How to Fulfill God’s Plan for 2016

Few issues have raged on for as long, and with the veracity sustained, as has been observed in the battle over abortion in America. Throughout this ongoing struggle, the church has largely failed to change minds, win souls, serve women, and protect unborn life. It is a painful reality, but nevertheless one we as Christians must admit; in the fight for life we have largely failed. When the stakes have been at their highest, the church has been ineffective, or even worse complacent in defending the most basic human right.

The results are staggering. Since 1973, America has legally ended the lives of well over 55 million unborn humans.

55 million.

Murdered.

In the face of such data, it is clear that we are dealing with the most egregious human rights issue in American history. However, with a new year upon us, the American church has an incredible opportunity to look at this decades-old struggle with renewed emphasis. Never more so than now, it is essential that the church re-examine its approach to this critical fight. Two key tactics could ultimately prove essential in stemming the tide in the battle over the collective conscience of this country concerning abortion.

1. Child AND Mother …

Paramount to a fresh approach is a renewed awareness of the inseparable bond between unborn life and the woman carrying that life. The church absolutely has to acknowledge that she cannot fight for the rights of the unborn without mutually fighting for the woman at risk of choosing an abortion. For too long the rhetoric of the church has achieved its goal of aligning with the unborn life while simultaneously alienating the would-be mother.

However, the more research we pour into the horrific phenomenon that is abortion, the more it becomes apparent that young, poor, single women in America are targeted for abortion. They are fed the lie that a pregnancy is the worst thing that could possibly happen to their lives. Much like Eve was lied to concerning what was best for her life, so now it occurs on an exponential level. This is all accomplished by painting a deceptive portrait of the American dream.

An ideal lifestyle and future are available to any young American woman … as long as she doesn’t mother her unborn child. The American church has to recognize that the key to protecting unborn life is not to oppose but rather to serve the life of the mother responsible for the unborn, and to do so in a manner counter to that of an abortionist. The woman is not the enemy of the pro-life movement, and the unborn is certainly not the enemy of the woman! But, what about the woman trying to find her life as a result of a previous abortion? What can be done for her?

2. An Audacious Vision

What if we as a people believed that God could truly use anyone to serve the women negatively impacted by past decisions? I believe God has a redemptive plan for America that includes utilizing two very different sets of people, beginning first with His most precious children.

In 2009, I was interning at a church on the west side of Wichita. During one infamous Sunday morning in May, a man walked into the Fellowship Hall of Reformation Lutheran Church on the East side of Wichita and shot to death Dr. George Tiller. This man did this for one reason, and that was because Dr. Tiller provided abortion services. I spent a good portion of that summer grieving over several issues: senseless violence, unhealthy debate, and of course the loss of so many unborn lives.

God did not waste the grief, however, since through it a novel titled I’m Not Real was conceived. This unique message would give names and faces to those who’d been aborted, but for a reason few would expect. These children would come into focus specifically in order to serve and to heal those who had once violently rejected them. That message was picked up for widespread publishing by Charisma Media in the summer of 2015, and is now available nationwide for anyone struggling with the possibility of (or a past decision to) abort.

There is, however, another collection of individuals whom I also believe God is recruiting to take part in His grand counterattack for life.

You.

I firmly believe that no law, protest, or debate will ultimately change the hearts and minds of this nation. Rather, it will be the decisive actions of an unavoidable number of Christians that ultimately changes the pattern of abortion in America. When we as an American church agree to begin offering time, money, food, and homes on a national scale to the individuals who used to find an abortion clinic to be their greatest ally, we will have overwhelmingly won this fight.

Actions have always been unequivocally linked to change in our society. When the church actively decides to collectively outdo abortionists, the widespread violence will end. Things move at a blistering pace in our society. Perhaps this time next year we will reflect on 2016 and honestly be able to label it, The Year of Life.

Ty Benbow is an emerging young author originally from Muncie, IN. He graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Wabash College in 2008, and later received his M.Div. from Anderson University School of Theology in 2011. Ty wrote his debut novel I’m Not Real while serving as Student’s Pastor at Central Community Church in Wichita, KS. He currently serves in the Christian Ministry Department at Warner University in Lake Wales, FL where he teaches courses on Understanding the Old Testament and Life of Christ. Ty and his wife Riley currently reside in Winter Haven, FL.