From February 22, 2012 - April 1, 2012, our community will be uniting with many others from coast to coast – and internationally – for a major simultaneous pro-life mobilization – the 40 Days for Life campaign.
Faithful believers across America are praying that these efforts will mark the beginning of the end of abortion in America.
Vision and Mission
40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign with a vision to access God’s power through prayer, fasting, and peaceful vigil to end abortion.
The mission of the campaign is to bring together the body of Christ in a spirit of unity during a focused 40 day campaign of prayer, fasting, and peaceful activism, with the purpose of repentance, to seek God’s favor to turn hearts and minds from a culture of death to a culture of life, thus bringing an end to abortion.
Campaign Components
One of the strengths of 40 Days for Life is its simplicity. The campaign is made up of three key components:
· Prayer and fasting: inviting people of faith throughout our city and across the country to join together for 40 days of fervent prayer and fasting for an end to abortion
· Peaceful Vigil: standing for life through a 40-day peaceful public witness outside the local Planned Parenthood on 717 Downtowner Loop West, Mobile, Alabama. ( Across the street from Chuckie Cheese)
· Community Outreach: taking a positive, upbeat pro-life message to every corner of our city through media efforts, church and school outreach, petition drives, and public visibility
There are many potential benefits that our community could experience:
· Reduce abortion rates – by 15%… 20%… 25%… Or more!
· Recruit and mobilize hundreds – perhaps even thousands – of new people into effective, life-saving efforts
· Lead post-abortive women – and men – into proven and effective healing programs
· Develop dynamic new leaders to increase the future impact of pro-life efforts
· Bring churches together in an historic display of Christian unity and action
· Generate enormous “buzz” by getting prominent pro-life news coverage – even from biased media outlets
· Increase local financial support for pro-life efforts
· Make the sanctity of human life a crucial issue throughout our community and in upcoming local, state and national elections
All of these results have actually been realized in other communities, and – with God’s help – could happen here in our town as well.
God has used the period of 40 days throughout history to bring about major transformation…
· Noah experienced transformation during 40 days of rain
· Moses was transformed by 40 days on Mount Sinai
· David was transformed by Goliath’s 40 day challenge
· Elijah was transformed when God gave him 40 days of strength from one meal
· Nineveh was transformed when God gave the city 40 days to remain faithful
· Jesus transformed the world following His 40 days in the desert
· The disciples were transformed after spending 40 days with Jesus following His resurrection
What will God accomplish when people of faith across our community and beyond unite for 40 days of prayer and fasting, pulling out all the stops to end the violence of abortion?
We don’t know, but we’re sure excited to find out!
Track Record of Results
Between 2004 and 2011, some 422 cities in fourteen nations have conducted 40 Days for Life campaigns with measurable, lifesaving results:
- More than 500,000 people of faith and conscience have joined together to pray and fast for an end to abortion
- More than 140,000 people have taken to the streets, forming peaceful prayer vigils outside of Planned Parenthood centers and other abortion facilities
- More than 14,000 church congregations were activated and united for life
- 5,045 children have been saved from abortion — and those are just the ones we know about
- Hundreds of women — and men — have been spared from the pain and regret of abortion
- Many individuals with abortion experiences in their past found healing
- Dozens of abortion facilities have experienced sharp setbacks, cutting back hours and closing down for days at a time
- 61 abortion workers have quit their jobs
- 19 abortion facilities have closed and gone out of business following 40 Days for Life campaigns outside their doors
- Media outlets have given the pro-life position prominent coverage with over 1,800 news stories about the 40 Days for Life effort
- 35% of the participants in 40 Days for Life are first-time pro-life volunteers who have been recruited, trained, and mobilized
- Funds have been raised to expand local pro-life organizations and projects
- 92% of 40 Days for Life participants reported that they grew spiritually and personally through their involvement in the campaign
- People have turned back to God with renewed HOPE
Specific results from participating communities
- College Station, Texasactivated over 1,000 people; reached out to 25,000 households with a strong pro-life message; created local, state, and national news; and slashed the local abortion rate by 28 percent
- Green Bay, Wisconsinrallied 700 people -- only two percent of whom had ever been active in pro-life efforts before -- and saved two babies from abortion during the first hour of their campaign
- Dallas, Texasspared 17 children from death by abortion, united 89 churches, and mobilized over 1,000 people
- Kitsap County, Washingtonorganized 150 people and sparked a flurry of news stories and letters to the editor of the local paper. During the campaign, and perhaps because of it, the local Planned Parenthood facility abruptly cut back its hours and closed two full business days a week
- Houston, Texasgained news coverage in the Houston Chronicle (a paper that actually funds Planned Parenthood), directed 120 pregnant women away from an abortion facility to nearby pregnancy care centers, and saw another local abortion operation go out of business
- Charlotte, North Carolina brought together many different Christian churches in a rare display of unity and experienced a harvest of women -- and men -- finding healing through post-abortion counseling programs
- Madison, Wisconsin united Catholics and Protestants from across the region and reported hearing from a source inside the local Planned Parenthood abortion facility that the clinic experienced the most turnarounds in its history
- Aurora, Illinois conducted a 40 Days for Life campaign that was put together in eight days and mobilized hundreds of people and generated dozens of media stories in an attempt to prevent a new 22,000 square foot Planned Parenthood abortion facility from opening.
· Indianapolis, Indiana: Our local state-of-the-art Planned Parenthood abortion facility closed on at least two of their busiest abortion Saturdays. Sidewalk counselors believe the number of abortion decreased from an average of 20 a day to as few as five a day.
· New York, New York: Side-by-side abortion clinics begged us to end our effort. One manager said, "I thought this 40 days thing was over already. You are killing our business!" The second manager said, "Why don't you pick on one of the other places!"
· Akron, Ohio: 40 Days for Life was the kick-start that our community needed to get motivated to pray at the abortion clinics. Many more people are now involved and do not want to stop with day 40! Attendees signed up to pray at least one hour per month.
· Wilkes County, North Carolina: A local newspaper for the first time ever ran a positive front page pro-life article with two color photos. We had 50 churches sign up for days of prayer and fasting. Thirteen of them interacted with the pregnancy care center for the first time.
· Scranton, Pennsylvania: I thought I would be one of only 3 people praying at 10 a.m. and there were thirty! God shows His love in the generosity of these volunteers. Many of them are willing to continue to witness in front of Planned Parenthood over the winter.
· Baltimore, Maryland: Planned Parenthood was closed and no one went in. There were nine of us there. We stood in a circle and prayed, sang, read scripture. God worked wonders in the hearts of the pedestrians. Our presence had such an impact. You could just feel it.
· Knoxville, Tennessee: The response of our volunteers, the majority of whom have never done any pro-life work before, has been amazing. A local pregnancy help center said since the campaign began, they've never been busier, which they attribute to the campaign.
· Tucson, Arizona: The last Friday of the campaign, the private clinic was not doing any business and the doctor's car was nowhere in sight ... a rarity for a Friday! On Saturday, we observed only one couple driving through the main access street to Planned Parenthood, also a rarity.
· Pensacola, Florida: We have redefined the pro-life movement in Pensacola. There is so much to build upon and you can feel the tide turning. Pensacola is cautiously becoming pro-life again. We know of at least 84 lives saved over 40 Days for Life.
· Sacramento, California: People who have never done anything about their pro-life values are coming to the sidewalk for the very first time. Lives have been saved as abortion appointments were canceled when the abortionist didn't arrive for work on two scheduled killing mornings.
Pro-life Unity
There are numerous advantages to holding 40 Days for Life campaigns in many areas at the same time:
· Unity is fostered as cities and towns join together for this initiative
· Our city will have a network of support from other communities that are engaged in the same activity concurrently
· Better coordination and training will be available since all participating communities are at the same stage at the same time
· The media will stand up and take notice when many cities are generating local news coverage during one focused period
· The costs of conducting a local campaign will be significantly reduced by sharing resources across all participating communities
· The abortion industry will have a difficult time defending itself when it is besieged with prayer on many fronts simultaneously
· The positive results experienced during the 40 days build strong momentum which leads to involvement long after the campaign
How YOU Can Make a Difference
Please pray and ask God to show you the unique role He has for you in the 40 Days for Life effort:
· Prayer warriors are needed to fast and petition God that He will bless this effort and do as He promised in 2 Chronicles 7:14; that He will hear our prayer and heal our land.
· Vigil participation may be your role. God could be asking you to peacefully stand as His witness outside the local abortion facility as a sign to the community that what goes on inside that building is simply wrong.
· Community outreach might be your specialty. If you’re a person with an outgoing personality, please consider this. Or maybe you’re being called to take a leap of faith and step out to educate your city about God’s truth.
· Leadership is needed from each Parish, Church, Youth Group, Student Body, School, Organizations, etc
If you still need more information to help you decide where to get involved or you want to come to prayer and planning meetings to find out how to get involved:
· Contact Mae Rehm at 251-554-2032.
· Take time to pray and ask God to show you His plans for your involvement.
