New Exhibits: Can We Reach More People?

September 2016 Impact Report

In this Impact Report, Joanna Bai (recently married; previously Wagner) shares a story about a conversation at our new Art of Life Exhibit, and other JFA staff members reflect on what it was like to use our new exhibits in April and May to start conversations.  You’ll notice a theme: With three large exhibits now in the toolbox, we’re experimenting with ways to reach more people by attracting to the conversation many people we would be unlikely to reach with only one exhibit.

Note that this is the third in a special series of Impact Reports giving you an experience of JFA’s new large exhibits through stories and pictures without much prior explanation.  Our July Impact Report introduced the new exhibits.  In August, recent UCLA graduate Meredith Boles shared about a conversation she had at the Stop and Think Exhibit.  As I’ve said previously in this series, we are happy to talk to you at any time to give you further explanation of the exhibits, to hear your comments, and to discuss the thinking behind the exhibits.  You can also see our Exhibits page for pictures and additional information about each exhibit.  - Steve Wagner

***

At UCLA this spring, “Mark” and “Sarah” came up to the Art of Life Exhibit talking excitedly.  As I walked up to them, I overheard Mark mentioning interesting details he had learned regarding the famous paintings by Velázquez and Van Eyck which were prominently displayed on the thirteen-foot-tall panels in front of him.

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Joanna (light blue) and UCLA students look up at the Art of Life Exhibit panels (above) during a conversation in May 2016.  See the Art of Life Exhibit in more detail here.

I asked Mark what he thought of the message of the exhibit.  In response he said, “Oh, I don't really know what this is at all.  I just saw the works of art and got really excited.  I had to come over here and see it!”  In fact, he had been so excited that he had brought his friend Sarah with him.

I suspected that once Mark and Sarah began to see that there was another intended purpose for the exhibit in addition to the art itself, they might lose interest and walk away.  But much to the contrary, both remained interested throughout my whole tour of the exhibit, and as interestedly as they had shared their artistic knowledge, they began sharing their views about abortion with me.  Both were pro-choice, but they did not hold identical positions.  I talked with them for a significant amount of time.  My recollection is that it was at least an hour, and Sarah and I were so engaged in dialogue that she skipped one class, and I ended up walking her to another class that afternoon as we were still finishing.

The details of the conversation are fuzzy in my memory, but what stuck out to me was how fabulously the paintings themselves worked to interest these students in a conversation about a totally unexpected topic – abortion.  They (Mark especially) loved the artwork, and it seemed to create an openness in both of them to discuss whatever purpose we had in raising the well-known works of art on their campus that day.  The exhibit seemed a uniquely beneficial starting point that helped them enter into talking about abortion.  - Joanna Bai

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Tammy Cook opens the original JFA Exhibit Brochure to refer to pictures of human development in a conversation with a UCLA student at JFA’s new Stop and Think Exhibit.

What I like about the Stop and Think Exhibit is that the subject matter seems current because it addresses topics like feminism which are very important to many women, especially women with pro-choice views.  So, as a woman, it gave me a platform to find immediate common ground; and in turn, this helped most people see me as a reasonable person, and it kept them engaged.  At both Colorado State University (CSU) in April and UCLA in May, I saw more pro-choice people rethinking their views on abortion than at any of our previous events this school year.  - Tammy Cook

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Rebecca Haschke was interviewed by student television during the Art of Life Exhibit at CSU (April 2016).  Watch the coverage here.

I was excited to be sitting in front of a new exhibit that reaches yet another unique group of students.  Several students shared with me that it was the beauty of the Art of Life display that made them stop.  Other students told me they were willing to stop this year because the display wasn’t graphic.  In years past they had avoided coming near the exhibit.  The variety of responses gave me confidence that we are reaching a new group of students with these new exhibits, which is exactly what we want to do!  We desire to have more conversations that change hearts and minds.  To have the flexibility to put up more than one exhibit during an outreach allows us to reach a variety of students we wouldn’t have otherwise had the chance to engage.  - Rebecca Haschke

***

I was talking to two students in front of the Art of Life Exhibit at UCLA, and a young woman cut into the conversation asking if she could record our conversation since she is a reporter for FemNews, a UCLA magazine.  I hesitated, knowing that audio recordings can be manipulated, but I decided to extend the benefit of the doubt to her and said it was fine.  She put many questions to me, such as, “What about back-alley abortion?” and “Since people disagree about abortion, how can we make a law about it?”  I think she was surprised by my willingness to give ground, to find points of agreement, and to qualify my statements with concern for women both outside and inside the womb.  I was uncertain what kind of treatment our conversation would get in FemNews, but her report, while confidently pro-choice, ended up being pretty fair.  [See the FemNews article here.]  The pro-life perspective I shared with the people in the conversation was heard, and unlike many articles, I think my words were relayed to the audience verbatim.  So, a whole new audience got to hear some of the logic of the pro-life position, and that audience also witnessed our heart for all human beings, including women and men struggling with unplanned pregnancies.  Not only that, through the images of the Art of Life Exhibit, the FemNews audience saw that we are interested in a different sort of conversation about abortion, one that sometimes uses beauty as a starting point.  I am hopeful for more dialogue in the future with the woman who wrote the article.  - Steve Wagner

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JFA trainers Catherine Wurts (second from left) and Jeremy Gorr (right) dialogue with UCLA students about abortion at the Art of Life Exhibit in May.

It made me reflect that in order to make abortion unthinkable we need to reach all kinds of people, and different kinds of people respond to different types of things.  Therefore, it is important to utilize all types of exhibits and approaches to reach all types of people.  I liked how the new exhibits confused people – many expected something else entirely.  This seemed to make some people stop that wouldn’t have otherwise.  I enjoyed seeing and hearing their surprise and, in some cases, delight.  - Jeremy Gorr

Note: Although the actual date of this posting was December 15, 2016, it was back-dated to the original date the letter was sent to supporters.

Mother Teresa to the Supreme Court (1994)

Mother Teresa's 1994 amicus brief, filed by Robert P. George with the Supreme Court, is worth reading in its entirety. 

Note the tone of the entire piece, both praising America for its virtues and calling America to respect its highest ideals.  Mother Teresa is both mindful that she is an outsider and bold to speak from her unique vantage point as one who has distinguished herself in caring for the poor, something most people hold in high esteem.

Note also that here Mother Teresa does not speak about the value and rights of the unborn in a way that pits them against the rights of women.  She see valuing both as being necessarily connected.  She also focuses most of her piece on the underlying principles that drive the American project, namely our concern for freedom and human rights, and then shows how care for the unborn is a natural, practical outworking of those underlying principles.

Then she goes on to name some of the effects of abortion on American culture, but only within this necessary context of discussing the human rights of the unborn:

America needs no words from me to see how your decision in Roe v. Wade has deformed a great nation. The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships. It has aggravated the derogation of the father’s role in an increasingly fatherless society. It has portrayed the greatest of gifts—a child—as a competitor, an intrusion, and an inconvenience. It has nominally accorded mothers unfettered domination over the independent lives of their physically dependent sons and daughters. And, in granting this unconscionable power, it has exposed many women to unjust and selfish demands from their husbands or other sexual partners.

Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being’s entitlement by virtue of his humanity. The right to life does not depend, and must not be declared to be contingent, on the pleasure of anyone else, not even a parent or a sovereign.

You can read the amicus brief in its entirety at The Witherspoon Institute's Public Discourse blog.

CSU-TV Channel 11 Covers the New JFA Exhibit Project

When JFA debuted its new Art of Life Exhibit at CSU a few months ago, the student television station did a short piece on the exhibit, protesters of JFA (were they protesting the exhibit?), and some of the other responses of students.  You can hear an introduction to the exhibit by JFA's Rebecca Haschke at 1:12.

See our "Exhibits" page to learn more about all of JFA's exhibits, including "Art of Life" and "Stop and Think," created in 2016.

UCLA's Fem Newsmagazine Comments on JFA@UCLA

JFA partnered with Live Action UCLA to bring The Art of Life and Stop and Think, two new exhibits by Justice For All, to UCLA in May.  (See an introduction to the two exhibits here.)  During the day we displayed The Art of Life, I was engaged in a conversation with two gentlemen at the exhibit when Jacqueline Pei, a reporter with Fem, a Feminist Newsmagazine at UCLA, asked if she could record our conversation for a story she was writing for Fem News.  I was hesitant, but agreed, and we had a good discussion.  Another woman joined at one point as well.

Ms. Pei published her report at Fem a few days later.  I was happy to see that although she was confident in a different perspective than mine, she appears to have given my thoughts and ideas an accurate rendering and a fair hearing.  Thanks, Jackie.  I hope we can continue the discussion at some point.

How JFA Helped Me Reach My Campus

August 2016 Impact Report

By Meredith Boles

Introduction by Steve Wagner

INTRODUCTION

In this Impact Report, Meredith Boles describes a conversation that took place at JFA’s new Stop and Think Exhibit (shown below), illustrating how the public display of abortion images, a gracious manner, and thoughtful responses to tough questions can help pro-choice advocates “stop and think” about abortion in a new way. 

Meredith and another UCLA student talk in front of JFA's new Stop and Think Exhibit in May 2016.

Meredith also shares what it was like for her club, Live Action UCLA, to partner with JFA to carry out large JFA events on the UCLA campus two years in a row.  We cherish the hard work of Meredith, Ines, and other members of their club who share our passion for creating hundreds of conversations about abortion in a single day of outreach.  Meredith and Ines helped invite JFA to campus, participated in conversations themselves, and rallied other club members to participate.  The result?  Together, JFA and Live Action UCLA trained more pro-life advocates and reached more pro-choice advocates than either organization could ever have done on its own.

P.S. This Impact Report is the second in a series showcasing our newly-expanded large exhibit outreach program, which also includes another new exhibit that was displayed at UCLA, The Art of Life.  For an introduction to both new exhibits, including more pictures, see JFA’s July report, “Two New Exhibits: A First Look.”

-Steve Wagner, Executive Director

THE STORY

I just graduated from UCLA, and throughout my four years there I was actively involved with the pro-life group.  In both my third and fourth years, I coordinated with Justice For All so that we could bring them onto our campus for a training seminar and then for an outreach event.  I cannot recommend JFA enough for a club event that is both educational for club members and influential for our peers on campus. 

Throughout this past year I had to meet periodically with the staff of the club events office in order to get the training sessions and the outreach exhibits approved, as well as to reserve outdoor spaces, classrooms, equipment, parking, etc.  This process was difficult at times because it was very obvious that the campus administration was not pleased with our event, so it felt like I was pulling teeth at times. It was also difficult because not everyone in my club was comfortable with the idea of displaying graphic images of abortion, and so I did not have enthusiastic support from all my club members.  But with their consent, and the help of two club members who were fully on board, combined with the guidance and assistance from the JFA staff, and the conviction that this was a great opportunity for my last year in college, we made all of the arrangements. 

We had one day of training on a Sunday, and then two days of outreach at two different locations.  We needed one club member at all times present at the exhibit, and we used a group chat to coordinate this.  All of my club mates told me afterwards that it was a great experience, that they had some tricky conversations, some fruitful conversations, and that by the end they felt much more confident about having these conversations.

Meredith interacts with a fellow UCLA student in front of the side of the Stop and Think Exhibit focused on feminism and women's rights.

I myself had a very good conversation with a student named Amanda.  She was walking slowly past Justice For All’s Stop and Think Exhibit when I asked her what she thought of the exhibit.  She said she didn’t really understand what it was about, so I offered to walk around it with her and explain it.  We walked slowly, side by side.  Once we had circled around I asked Amanda what she thought.  She replied, “I know it’s a tricky issue.  It’s really hard to know.  I just think it should be up to the mother.  Do you think that abortion should be illegal even if the mother couldn’t afford to have the baby?”

I wasn’t sure if Amanda was expressing this condition because it was her own story.  All I could do was express my sympathy for a woman in this situation, whether it was her own or not.  I told her I understood her concern – it’s a real one.  Students who get pregnant do not just have to put up with expenses for a year.  They become permanent mothers.  They either need to raise this child, love it, and provide for it, or give it up for adoption.  It’s so, so hard for these women on our campus who find themselves pregnant when they did not intend to.  Amanda was moved and said, “Yeah, I think adoption is an alternative.  People try to say that it’s worse but I think it is a great idea.  After all, a lot of couples want a baby.”

I agreed with her and told her there is even a waiting list for couples wanting to adopt.  Then I said, “Going back to your concern about women who get pregnant while in poverty.  Let me ask you something…”  I trotted out the toddler as we had practiced in the training on Sunday, and finished with, “So I know it’s an extreme example, but you wouldn’t say we could kill that toddler, right?”  She said, “Of course not,” and then paused and added, “I understand what you mean.”

Her voice got a bit more anxious when she said, “I don’t know, it’s just that this whole time I have been telling myself that I was pro-choice, but after seeing that picture…”  She was referring to the picture of the aborted baby on one of the panels of the exhibit.  “Is that really ten weeks?”  I said yes, and she said, “I had no idea.”

“Working with Justice For All bolstered our club in our fight against abortion, and helped spread awareness of our club. I highly recommend it for every single pro-life group on college campuses.”

— Meredith

I told her that the reality behind that picture is the reason why I am fighting to end abortion.  I asked her if she agreed that a procedure so brutal could never be the right option, and so it should not be legal to choose it.  She said yes, but asked, “But if abortion were illegal, would that mean women who get abortions would be criminalized?  Would you agree with that?”  I might have faltered at this point, except that one of the JFA trainers had walked us through this topic at the training.  If I truly believe abortion is killing an innocent human being, which I do, then of course a woman who willingly breaks a law that states abortion is an illegal act of murder should be penalized.  I told her that it may be the case that a woman who committed an abortion was under a lot of emotional stress, and so may receive less grave sentences, but she would still need to be penalized.  She agreed with my reasoning.  She said, “Thank you so much for talking to me about this.  This really helped me.”  I gave Amanda the JFA brochure, and we exchanged numbers.  [Editor’s note: See JFA's Extending Your Learning page for more on this topic.]

Not every conversation goes this well, but JFA gives us the tools so that every conversation is at least civil and intelligent, and almost all of them leave the other person pondering.  The conversations definitely confirm me in my beliefs; at the same time, talking face-to-face with another student who holds the opposite opinion to mine helps me to be more understanding.  It reminds me of the reason why I believe abortion should be illegal: every person, whether it is the pro-choice student who is standing in front of me, or the unborn baby in a mother’s womb, has dignity and ought to be loved. 

Working with Justice For All bolstered our club in our fight against abortion, and helped spread awareness of our club.  I highly recommend it for every single pro-life group on college campuses.

- Meredith Boles, Member of Live Action UCLA and JFA Volunteer

Two New Exhibits: A First Look

Note: This Impact Report (print version dated July 2016) is the first of a series of Impact Reports which focus on JFA’s newly-expanded large exhibit campus outreach program.

 

One exhibit for fifteen years.  Two new exhibits in three days.  What’s going on?

 

I wish you could have been there to experience it with us.  After displaying one large exhibit on 40 campuses for more than 250 days over the past 15 years, the JFA team raised the nine panels of a new large exhibit called The Art of Life at Colorado State University (CSU) on April 18 and April 19.  Then on April 20, we raised the panels of another new exhibit called Stop and Think.  A month later we used both exhibits again to create dialogue at UCLA. 

Far from replacing the original Justice For All Exhibit built in 2000, these two new exhibits simply increase our options for large-format outreach.  For any given day of outreach, we can now choose to display the original JFA Exhibit, the Art of Life Exhibit, or the Stop and Think Exhibit.

Our goal with Art of Life and Stop and Think is to try some new things without losing touch with the original JFA Exhibit which has become a mainstay of JFA’s conversations with pro-choice advocates and JFA’s training program for pro-life advocates.  Indeed, while conducting conversations with passersby in front of these new exhibits, we are still using the original JFA Exhibit Brochure to help people connect with the humanity of the unborn and the inhumanity of abortion.  The Brochure is also still the main resource passersby can take with them from our exhibit conversations.

These new exhibits are part of an ongoing research and development project which the JFA team restarted with new energy last year, thanks to generous supporters of JFA.  These exhibits look different than the original JFA Exhibit, and this is very intentional.  We are still the same JFA, though, and we are still driven by the same twin passions: engaging hundreds of pro-choice advocates in conversations in each single day of outreach and training pro-life advocates to skillfully create those conversations wherever God places them.  In fact, it’s precisely our mission of training thousands to make abortion unthinkable for millions, one person at a time that is causing our team to seek to discover new ways to reach more people.

In the galleries below, we’d like to give you a first look at these new exhibits and allow you to experience them in much the same way that students first see them on campus, without much prior explanation.  Along with the galleries, five JFA staff members share stories of conversations and reflections from these recent events.  To learn more about the exhibits, please feel free to contact me or any JFA trainer.  We are happy to answer questions, listen to your comments, or delve deeper into the thinking behind our new exhibits.  You can also use the links at the bottom of each page to explore the exhibits.

I hope you enjoy learning about these new exhibits as much as we enjoyed creating them and using them in these recent outreach events.

- Steve Wagner, for the JFA Team

The Art of Life - An Exhibit by Justice For All

Stop and Think - An Exhibit by Justice For All

***

I spoke to “Cori” at UCLA who identified herself as pro-choice.  After asking more about her view, it turned out that she was only in favor of abortion in the case of rape.  I pointed to the feminism panels on the Stop and Think Exhibit and explained the picture of a first-trimester, suction abortion.  She said that prior to this she had never seen abortion.  I opened up our brochure to show her an eight-week embryo and explained that this was what a human embryo looked like before a suction abortion.  She thought for a moment and then said that she believed that all abortions should be illegal.  - Tammy Cook

***

At UCLA in front of the Art of Life Exhibit, I spoke with two sweet young women, Ani and Angela.  They were both “personally pro-life” but each gave reasons why abortion should stay legal.  Ani, a Christian, thought abortion is justified in certain “hard cases,” while Angela said the question should be left up to the individual pregnant woman, taking into account how she feels about her circumstances and what she believes about when the unborn becomes a human being.  Looking up at the “poverty” panel on the exhibit, the three of us found a lot of common ground as we discussed the difficulty of poverty, especially for single mothers.  The girls agreed with me however that, as difficult as poverty is (e.g. for the woman represented in the painting), it could not possibly justify a mother taking the lives of her already-born children.  After a few more questions, both girls became quiet.  I could tell their wheels were turning.  After a minute, Angela smiled at me, so I asked what was on her mind.  She said, “I thought it was up to the person and the circumstance, but I guess it’s not so much about that – it is a human from the beginning.”  - Catherine Wurts

***

In front of the three feminism signs on the Stop and Think Exhibit, two CSU students, Kevin and Megan, stopped to ask about the exhibit.  Kevin personally thought abortion was wrong but that it should be legal.  Megan felt abortion should be legal in most cases.  Because of the panels set in front of us, we discussed women's rights and the foundational reason that explains why women deserve to be treated equally – our human nature.  The conversation then turned to the fact that the unborn also have this same human nature: “So shouldn’t the unborn be included in the group that is granted equal rights if the unborn have this same human nature?”  Although she didn’t change her mind during our conversation, at the end of the conversation Megan extended her hand to shake mine and said, “Thank you so much for this conversation.  You have given me a lot to go home and think about.”  - Rebecca Haschke

***

We turned some of the Art of Life Exhibit panels into coloring pages and then set up a coloring station.  That quickly became my new favorite spot to start conversations at our outreach event.  (I’ve asked many questions in front of Justice For All exhibits, but “Would you like to color with me?” was new.)  My second conversation that took place at our coloring station was with three high school girls who were just visiting CSU for the day.  As we added our own unique spin on classic pieces of art, I learned about their views on abortion.  At the beginning of the conversation, one of the three girls was pro-life, but by the end of the conversation all three girls were pro-life!  My favorite part of the conversation happened when I talked to the girls about how we have equal rights because we are human and how the unborn should have the same equal rights because she is human as well.  With wide eyes the girls looked at me and one of them exclaimed, “Well, I guess I have to be pro-life now!”  - CK Wisner

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My first few experiences with these displays reminded me that we can’t ever be totally sure which method or which exhibit will impact the greatest number of people, but when we stand for truth and interact with grace, we can be sure that God will open doors for many lives to be changed through the efforts.  - Jon Wagner

Tom Venzor continues his review of JFA's workshop

You can read Tom Venzor's recent review in the Southern Nebraska Register, entitled "(More) Lessons learned from abortion dialogue workshop."  (The first part of the review is available here.)

Recent Workshop Participant Reviews JFA

Tom Venzor reviewed a recent JFA workshop in the Southern Nebraska Register of the Diocese of Lincoln.

CK and Jamie

June 2016 Impact Report

CK Wisner, Training Specialist

PART I: SEPTEMBER 2015

Things were getting out of hand.  Voices were raised and the crowd was visibly upset.  Gathered in front of Justice For All’s display at the University of Georgia – Athens (UGA) were several pro-life men, most notably Matthew and Isaac, engaging one pro-choice woman, “Jamie.”  I joined the debate hoping to turn it into a gracious dialogue. 

I started by addressing a question to Matthew.  As I was beginning to understand Matthew's point of view on abortion, Jamie interrupted him.  Soon after Jamie started talking, Isaac interrupted her.  We weren’t getting any closer to having a productive conversation, so I laid some ground rules.

Me: Excuse me, but I don’t feel like we’re getting anywhere with this discussion.  I propose that we take time to listen to each other and try to understand where everyone is coming from.  If someone else is speaking and you have something you’d like to say, please raise your hand and that will signify that you get to speak next.  Now, I hold to “ladies first,” so I’m going to let Jamie speak next.

Jamie: Well, I think that women are just in really difficult situations.  We don’t know what any given woman is going through or why she needs an abortion…

Matthew and Isaac: But wait!  There’s a baby in that situation…

At this point, Jamie was looking very angry.  Trying to avoid further outbursts, I decided to help the pro-lifers out a little bit by teaching them the concept of common ground.

Me: [raising my hand] Hey guys, I think Jamie is actually saying something about which we can all agree…if I understood her correctly, she is concerned about women who are facing really difficult situations.  I think we all are concerned for women in difficult circumstances.  Is that right?

Matthew and Isaac: Yes.  Definitely!

Me: I’m glad we agree on that.  I find that making note of the things we agree on is particularly helpful.

The dynamic of the conversation then changed.  Prior to introducing the concepts of listening and finding common ground, students were yelling their views and grouped together like a mob.  After adding structure and kindness, the group formed into a circle, and all of us started respectfully raising our hands when we had something to say.

Even though things were going well, I was becoming concerned for Jamie.  She was still highly emotional, and when I would aim to lovingly point out the flaws of her pro-choice position, she would admit that I was right, but then still cling with a passion to her views.  I could sense that something was underneath the surface that she was not sharing.

The conversation carried on for about 45 more minutes.  I heard the views of those who had joined our conversation.  Eventually it was obvious that everyone had said what he or she had to say.  As people were starting to repeat themselves, I raised my hand again.

Me: I’ve appreciated all of you sharing your views.  Can I see a show of hands on who understands what Matthew believes?

All hands rose.

Me: Who understands what Jamie believes?

All hands rose for a second time.  I continued asking this question about every person who had shared his view, and each time there was a complete consensus that everyone was at least beginning to understand what the others believed.  I then kindly ended the conversation.

Me: Now that we understand each other, I think it would be more productive to end the group discussion here, instead of each of us repeating our stances on abortion.  I think no one at this point is open to changing his or her mind in front of a group.  I’m more than happy to talk to each of you one-on-one.

The group disbanded, and I took this opportunity to pull Jamie aside.  I shared with her that I appreciated her sharing her view when nearly everyone had disagreed with her.  She thanked me, but she was still noticeably hurting.  I was becoming more and more convinced that Jamie had a personal connection with abortion.

Me: Do you know anyone who has had an abortion?

With that question, Jamie fell into my arms weeping.  I held her until she gained her composure.  Jamie then confirmed that she herself had an abortion in her past.

Jamie: [pointing at a photo of the aftermath of abortion] That photo condemns me to hell.

Me: Jamie, abortion is not the unforgiveable sin.  Jesus is just as willing and able to forgive the sin of abortion as He would be any other sin.  There is grace and healing in Jesus.  I’m not trying to take away your guilt [because I did believe what Jamie did was wrong], but I want you to know that redemption for your past mistakes is completely open to you.

Jamie: I just don’t know why I feel this way, because I don’t think abortion is wrong.

“I just don’t know why I feel this way, because I don’t think abortion is wrong.”

— Jamie

Me: [very gently] You don’t have to answer this question out loud, but I want to give you something to think about.  Are you sure abortion isn’t wrong, or are you just telling yourself that to justify your actions?

At this Jamie simply nodded her head.  We talked for a few more minutes, and I made sure to get her contact information so that I could connect her with resources for healing from her abortion.  Once I got back from Georgia, I did email Jamie.  Her message back to me showed me why I do this work with Justice For All.  She said,

“Thank you for this.  I have been thinking a lot since we met, and I want you to know that that has been good for me.  I've actually discussed the matter with my parents for the first time in several years, and it was a healing occasion for all of us.  Thank you for your help.”

When I returned to UGA in February of this year (2016), I had another conversation with Jamie.  (Continue reading below.)  I am confident that God continues to be at work.  He is at work in Jamie’s life, my life, and your life.  Let’s pray for Jamie to draw near to Christ that she might fully experience Christ’s healing work in her life. 

Note: Part I originally appeared in CK's December 2015 Newsletter.

The JFA Exhibit (2000) panels displayed at UGA on the day CK met Jamie.  Jamie was referring to the "Is this humane?" panel when she said, "That photo condemns me to hell," and CK was able to share the message of Christ's forgiveness with her.

 

PART II: FEBRUARY 2016

In my December 2015 newsletter, I shared with you one of my favorite stories about a dear young woman, “Jamie.” I told you about meeting Jamie at an outreach event and shared how she had opened up to me about the abortion in her past. I was able to love Jamie in the midst of the short time I had with her and share with her the hope of healing. We then exchanged a couple of emails.

But the story doesn’t end there. I returned to Jamie’s campus in February of this year. I knew that I wanted to see her again, so I sent her an email letting her know that I was going to be there. Early Monday morning on the first day of our outreach event she came by. We greeted each other with a hug of friendship and then I asked her how she had been doing. For the next several minutes, I heard more of her story. The details were heartbreaking.

After I had listened to Jamie, she said something that surprised me: “I’m the closest I’ve ever been to being pro-life, but I just have a couple of questions.” I asked Jamie to share with me what her questions were, and together we began to address them. By the end of our conversation, she recognized the truth of my answers, but understandably she still needed to think about it. I didn’t expect her to change her mind right then and there because she has been pro-choice her whole life. If I had believed something my whole life, I would need time to process a big shift in thinking, too.

Jamie came back by our outreach event the next day as well, but just to give me a hug. I had written her a letter after we had talked the day before and I was able to give it to her. In the letter, I shared with her that she is beautiful and also shared with her about the love of Jesus. I am continuing to pray for her to see the Truth. I count Jamie as a dear friend and my heart longs for her to find complete healing in Jesus. In the brief time we’ve been able to spend time together, God has used her to encourage me and to grow in me a heart to continue loving the hurting.

Stories like Jamie’s remind me why I work at Justice For All. They show me how deep the need is to reach the hurting and the great opportunity I have to share hope with them. Here is an awesome reality: God is able to work through you to love those He has placed in your life, too. If you need a little help getting started and you have not been through JFA’s training program, I strongly suggest that you attend. It has not only laid the foundation for me to communicate with those who believe differently than me regarding the value of human life, but it has also helped me learn how to communicate in general.

Thank you for your prayers, financial support, and encouragement. God is working through you to enable our team at JFA to meet more people like Jamie.

Note: Part II originally appeared in CK's May 2016 newsletter.

COMMENT

A woman walked up to me years ago at a JFA large exhibit event at University of Colorado (Boulder).  She was crying and could hardly speak, but she said something about our exhibit and her abortion.  As I attempted to show concern for her, she turned and walked away.  While I think that abortion images do a great deal of good when shown in public and that this woman’s grief might very well have been precisely what she needed to begin to grapple with her abortion, my heart breaks for this woman and others who for whatever reason weren’t able to find healing during their encounter with the JFA team.

Thankfully, some women who have had abortions are able to begin to embrace healing at Justice For All outreach events, even when abortion images are shown publicly.  In the story of CK Wisner and Jamie (above), we see through CK's beautiful example how a compassionate, gentle, and skillful ambassador for Christ can play a vital role in a person’s process of healing from a past abortion.   

- Steve Wagner, Executive Director

More Conversations and More Advocates (Spring 2016 Report)

At JFA, we prize one-to-one conversations and the opportunity to help pro-life advocates develop skills for one-to-one conversations.  What isn’t always obvious when you look at stories of those conversations is a different sort of story—what it took to bring those conversations into being. 

Every semester, I look with pride at the list of high-quality events we’ve just completed across many states, awed by what JFA’s staff, volunteers, and supporters were together able to accomplish with God’s help.  Spring 2016 was a good example, as you’ll see in this Impact Report highlighting our work across nine states, including 12 seminars, various presentations, and 16 days of outreach on nine campuses.  Our passions for more conversations and more advocates animated and emanated from every one of these events. 

Thank you for your generous gifts to JFA to help us continue to work to make abortion unthinkable.  We’re honored to serve alongside you.

Georgia

(Jeremy Gorr, Rebecca Haschke, Jon Wagner, Joanna Wagner, CK Wisner)

• February 19: Interactive Seminar (Roswell)
• February 20: Interactive Seminars (Roswell, Athens)
• February 20: Interactive Workshop (Smyrna) 
• February 21: Interactive Seminar (Kennesaw)
• February 22-23: Outreach at Kennesaw State Univ. (Kennesaw)
• February 24-25: Outreach at Univ. of Georgia (Athens)

February: Jon Wagner (center) teaches during a seminar preceding outreach at University of Georgia.

Bakersfield, California

(Catherine Wurts, serving Right to Life of Kern County with Mentors from Right to Life of Central California)

• March 5: Interactive Seminar
• March 7-8: Outreach at California State University, Bakersfield

“The JFA training and outreach in Bakersfield was outstanding. The civil discourse, the fact-based information, and the consistent effort to find common ground prompted numerous thoughtful discussions with students. Those who stopped by the display were fascinated by the pre-born imagery and seemed eager to share their views and listen to ours. Of all our pro-life efforts last year, the JFA outreach in Bakersfield was by far the most impactful.”

— Marylee Shrider, Executive Director, Right to Life of Kern County

Stillwater, Oklahoma

(JFA Team)

• March 21-22: Outreach at Oklahoma State University

March: During outreach at Oklahoma State University (OSU), JFA Volunteer Carson Banks (who also helped invite JFA to campus through his work with the OSU student organization Cowboys for Life) interacts with other OSU students.

Fresno, California

(Catherine Wurts, with Mentors from Right to Life of Central California—RLCC)

• March 31: Interactive Workshop
• April 2: Interactive Seminar
• April 4: Outreach at Fresno City College
• April 5: Outreach at California State University, Fresno

Highlight: JFA/RLCC Mentor Marcos Espinoza led his interactive small group at the seminar in Fresno entirely in Spanish—a first for JFA.

Lawrence, Kansas

(Tammy Cook, Joanna Wagner, Steve Wagner, CK Wisner)

• March 29, 31 (and April 1): Multiple Workshops and Presentations (Two Groups of High School Students)
• April 1: Interactive Workshop (Kansas City, KS)
• April 2: Interactive Seminar
• April 3: Interactive Workshop
• April 4-5: Outreach at University of Kansas

April: Workshop Preceding Outreach at University of Kansas

Pastor Chris (above, left), who also attended the outreach event commented that the workshop was "so helpful and practical as an introduction for preparing believers to begin a loving conversation with those who are for abortion."

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

(Joanna Wagner, Steve Wagner, Former JFA Intern Holly Fugate)

• April 8: Interactive Seminar
• April 9: Interactive Seminar

Highlight: JFA equipped four Methodist ministers during these two seminars in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  This is especially exciting as recent pro-life efforts in the Methodist General Conference are this year causing productive discussion about the Biblical call to protect unborn children and will likely continue to cause discussion in future years.

Wichita, Kansas

(Paul Kulas, Jeremy Wheeler, JFA Team)

• January 15-March 15: Design of Two New Exhibits
• March 1-April 10: Construction of Two New Exhibits
• March 31: Test of the Structure of the New Exhibits

Note: In addition to planning events and giving leadership to JFA, Paul Kulas and I led the JFA team in the design, construction, and structural testing that enabled us to display each of our new large-format exhibits for multiple days in April and May.  Jeremy Wheeler and Jon Wagner worked many hours in the warehouse with Paul building signs.  All of our training staff contributed ideas, gave feedback, and shouldered various day-to-day tasks for Paul so that the exhibits could be completed.  You can learn more about funding the new exhibits at www.jfaweb.org/invest.  Look for pictures of the new exhibits in a future letter, at www.facebook.com/trainthousands, or at www.jfaweb.org/blog.

Fort Collins, Colorado

(JFA Team)

• April 17: Interactive Seminar
• April 18-20: Outreach at Colorado State University

April: Catherine Wurts interacts with a student during outreach at Colorado State University using JFA's new "Stop and Think" Exhibit.

Los Angeles, California

(JFA Team)

• May 21-22: Interactive Seminars (Playa del Rey, UCLA)
• May 22: Interactive Workshop
• May 23, 25: Outreach at UCLA

Other Events and Locations

In addition to the events listed above, JFA trainers were present at Washington and San Francisco pro-life events in January (Evangelicals for Life Conference, March for Life, Walk for Life West Coast, West Coast National SFLA Conference) and throughout the semester, JFA trainers gave presentations in Sheboygan, Wisconsin (Jeremy Gorr), Valley Center, Kansas (Joanna Wagner), Wichita, Kansas (Tammy Cook), and Prescott, Washington (CK Wisner).  Steve Wagner led an interactive seminar in Washington, D.C., and Rebecca Haschke led an interactive workshop in Norfolk, Nebraska. 

Recent Unforgettable Conversations

At the heart of all of these events are unforgettable conversations in which we seek to change hearts and minds about abortion.  Here are recent newsletters:

• Don't Debate - Dialogue! (Alex) - March 2016 - Catherine Wurts
• "You totally changed my perspective!" (Nina) - December 2015 - Jeremy Gorr
• "It Looks Like a Baby Alien" - February 2016 - CK Wisner
• I Hugged a Protester - January 2016 - CK Wisner
• Jamie - December 2015 - CK Wisner
• "#Mindblown" - November 2015 - Rebecca Haschke

Thank you for partnering with JFA as we create events that make it possible for more advocates to have more conversations.  Your gifts are especially helpful during these summer months, as our team focuses on planning a full slate of events for the fall!

More Recent Praise for JFA

“JFA does a magnificent job forming students to be winsome and persuasive when engaging the culture on abortion. I deeply appreciate how they communicate truth with grace and I heartily recommend them.”

— Stephanie Gray, Love Unleashes Life, 2015

“JFA’s training and outreach helped make me the pro-life advocate I am today. I wholeheartedly recommend anyone interested in learning how to defend the unborn check out their program.”

— Trent Horn, Catholic Answers, 2015 (Trent was an intern with Justice For All from 2009 to 2010.)

#Mindblown: JFA Staff Members Reflect

It's common for us to hear people say, "I’m pro-life, but I can’t tell other people what to do.  Therefore, abortion should be legal."  JFA trainer Rebecca Haschke did a beautiful job of helping a young man reconsider this sentiment in a conversation she described in a recent letter entitled #Mindblown.  Recently, members of JFA’s training team interacted with the topic of Rebecca’s letter.  Here are some of their thoughts (add your own in the comments section):   

On Impact in Conversations

CK Wisner

I can't assume I know what is going on in someone’s heart. We rarely get to see the person change their views in front of us. It is easy to get discouraged and think that no difference is being made. This story reveals that more is going on than we often see. It also causes me to think about the value of being patient in a conversation and working through the arguments with someone.

CATHERINE WURTS

I appreciate the reminder that we often don't know what's going on in someone's mind or heart during the conversation!

JEREMY GORR

I appreciate her last sentence to Brian.  I probably would have not been bold enough to say that, but it seems to be the sentence that most affected him...It is great how she turns it from "we should limit some choices" to "those of us who know the truth are morally obligated to help."

I have experienced that similar discouragement that is in many cases un-redeemed. However, I am encouraged by the fact that he seemed unmoved by almost everything, but that a single point transformed him.  It makes me eager to keep trying with people who I am discouraged by in order to find the single argument that works for them.

[This conversation] gives me hope. Anyone can be reached with the right approach, so we should not dismiss people as "unreachable" without trying everything we can to reach them.  It is tempting to think that someone will just never get it.  However, there is always something that may trigger their intellect, and it may not be the same thing that triggers mine.

Also, it shows we need to fully describe the consequences of people's views to them.  I am always tempted to stop after giving examples like child abuse.  But I need to take the conversation further like she did, to historical atrocities and our obligations in response to those. 

TAMMY COOK

I would conclude that she felt the same discouragement that many of us feel in our conversations that don't seem to be making progress, but we should be encouraged and trust the Holy Spirit that He is the One who is ultimately guiding our conversations and changing hearts.

Steve Wagner

Note that Rebecca assumed throughout this conversation that Brian was confident and unwavering in his views, but that turned out to be entirely a mistaken impression.  How often do we judge from a person’s body language or from the confidence of their statements that he or she isn’t open to change?  How often do we move on from the conversation too early, when laboring a little longer with a person might produce change?  We tend to trust our impressions, but stories like this remind me that I am better off assuming my impressions about what’s going on inside someone’s mind aren’t reliable.  Since we don’t want to waste time with those who have hardened hearts either, we would be wise to be in a spirit of prayer, depending on the Holy Spirit to help us judge rightly when to keep laboring with a person and when to exit the conversation.

I think the main conclusion I draw from this conversation and Rebecca's reflection about discouragement is that we are too confident in the midst of conversations that we know what the other person is thinking.  I think we, especially if we are professionals-at-dialogue, think more of our powers of perception than we ought.  I think our powers of perception are pretty limited when it comes to figuring people out.  We constantly seek the knowledge (control?) of what the other person is thinking, and we settle on some explanation or account of it.  I think we do this instinctively, without effort.  We need an answer on "is this making an impact on the person," so we draw a conclusion.  And, I believe, we draw this conclusion many times too hastily.  Really, we don't have much evidence usually about what's going on for the person.  Their body language is something, but it's really not as clear as we think.  Their eye contact is something, but it too can cause us to draw hasty conclusions.  Their words and phrases and responses are something, but they also usually provide too little information to draw much of a conclusion about.  The very thing we so need in order to feel equilibrium in the conversation, to get direction for what to say next, is the very thing that's inaccessible to us, which is the inner self-awareness of the person's mental states.  And people are very good at hiding them.  So, in sum, I think this reminds me to give thanks for the black box of a person's heart, which is not accessible to me, trusting God to use me, move me, and remove me from the conversation as he sees fit.

On Rebecca's Conversational Strategy

CK Wisner

You can see Becca's strategy in this conversation from the questions she asked (note: I took some liberties in summarizing):

• What reasons do your Christian beliefs give you that cause you to believe abortion is wrong?
• Do you believe the unborn is biologically human?
• Is the unborn a human being like you and me?
• Do you think it is ever right for the government to take away a "choice"?
• Should these specific "choices" (ones that protect people) be taken away by the government?
• Do we agree that there are some "good" laws?
• Should the government uphold those "good" laws, even if they are based on your religious belief?
• Can we agree that a "good" law would be protecting human rights?
• If the unborn is a human, shouldn't we protect her human rights?
• If this is true, and you can help, don't you have an obligation?

Catherine Wurts

It seemed Becca's basic strategy was to establish the common ground that one's religion (or lack thereof) should not keep them from endorsing laws against crimes like child abuse, and then to make the logical case that laws against abortion fit in this same category.

Tammy Cook

Becca was very bold in her last question to Brian and we should perhaps be courageous to be bold like she was!  I think this paragraph also reflects Becca's beautiful spirit of humility.

STEVE WAGNER

Becca's conversational strategy was essentially a "Trot Out the Toddler."  She sought clarification regarding the circumstances in which Brian thought it was okay to force beliefs on people in law (circumstances in which born people are being harmed) and then why (because we should protect human beings and human rights).

So, one might put her strategy this way: 

Pro-Choice: I can't force my beliefs on others so we shouldn't make laws against abortion.

Pro-Life: It sounds like you're trying to be charitable in a pluralistic society.  You think generally we shouldn't force people to do things or agree with us when they don't in fact want to do those things or don't actually agree with us.

C: That's right.

L: I agree with your sentiments in this sense: I don't want to force people to be Christians or force them to participate in religious services or to sign a confession of belief in things they don't believe.  These are things that should be left to free will. [Agree]

C: Cool.

L: Imagine though that some adults in our city are being killed.  For example, on this college campus.  Can we pass laws to protect them? [Apply]

C: Sure.

L: Why? [Ask Why]

C: Life is sacred.

L: I agree, but what about all of the people in our country who don't believe anything is sacred.  Is there any reason we could give to them that would lead them to think we should make killing people illegal? [Ask Why, elaborated]

C: Sure, human rights.

L: So, we can force people to respect human rights of adults?

C: Sure.  We definitely can.

L: Do they have human rights based on their development or based on the kind of thing they are, the kind of nature they have? [Ask Why, elaborated]

C: They have human nature, so they have human rights.

L: I agree.  So isn't that the issue with abortion then?  If the unborn have human rights, then shouldn't the unborn be protected by law?  You could force your views on people then, in the sense that you could force them to not kill those unborn people. [Ah] 

C: I already said the unborn are human beings with human rights.  #Mindblown.

So, one thing I like about Becca's dialogue here is that it gives a more realistic picture of how a Trot Out the Toddler (our moniker for "reductio ad absurdum") looks with the non-straightforward "can't force my beliefs" idea. 

Can We Tell Other People What to Do? (#MindBlown)

In election seasons, it is very common for people to talk about what the law should be on abortion.  When that is the topic, it is also very common to hear some version of the following sentiment:

“I’m pro-life, but I can’t tell other people what to do.  Therefore, abortion should be legal.”

JFA trainer Rebecca Haschke did a beautiful job of helping a young man reconsider this sentiment in a conversation she described in a recent letter entitled #Mindblown.  In this man’s case, he felt that because he had religious reasons for his point of view on abortion, he was disqualified from making a case that abortion should not be legal.  I think you’ll be encouraged to see how this young man came to see things differently in just minutes.  In the process, you’ll witness Rebecca’s manner, and you’ll learn a sequence of questions you can ask when you confront this sort of concern in conversations with friends and neighbors.

Members of JFA’s training team interacted with the topic of Rebecca’s letter recently.  You can read some of their reflections and post your own at the JFA blog.

#Mindblown

By Rebecca Haschke, Training Specialist (November 2015, with Rebecca’s Introduction Edited Slightly for Clarity in Summer 2020)

Introduction: In election seasons, it is very common for people to talk about what the law should be on abortion. When that is the topic, it is also very common to hear some version of the following sentiment: “I’m pro-life, but I can’t tell other people what to do. Therefore, abortion should be legal.” JFA trainer Rebecca Haschke did a beautiful job of helping a young man reconsider this sentiment in a conversation she described in a recent letter entitled “#Mindblown” (below). In this man’s case, he felt that because he had religious reasons for his point of view on abortion, he was disqualified from making a case that abortion should not be legal. I think you’ll be encouraged to see how this young man came to see things differently in just minutes. In the process, you’ll witness Rebecca’s manner, and you’ll learn a sequence of questions you can ask when you confront this sort of concern in conversations with friends and neighbors. - Steve Wagner, Executive Director (April 2016 Impact Report)

I met “Brian” at the University of Georgia-Athens. He confidently stated he was pro-life. I mentioned this conversation briefly in my March newsletter earlier this year, "Give Thanks In All Circumstances," because of what Brian said next. He shared that he was pro-life and a Christian, but that he felt he could not “force his beliefs on others.”

This response is not an unusual one. I’ve heard it many times. Hearing it as often as I do can be discouraging, which is why I took the time in March to reflect on the need to give thanks in all circumstances, not just the circumstances that seem uplifting and enjoyable.

Rebecca Haschke interacts with a student at the University of Georgia at Athens in September 2015.

The conversation with Brian didn’t end there, though. Look at what happened: 

Brian: I’m pro-life.

Becca (me): Brian, what does that mean for you? Do you think abortion should be illegal?

Brian: No, we can’t force our beliefs on others.  I’m pro-life because I’m a Christian, but legally enforcing my stance on abortion would push my religion on people who don’t believe the same as me.

Becca: Brian, you mentioned that it is because you are a Christian that you are pro-life.  Do your Christian beliefs give you reasons for thinking that abortion is wrong?

Brian: Of course.  Human life is sacred.  God created those human lives, they are valuable, and we should not kill them.

Becca: I agree with those statements.  From what you just said it seems that you may believe the unborn are human beings biologically.  Is that true?

Brian: Yeah, absolutely.

Becca: Human beings like you and me?

Brian: Yes.

Becca: When do you believe that the unborn become biological human beings like you and me?

Brian: [He walked up to the Justice For All Exhibit and pointed at a picture of fertilization.] From the very beginning.  Conception.

Becca: Okay.  Brian, can you explain to me why you think that you would be pushing your religious beliefs on others if you supported laws that would protect unborn human beings from being killed through abortion?

Brian: Well, women have a lot of difficult choices that they have to make in their lives.  Choice is an important thing.  If we make a law against abortion, we are taking away their right to that choice.  That’s like pushing my views on them.  They no longer would have the right to choose.

Becca: That’s true.  The choice to kill their children in utero would no longer be granted to women.  I’m curious.  Do you think that it is ever right for the government to make a law that takes away a “choice”?

Brian: Uh…no?

Becca: Well, do you agree that the laws that make it illegal to walk onto this campus and kill college students are good laws?

Brian: Of course.

Becca: I agree.  However, when enforcing that law, the government is taking away particular choices of other people.  What about laws prohibiting beating children in the privacy of your own home?  Are those good laws?

Brian: Yes, yes.  Those are good laws.

Becca: What if it is just your religion that makes you think that it is wrong to beat children?  Should you have the right to impose and force your religious beliefs on me?

Brian: Yes, because those laws protect others from being harmed.  That’s not just a religious belief.  It is a law protecting human rights.

Becca: So we can agree that laws which restrict “choice” in order to protect human lives are good, despite the fact that your support of those laws might be based on religious beliefs?  It’s possible that our religious beliefs may guide us to the same conclusion as those who don’t share those beliefs—the conclusion that all human lives should be protected.  That wouldn’t be forcing our religion on others, but simply protecting human rights.  Can we agree on that?

Brian: Yes, we can.

Becca: If it is important for us to protect human life and if the unborn are just as human and valuable as you and me, shouldn’t they also be granted that same protection under the law?

Brian: Wow.  Yeah, I guess.  I just have always thought that would be imposing my beliefs on others.

Becca: [I then pointed to pictures in the JFA Exhibit Brochure depicting various genocides throughout history.]  Brian, do you think that people who were not victims of the injustices shown in these pictures had an obligation to stand up for those who were being killed?

Brian: Yes.

Becca: I’m going to make a proposal.  Brian, not only is it right for you to believe that abortion should be illegal because it takes the life of a human being; but actually—as a person who has the knowledge that 1) the unborn is a human being and 2) over a million are killed each year in the country in which you reside—you have an obligation to speak up for those humans who are being killed.

(silent pause)

Brian: #MindBlown [hashtag: Mind Blown].

“It was as if he had finally been given permission to defend the lives of innocent human beings that he understood were valuable, permission to voice his opinion without shame. Relief and amazement radiated from his eyes.”

Brian’s final response took me by surprise.  From the start of our conversation he seemed so confident in his belief that it is wrong to enforce laws telling others what they can and cannot do.  Until that final moment in our conversation, the questions I had asked him did not seem to be creating any change of mind or heart.  When he looked at me and said, “#MindBlown,” his entire demeanor changed.  It was as if he had finally been given permission to defend the lives of innocent human beings that he understood were valuable, permission to voice his opinion without shame.  Relief and amazement radiated from his eyes.

The culture in which we live is permeated with the belief and mantra that we cannot tell others what to do.  Thank you for your support that not only helps us challenge the beliefs of those who do not think the unborn are valuable human beings, but also helps us encourage the students who recognize the unborn are valuable, but do not feel they have the right to share that belief with others.

Note: Members of JFA’s training team interacted with the topic of Rebecca’s letter recently. You can read some of their reflections and post your own at the JFA blog.

Confidence Creates Conversations

Impact Report: March 2016

Note: Chris Haynes, one of the pastors at Trinity Baptist Church in Norman, Oklahoma, said this about JFA: "I know of no other group that does such an outstanding job of training and then guiding teams of people through the actual process of dialogue.  If you have one day and JFA training [team] comes close to you, don’t miss the opportunity.  Our church and specifically college students have been equipped to now be on campus and have meaningful, life changing conversations."  This Impact Report explains through the story of Andrew some of what motivated Chris to say these encouraging words.  We hope you hear through Andrew's story our heart for established Christian communities.  For example, we are eager to serve local churches as they carry out their God-given role of helping the disciples in their flock to grow in their ability to actively love those too often forgotten in relation to pregnancy and abortion - women and men in distress, the smallest humans on earth, and those who disagree with us.  We see ourselves as helping these established Christian communities fill a gap in their discipleship in this area, rather than doing the work of mentoring and discipleship totally apart from or in place of these communities.  - Steve Wagner, Executive Director

Before the JFA conference, I was hesitant to raise the topic of abortion with my peers.  — Andrew (right)

Like so many of us, Andrew did not often have conversations about abortion.  He was pro-life, but he lacked confidence.  Then he participated in the Justice For All (JFA) training program last fall.  His college pastor, Chris Haynes, and their church, Trinity Baptist Church in Norman, Oklahoma, have a very purposeful emphasis on “the equipping of the saints for the work of service” (Eph. 4:12), so this was one of many times that they have invited JFA to help train their students.  Later, Andrew said,

Before the JFA conference, I was hesitant to raise the topic of abortion with my peers.  While this was due mainly to my lack of knowledge about abortion, I also felt uncomfortable raising the subject due to my lack of experience in conversing about the topic with someone from another worldview.

Through these interactions, I learned not to categorize someone too quickly… you really don't know where someone stands on an issue until you ask specific questions.  — Andrew (left)

I’ve heard these same hesitations often.  Many people say that there is no way the average person is capable of engaging in productive dialogue with pro-choice advocates.  Andrew’s JFA experience proved the opposite.  JFA training helped Andrew develop (1) confidence in his own pro-life convictions, (2) confidence to begin creating dialogue, and (3) confidence to create further conversations in his daily life.

The first dose of confidence came for Andrew during the interactive seminar (Seat Work) portion of the training program.  In a mentor group led by Rebecca Haschke and me, Andrew and other students said they felt apprehensive about coming to our outreach event at the University of Oklahoma (OU) the following week.  As these students learned why common pro-choice arguments fail and practiced sharing the evidence which supports the pro-life position, however, their confidence grew.  Andrew reflected,

JFA not only has given me the tools I need to reach out to my peers, but also has helped me firm up my position on abortion as well as my reasoning behind my stance.

Even with this confidence, though, Andrew wondered if he personally could take these ideas and produce a good conversation with them.  Here’s how our outreach event at OU (Feet Work) enabled him to do just that.  At the beginning of the outreach event, Andrew got a second dose of confidence as he listened in to conversations that JFA staff members were having with pro-choice students.  The next day, he took the critical step of starting not just one, but many conversations.  He was surprised by what he learned:

During the time I spent in outreach with JFA, I had several opportunities to dialogue with other college students about their beliefs about abortion.  Through these interactions, I learned not to categorize someone too quickly.  To my surprise, many people who initially stated that they supported abortion were less supportive after receiving information.  Most of the people I spoke to were not the die-hard leftists I had thought they would be.  On the other hand, several people who thought abortion should be illegal turned out to support early abortions!  Through outreach with JFA, I discovered that you really don’t know where someone stands on an issue until you ask specific questions.

Andrew gained an understanding of pro-choice advocates and of himself through outreach that he could not have gained otherwise.  That’s why JFA has found Seat Work and Feet Work to be such a powerful combination.  Seat Work provides the tools for creating good conversations, but Feet Work gives a real-life opportunity to practice using those tools, to get rid of false caricatures of the people we’re trying to reach, and to explore ways to grow in dialogue skills.    

Andrew found that creating conversations during Feet Work gave him a third dose of confidence so that it was natural for him to continue creating dialogue about abortion after the JFA events (Repeat Work):

The [seminar] and outreach JFA allowed me to take part in have prepared me for several discussions since their visit to campus.  In dialogues with fellow students, finding common ground has been very important as have techniques such as “trotting out the toddler.”  I am thankful for the opportunity I had to volunteer with JFA and to develop my convictions and my ability to share them.

“The [seminar] and outreach JFA allowed me to take part in have prepared me for several discussions since their visit to campus.”

— Andrew

Andrew initially had the same hesitance to have conversations that most people have.  His biggest hurdle was his first conversation.  Once that hurdle was past, creating more conversations did not seem so daunting.  Andrew’s story demonstrates that gaining knowledge at a JFA seminar and taking a first dialogue step at a JFA outreach event can produce bold action on behalf of the unborn.

Are you someone who wants to be prepared for these kinds of conversations, but you’re hesitant like Andrew was?  Do you know someone in the same boat?  You can gain confidence like Andrew did by participating in JFA’s training program, including a Feet Work event.  You can find upcoming opportunities on the JFA Event Calendar.  Or, inquire about JFA Mission Trip opportunities.

We thank God that he used Justice For All, in partnership with Andrew’s very supportive college pastor and church, to help Andrew gain the confidence to be able to regularly and graciously share his views about abortion with his peers.  Thank you for supporting the mission of JFA so that we can offer Seat Work and Feet Work experiences to others who simply lack the confidence to start the conversation.  Through thousands of bold advocates like Andrew, we can truly make abortion unthinkable for millions – one conversation at a time.

- Jeremy Gorr, for the JFA Team

Confidence Creates Conversations - Andrew's Story

Andrew gained the confidence to create conversations in a matter of a few days.

Imagine how many lives would be saved and how many hearts would be changed if all of the people who have pro-life views would regularly talk about abortion with their pro-choice friends. Often, pro-life advocates don’t raise the topic, and when it’s presented to them on a silver platter, they don’t dare speak up. That is why Justice For All’s training program is so vital.

In our March Impact Report, "Confidence Creates Conversations," JFA trainer Jeremy Gorr and one recent JFA volunteer, Andrew, reflect on Andrew’s experience with JFA. Along the way, they illustrate how confidence is built little by little, through the right kinds of activities.

Thank you for partnering with JFA to serve pro-life advocates like Andrew and help them gain the confidence to become the sort of powerful pro-life advocate we imagined above, able to create conversations that change hearts and save lives.

[Note: This was posted on May 4, but was back-dated to sync with the content so that JFA's content can be viewed in order through the blog.]