished dresser (located at church) with new or gently used baby items to be donated to a local pregnancy center.
Sponsor a needy child through Child Reach, etc.
Let Lutheran school teachers and administrators know you are willing to speak about life issues.
Make sure sex education classes in local high schools hear the sexual purity message—encourage equal time!
Turn VBS week into “Celebrate Life” week! Make use of LFL children’s messages for opening devotions. Instead of making crafts to take home, have the students create items for moms and babies in the congregation or for a local pregnancy center. Set up an LFL display.
Make up “Student For Life Packets” for youth in your congregation who want to write a paper, hold a debate, or speak on a life topic in school. Separate packets might include information on fetal development, abortion and its consequences, cloning, or euthanasia.
Show life-affirming DVDs to your junior high and high school youth groups.
As part of a Christmas program, have children bring in a new baby gift (clothing, diapers, a toy, or formula) as a gift for Baby Jesus. Donate these gifts to a pregnancy center or a needy family within the community.
Give each Sunday school class an empty gallon milk jug nine months before Life Sunday and challenge the children to fill it with pennies. (A full jug is supposed to weigh about as much as a large newborn.) Each month, they will keep track of the “baby’s” progress (size, weight, length, and activity) through pictures brought in by the teacher. The children should “name” their baby. If the class fills more than one jug, they will have twins or triplets! The babies are to be “born” on Life Sunday.
Plan and hold a youth seminar on chastity.
Hold a Life Sunday coloring contest for kids.
Offer scholarships to students to attend Lutherans For Life National or Regional Conferences.
Hold a “Children’s Day/Kids’ Day Picnic” with fun, games, and food—all with a “Celebration of Life” emphasis.
Sponsor a “Life Awareness” pro-life speech/essay/poster contest and hold an awards banquet.
Make young people aware of the LFL and Y4Life websites and Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter pages.
Purchase fetal models for use in science classes.
Send care packages to college or service-bound young people. Include For Life brochures, names of local churches, and, if possible, names of LFL members in the area.
Hold a chastity chapel service at a church or school.
Host a parent-youth seminar on chastity.
Sponsor a mentoring project (two or three times a year) by distributing prayer packets to the congregation to pray for their teenage members. Each member who takes a packet commits to praying for their teen for three months and to sending them notes of encouragement.
Model your faith to younger people.
Help form and support a Y4Life group at an area Lutheran high school, college, or university.
Sponsor a pizza party for high school youth and discuss life issues.
Encourage youth and others to speak out on abortion in their schools, churches, and communities.
Sponsor an activity to help young people empathize with the elderly and disabled. (For example, put Vaseline^® on glasses, stiff gloves on hands, etc.)
Find out what is being taught in your schools on life issues.
Give Easter baskets to teen moms. Include baby toys, personal items, perfume, soaps, Christian symbols, and literature.
Give “new mother bags” (daily devotions, Bible, LFL brochures, cosmetic items, etc.) and quilts and layettes for teen moms to a pregnancy center.
Organize a Baby’s Dresser Drawer Project. Secure a used upright dresser with three or four drawers (e.g., garage sale, donation, etc.). Ask groups to help refurbish the dresser to make it look fitting for a baby’s room. You could also get the youth involved or use it as a team-building exercise. Place the empty dresser in the church narthex or other location and ask members to fill it with baby items, sizes 12 months and under. Deliver the items to a needy mother. Your local pregnancy center can help identify the mother and her baby.
Speak to teens about the gift of sexuality and the beauty of chastity. Write a letter of encouragement to sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, neighbors, and godchildren.

Speaking through the Media

Write newspaper editorials or letters to the editor informing the community about any life topic.
Place a “Word of Hope” ad in your local newspaper or on your local radio/TV station by simply using the following text: “Hurting from Abortion? A Word of Hope can help. 888-217-8679; word-of-hope.org; Confidential … Caring.”
Erect a For Life billboard.
Publish a For Life newsletter.
Place a For Life ad in your local newspaper.
Place a For Life ad on a city bus.
Put local media on the LifeDate mailing list.
Organize a letter-writing campaign.

Speaking to Our Communities

Speak to your neighbors on a one-on-one basis about their ideas on cloning, embryonic/adult stem cells, etc.
Compile a list of email addresses of friends/neighbors. Email them life-issue-related messages periodically—once a week or more frequently if “things” are happening faster.
Set up an information/exhibit table at a local mall or community event.
Work county fair For Life booths.
Take For Life materials to jails; place items in their libraries.
Enter a For Life float in a parade.
Encourage pastors not only to speak out from the pulpit on life issues but also to sponsor a life-affirming forum/panel to educate parishioners on the life issues. The panel could include a doctor/nurse, lawyer, pastor, and pregnancy center staff person. Invite the community to attend as well.
Produce and distribute Spanish For Life materials where needed.
Speak to church groups and community organizations about the ministry of Lutherans For Life.
Hold a public debate in defense of For Life issues or support organizations capable of doing such.
Organize groups to participate in Life Chain (nationallifechain.org) events and/or the March for Life (marchforlife.org) in Washington, D.C., and have a time of fellowship afterward.
Sponsor a candlelight memorial service in front of the church.
Get involved with 40 Days for Life (40daysforlife.com).
Host a community-wide educational seminar on “Christian Estate Planning and End-of-Life Issues.” Have a Christian attorney lead this discussion. Use Lutherans For Life materials as handouts. Make sure your ads include a disclaimer that you are not giving legal advice; you are just educating. A Saturday morning with a continental breakfast works well.
Host a community-wide educational seminar on human trafficking. Invite a local FBI agent who deals with that issue in your state to speak. Also, invite a local representative of a charity that is working to help educate people at risk. The seminar will include information on how to help those individuals affected. Invite high school and elementary school management staff to attend.
Give money to area Lutheran families who are interested in adopting. This will help to ease the financial burden associated with adoption. You can partner with LifeSong For Orphans to find out about families that would qualify.
Distribute “Precious Feet” pins to all new mothers in the county.

Speaking through Displays and Booths

Prepare posters or half-page flyers that can be displayed in your church or placed on a table for people to pick up and read.
“Man” a display table a few times a year at your church. Have interesting materials/displays and be there to answer questions or give information.
Have an information/exhibit table at a local mall or community event.
Work county fair For Life booths.
Put up a cross display. If you don’t have the yard space at church, cut out paper crosses and display them inside.
Go where the people are already gathered (district/regional assemblies, church services, Sunday schools, county or state fairs, youth group meetings, secular events) and rent a display table area.
Lay a wreath of flowers in front of abortion clinics.
Use posters on fetal development to teach about the sanctity of human life. (Order Watch Me Grow posters and brochure – littleonepublishing.com.)
While making a presentation, have 60 balloons popped, one every minute—representing the 60 million-plus babies killed by abortion.

Speaking through Government & Elected Officials

Pray for your elected officials to enact For Life legislation that is in keeping with God’s value of human life.
Run for political office.
Vote for/support For Life candidates.
Write letters/call congresspeople, state legislators, and other government officials.
Meet and pray with/for elected officials. Discuss proposed life issue legislation.
Organize a letter-writing campaign.
Participate in your district’s political caucuses. Ensure sanctity-of-life statements are included in your party’s platform.
Organize groups to participate in Life Chain events and/or the “March for Life” in Washington, D.C., and have a time of fellowship afterwards.

Speaking by Doing

Organize a group and take turns peacefully praying outside an abortion clinic during business hours.
Support an adoption service agency.
Help pay for an adoption.
Distribute “Precious Feet” pins to all new mothers in the county.
Set up a “baby barrel” to collect diapers, clothes, and toys for babies and young children in your congregation.
Sponsor a “Single Parents” Christmas party.
Send care packages to college or service-bound young people. Include For Life brochures, names of local churches, and, if possible, names of LFL members in the area.
Help purchase an ultrasound machine for a local hospital or pregnancy center.
Attend an LFL National or Regional Conference and give a brief report after you return. Have CDs/DVDs of presentations available.
Volunteer at the local pregnancy center.
Provide respite care for single parents and parents with special-needs children (provide a meal, mow the lawn, babysit, etc.).
Sponsor a Mother’s Day baby shower for a local pregnancy center.
Have your LFL Life Chapter sponsor a servant event where members hire themselves out for a day (at no charge) to the disabled, elderly, and/or shut-ins to do yard work, household chores, run errands, etc.
Help out new parents. Take a meal and/or arrange a “play” time with siblings of the newborn baby.
Visit shut-ins (whether they are elderly, sick, or just lonely). Go as a family, if possible. Give them a goodie basket with a For Life message card. Or, send them a note letting them know they are special.
“Adopt” an abortionist or Planned Parenthood official and pray regularly for him/her.
Support hospice care.
Volunteer at or establish a help hotline for those in crisis.
Make baby afghans for pregnancy centers.
Give infant hats—crochet or knit—and/or christening gowns to hospitals for “preemies.”
Begin a Christian Big Brother or Big Sister program.
Begin a one-on-one program with nursing home and hospital residents—visit residents once a week.
Sponsor a prayer chain.
Check the handicapped accessibility of your church facilities.
Sponsor a harvest or food drive—distribute food to local food banks or needy families.
Hold a work day at a local pregnancy center.
Investigate starting an abortion aftermath/post-abortion syndrome support group.
Start a “Caring Corner.” A donation is given to a family or individual who is in a life crisis with an immediate monetary need (for example: food, health aids, pregnancy needs).
Offer your help to a single mother, parents of a child with special needs, or a family struggling with the death of a loved one.
Give a witness to chastity and marriage.
Help young moms and dads with parenting skills.
Help a single mom through labor.
Offer your own special gifts or skills to a For Life effort.
Pray for those in a crisis pregnancy.
Buy/collect baby food for new mothers.
Withdraw support from organizations or businesses that fund pro-abortion agencies.
Give out baby blankets to newborns in your congregations.
Offer aid and comfort to those who are grieving the loss of a child (SIDS, illness, miscarriage, abortion).
Sponsor a “Ribbons for Moms Project” to collect baby and maternity items. Ribbons can be attached to a box with the name of an item that will be collected and given to a pregnancy center, adoption agency, etc. Once a ribbon is chosen, you purchase that item and return the box provided by the congregation or Lutherans For Life group. Individuals could also honor a specific mother for Mother’s Day with a gift of the collected items.

Speaking through Fundraising Efforts

Hold a Christian Wills and Estate-Planning Seminar.
Encourage awareness of birthdays by participation in “Pennies for Life,” where people give the number of pennies equivalent to their age.
Have a diaper derby/shower for your local pregnancy center. Involve area churches by having a contest with a “Dipe Wipes” trophy for the church that collects the most diapers! (The “trophy” is an empty diaper-wipes container mounted to a plaque.)
Leave a baby bed up for a month at church (“Christmas Crib”) and ask for donations for a local pregnancy center (blankets, diapers, baby clothes, whatever people want to give).
Sponsor a “Walk” or “Bike” For Life or participate in an existing one in your area.
Have a dessert auction after a worship service with the proceeds going to a local pregnancy center.
Give each Sunday School class an empty gallon milk jug nine months before Life Sunday and challenge the children to fill it with pennies. (A full jug is supposed to weigh about as much as a large newborn.) Each month, they will keep track of the “baby’s” progress (size, weight, length, and activity) through pictures brought in by the teacher. The children may “name” their baby. If the class fills more than one jug, they will have twins or triplets! The babies are to be “born” on Life Sunday.
Ask farmers for a row or two of sweet corn for the local LFL Life Chapter to pick and sell for profit.
Get used baby bottles from area hospital OB departments. Give bottles out in Sunday school and collect money for an area pregnancy center or whatever the need might be.
Raise money to purchase an ultrasound machine for a crisis pregnancy center (CPC).
Host a pie/ice cream social after local sporting and music events.
Hold a Christmas cookie sale—attach For Life Bible verses to the cookie packaging.
Hold a baked-potato dinner and auction—give proceeds to a local pregnancy center or for an LFL project.
Sell Mother’s Day flowers/corsages and Father’s Day cookies to raise funds.
Make use of Thrivent^® Action Team grants.
Sponsor a group garage, rummage, or bake sale and put a For Life tract in each shopper’s bag. Proceeds could go to a local pregnancy center, a hospice unit, or other LFL projects.
Take a door offering at church for special “Life Projects.”
Have a “Bottles for Babies” contest. Hand out 4-oz. plastic baby bottles to anyone in the congregation that wants one to fill up with money. (These bottles would be washed after the contest and given to a local pregnancy center.) Attach a tag to each bottle that states what organization in your church you represent or want to represent. After one month, the bottles are returned and money tallied. A coffee hour is then held to award prizes (candy) to the top group and individual highest totals, then the most pennies, most nickels, most dollars, etc.—a very successful way to raise funds for your local CPC and have great fellowship within your congregation at the same time!

Notes

Participate in quarterly Life Teams and Life Chapters Frontline calls to get LFL updates and new project ideas.

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:8-9 NIV).

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