This is a special episode of CareCast, Care Net’s podcast on family, faith, and life with your hosts Roland Warren, Care Net’s President and CEO, and Vincent DiCaro, Care Net’s Chief Outreach Officer.
In a culture that constantly says men have no say in abortion, Care Net is engaging and equipping men to change our culture from death to Pro Abundant Life. Listen in on what Roland and Vince have for us in the newest episode of CareCast.
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Called and Missioned Men
Roland and Vincent, fresh off of the airplane from Dallas, Texas, where Care Net held the second pro-life Men's Summit at Dr. Tony Evans’ Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church. The event hosted lots of amazing speakers, breakout sessions led by Care Net team members, and practical training for turning pro-life passion into action.
We were blessed to have so many men participating in this great event. We enjoyed former NFL quarterback Jeff Kemp as a speaker. Roland spoke along with Dr. Evans. We had Care Net staff from our team who covered the Making Life Disciples resources, the Abortion Recovery Care resources, and attendees also learned how to connect better to pregnancy centers. Over 400 people were in attendance. Care Net is grateful to see men ready and willing to serve the Pro Abundant Life movement.
The Why: God's Design for the Family Engages Men
Why does Care Net invest time and resources in hosting a Men’s Summit? Well, because we're a pro-life organization and we make an intentional effort to make sure that we're including men in the conversation. Care Net cares about engaging men in pregnancy decisions because God does.
Roland says, “When you look at the birth of Christ, you see that God sent an Angel to Mary. And He also sent an angel to Joseph—to call and commission Joseph—which is why we call our conference Called and Missioned. God called Joseph to be a husband to Mary and a father to the child growing inside of her. He had a mission.”
God’s design for family is a father and mother—united in marriage—loving each other, loving their child, and loving God. That's the big idea. So the first pillar of a Pro Abundant Life perspective is that God is pro-family.
Roland and Vince discuss in greater detail on the podcast—Care Net’s work with the Called and Missioned Men’s Summit and the other fatherhood work we do that encourages fathers to actively engage in the pregnancy decision. “You don't create God's design for family without men…”, Roland says.
The What: Research Says Father is the Most Influential in Pregnancy Decision
Sadly, too many pro-life organizations neglect engaging men in the conversation. It’s as if many pro-life organizations operate the same as those in the pro-choice movement—simply saying, “Pregnancy is only a women's issue. Men should stay out of it.” Of course, our national surveys around the life issue tell a different story. We know, because we’ve asked post-abortive women and men, who was the most influential person in your decision…
- Medical professional?
- Your mother?
- Your father?
- Friend?
Both the post-abortive men and women say the guy involved in the pregnancy is the most influential person in the decision to either abort or have the child.
So many of our affiliated pregnancy centers showed up for the Called and Missioned Men's Summit. With over 1,200 affiliated pregnancy centers across the country, many of you sent men who are on staff…or are volunteers, board members, church partners…you sent them to this summit to learn how they can get more engaged in this issue.
The How: 3 Next Steps for Engaging Men in Pro Abundant Life
You can turn your pro-life passion into action. Here are three next steps:
#1 Engage with your local pregnancy center.
Create a fatherhood program or help with other assistance that your local pregnancy center might need.
#2 Start a Making Life Disciples Program at your church.
This is a program we use to engage and equip the church on how to do pro-life ministry within the church. Maybe you don’t have time to serve your local pregnancy center, but Making Life Disciples is a way to bring pro-life ministry to your church. Visit makinglifedisciples.com to learn more.
#3 Experience healing and bring healing to others.
If you're a guy who's post-abortive and you have experienced healing—and want to bring that healing to others—or you have not yet experienced healing and you want to experience it, reach out and serve others who are dealing with this issue. Our Abortion Recovery and Care program (ARC) is a way to get engaged around the life issue.
We also just launched a new book called Reclaiming Fatherhood. It’s a study that men can use to get healing and to bring healing to others who are reclaiming fatherhood.
We're excited about our Men’s Summit and how God continues to use it for inspiring and engaging men in Pro Abundant Life. We’re grateful for all who attended and for those who may be learning about it from this podcast and post for the first time. Reach out to us if you have any questions or need additional help and resources on engaging in the Pro Abundant Life movement.
Want to hear the podcast? Click here to access the newest CareCast episode.
Not on SoundCloud? Listen on iTunes or Spotify.
More Resources
You can find more Pro Abundant Life resources at the following links:
