An Update from JFA's Executive Director

Dear Friend of JFA,

I was amazed. During a webinar that Paul Kulas, JFA’s Director of Operations, had planned for a family of supporters in mid-April, he led us through interactive teaching related to the topics of poverty and rape. To finish the webinar, JFA intern Mary St. Hilaire shared a story of a recent campus conversation with “Liz.” The two topics Liz had been most concerned about were also poverty and rape. The story fit perfectly with what Paul had selected even though we hadn’t planned it that way. Read Mary’s story, ”A New View of Abortion…and Pro-Life Advocates,” below.

During COVID-19, our team has been hard at work creating conversations using social media and other means. In just a few weeks, we’ve discovered and tested some methods we think anyone can use to create a conversation. We’ll report soon on our blog and in a future letter.

Our team has also conducted a three-hour online workshop, and we were excited to find a way to include interactive activities using Zoom breakout rooms. We have similar online events scheduled each week in the near future, including a series of shorter sessions for those who can’t attend longer sessions. To participate, keep an eye on the social media channels below.

Our team was encouraged this past week by Henri Nouwen’s essay, “From Solitude to Community to Ministry.” You can find it online at Christianity Today and in Nouwen’s short book, A Spirituality of Living. In the solitude you may be experiencing during COVID-19, we hope that you can pause and know more clearly how Christ has called you “Beloved.” We pray you might then find unique ways to share that same love with others in this challenging time. (See I John 4:7-14.) We continue to pray for you, beloved friends. Thank you for partnering with us in prayer and financial gifts, as God gives you ability.

Steve Wagner, Executive Director

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Please Pray for these Advocates and the Conversations They Created and Will Create.

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UT Dallas Outreach Team (March 9-11, 2020) Missing: Kaitlyn Donihue (on plane back to MI for speaking event) and Paul Kulas (taking picture)

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COVID-19 Update from JFA

Dear Friend of JFA,

We thank God for you and are praying for you through this challenging time. Here’s an update on what’s happening with JFA in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic:

Spring Outreach Events

Mariana interacts with a student at JFA’s first-ever day of outreach at UT Dallas in early March 2020. See more pictures from this and four other recent events at our Calendar page.

““I think that every pro lifer (and anyone who is interested or on the edge about the topic of abortion) should attend a JFA seminar. They are excellent at preparing anyone for intentional conversations.”
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— Mariana, JFA Mission Trip, March 2020

We’re thanking God for the five outreach events we were able to complete in the past two months before the COVID-19 outbreak hit the US. Six mission trip participants joined our entire team as we ministered for three days at University of Texas at Dallas, and smaller teams ministered at University of North Texas, University of New Mexico, Trinity University, and University of Texas at San Antonio! See our Calendar page and social media channels for pictures.

What Outreach Is JFA Doing During the COVID-19 Outbreak?

We’re just as passionate as ever about creating productive conversations about unintended pregnancy and abortion. COVID-19 has forced us to postpone five upcoming planned outreach trips to Denver (CO), Durango (CO), Lawrence (KS), Wichita (KS), and San Diego (CA).

We’re saddened by this turn of events, but we also see this as a unique opportunity to work on an outreach project we’ve had in mind for years but to which we have not been able to give sustained attention. I’m referring to the challenge we give to audiences in virtually every presentation: “You can take what you’ve learned from us and create a conversation about abortion with someone you know.” So, every member of our training team is tackling this project while we’re forced by COVID-19 to limit our contact with people in person. We’re using social media, email, apps on our smart phones, and good old-fashioned telephone calls to engage as many people as we can in conversations one to one. Pray that we’ll learn valuable insights we can share with the people we train throughout the rest of the year. We’ll say more about this in future updates, but for now, feel free to join us by praying for one person you think may disagree with you about abortion. If you then start a conversation, let us know how it goes!

Will JFA Be Holding Any Training Events During COVID-19? Yes!

In addition, we’re experimenting with training formats which until now we haven’t needed to master: video conferencing and webinars. Susanna Dirks and I presented a webinar on March 21, and about 15 people attended. We were pleased that the participants found the event helpful. We plan to schedule more of these and will post the details at JFA’s Calendar page so you can participate. For those of you who have been waiting for JFA to come to your town for awhile, let’s talk about planning a webinar that would work for your schedule and ours! We’re excited to be able to help more people connect in this time when many are feeling extremely isolated and alone.

JFA Is Still Receiving Gifts By Mail and Online!

A JFA supporter recently asked, essentially, "Should I send my support check to a different address because of COVID-19?" We appreciated her concern for us and for making sure her gift made it to JFA, and we assured her she can definitely send her gift to the JFA office (113 N. Martinson St., Wichita, KS, 67203) with confidence that it will be received and processed. We so appreciate each of you who is continuing to give or making a new gift to JFA as you are able. (You can also give a gift online.) We understand this is a difficult time for many, and we are trusting God to sustain you and to sustain JFA.

A Word of Encouragement

Our team is focusing on trusting God through this time, and we are praying for you. We are praying for a strong immunity from this virus and that the virus would not affect your health. We are also praying for your work and your family and for a renewed sense of the peace that comes from the confidence that God is with you in Christ. This is our prayer for you, that in this time you will experience in a vivid way God’s presence with you. Thank you for praying for us as we continue our work training Christians to change hearts and save lives.

Warmly,

Steve Wagner

Executive Director