LFL’s Renewal For Life® mission statement is to equip Lutheran congregations to be Gospel-motivated voices For Life. In the local congregation, Renewal For Life® consists of a Life Team Leader and a Life Team. The Life Team Leader is selected by the pastor in prayerful consultation with other leaders in the congregation. The Life Team, then, assists the pastor and the congregation with life issues-related ministry.
At its most basic level, this isn’t all that different from the way that Lutherans For Life has always operated. For many years, people who care about life and about “those who cannot speak for themselves” have gathered together in chapters to pray at abortion clinics, to support pregnancy counseling centers, to inform people about life issues, and to perform MANY other functions. These chapter volunteers have worked tirelessly and selflessly. God has truly blessed Lutherans For Life with these volunteers—and we know that God will continue to bless us through these chapters. (Chapters will continue to be crucial to fulfilling the mission of Lutherans For Life!)
You don’t have to look very far, though, to see how times and priorities have changed in our society over the last 20 years. People are getting busier and busier. There are more and more activities, organizations, and demands on people’s time. Ironically, the more we do, the more disconnected from other people we can feel. But people still attend church and feel connected to their fellow members. The church is often compared to a body with each member playing a vital role in the functionality and health of that body. Renewal For Life® works through those existing connections within the body of Christ (the Church) to spread the same message that chapters have been spreading for years. The primary difference is that Renewal For Life® operates directly within the congregation, rather than being a separate entity (as many chapters operate now).
Both chapters and Renewal For Life® volunteers are on the front-line of Lutherans For Life’s mission to equip Lutherans to be Gospel-motivated voices For Life. They both use the same materials and information produced by Lutherans For Life (and others). They both network with people to provide information about God’s message of Life. They both rely on the tireless efforts of volunteers. They both “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.”
Lutherans For Life publishes and distributes over 38,000 copies of this LifeDate magazine. There are about 125 chapters. There are about 70 Life Team Leaders in Renewal For Life® congregations. Has anything you’ve read in this magazine made you want to do more For Life? Do you wish there was SOME way that you could help? Memberships and gifts to Lutherans For Life are always welcome. The gift of your time and talents to Lutherans For Life is definitely welcome as well. Please prayerfully consider how you might “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.” Then contact your pastor or Lutherans For Life at 888.364.LIFE (5433) or info@lutheransforlife.org.