FOR PASTORS AND CHURCH LEADERS

The claim that abortion is a political issue is an intentional strategy meant to keep the Church silent. The Foundations online pro-life curriculum climbs deep into the history and philosophy that has driven this idea and even rendered much of the Church complicit.

Abortion and other life issues have become political due to unjust laws and court decisions and the influence of secular humanism in our culture. The Foundations online pro-life curriculum exposes these connections and helps Christians build heightened awareness of the spiritual battle for life.

Our churches are filled with post-abortive women and men and others who have contributed in some way. Abortion is seen as “political” and “volatile,” an issue that the Church has no business addressing. It is also an issue that has the potential for political upheaval within the church itself, causing loss of membership, financial support, and even leadership.

But abortion is sin, and sin is always controversial. As the body of Christ, we are called to confront the culture and bring individuals to repentance through the sacrificial love of Christ. This means we must be in touch with and offer solutions to messy, complex, and difficult issues that make the love, mercy, and forgiveness of God such beautiful gifts. Churches that choose to compassionately embrace controversy are walking in the ways of Jesus.

The majority of women who seek abortions identify as Christians. We need to understand how to support them (both in prevention and healing) by understanding the cultural and spiritual context in which we are working.

The Church must be the impetus for an uprising of Godly men who will protect, love, and live according to God’s design for them. We must understand men’s roles and how fatherhood (and fatherlessness) impacts our culture. This includes how the secular worldview, especially feminism, has distorted the biblical design for marriage, family, and gender.

The Foundations online pro-life curriculum connects all of these issues together and points to the only answer for our broken world — Jesus.

Other pro-life curricula focus, rightly so, on equipping people for a particular area of ministry (like sidewalk counseling), to serve specific populations (like the post-abortive), or to develop skills for a specific outcome (like lobbying or counseling women in crisis). Because Educe’s online pro-life curriculum is foundation-building, our courses climb underneath all of these educational opportunities to help Christians build discernment and better understand the culture they’re speaking into. This foundation becomes a critical part of standing for life in various areas of ministry and outreach.

The Foundations pro-life curriculum isn’t an “abortion” curriculum, per se. It climbs underneath all other pro-life curricula currently available, and puts abortion and other life issues in the context of the post-Christian transformation of America over the last 120 years. When we understand where we’ve been, how we got here, and where we’re headed, it is much clearer how we are to move forward, in whatever way we are called to serve the Lord.

Educe courses build a comprehensive foundation (philosophical, cultural, historical, and spiritual) so Christians understand the culture they’re speaking into, see the battle from a spiritual perspective, and can engage in pro-life work and missions in a compassionate and informed way. In turn, mission work can be more effective and biblically grounded in strategy and outreach.

It is the Church’s job to end abortion and other assaults on God’s image bearers. Educe courses equip Christians to process life and death issues comprehensively and spiritually, instead of narrowly and emotionally. It puts the focus on the battle for the human soul, rather than the fight for a specific issue.

The Foundations pro-life curriculum helps you thoroughly understand life issues that affect so many in your congregation, both directly and indirectly. It can also serve as a springboard to bring in post-abortive healing and other ministries and educational opportunities. The curriculum helps you understand and keep in touch with how the sanctity of life (and violation of it) affects diverse groups in your congregation (women, men, young people, etc.) so you can minister to them more effectively.

Our courses also emphasize the interconnectedness of God’s design for humankind from a biblical perspective (life, marriage, family, sexuality, and gender), compared to the secular worldview that is currently working to destroy God’s design on multiple fronts. The focus is on moving forward with compassion, which embodies the mission of the Jesus.

We provide bulletin inserts and flyers to introduce the curriculum into your church. These materials are designed to draw people in toward knowledge, not shock or insult them with rhetoric. They mirror the approach and voice of our courses. We believe how we present the truth is just as important as the truth itself.

The controversy surrounding issues of life points directly to sin that we need to address. The Foundations online pro-life curriculum addresses issues of life with compassion; not harshly or judgmentally, but honestly and practically, and through God’s perspective.

Facilitation of the Foundations online pro-life curriculum is designed to be turn-key. You only need a computer and an Internet connection. The group leader logs into our online courseroom, launches the courses, and facilitates the optional built-in discussions.

Our Group Leader’s Guide helps you set up your room, manage your time, and lead the optional built-in discussion activities. The guide provides excellent content support, practical advice for managing controversial topics, and guidance and scriptural references for the discussions. 

We have a dedicated team of people, from enrollment to completion of the course(s), who provide enrollment management, content guidance, and technical support.

Although meeting in person is certainly recommended for interaction and discussion time, it is not necessary in order to complete the curriculum. Each group participant receives their own unique username and password to access the online courses and our resource library. The optional built-in quizzes and discussions are designed for individuals to engage in, while also allowing groups to meet together online to work through discussion topics. Online discussion sessions can be recorded for those who are unable to attend.

The Foundations online pro-life curriculum includes 10 hours of content organized into 6 online courses. Each course is divided into parts, which range from 20-40 minutes each and include optional quizzes and discussions. Our online library is also available to each participant so they can access cited research, recommended resources, and supplemental materials for self-study outside of group time.

Our Group Leader’s Guide helps you choose the schedule that works best for your situation. The guide is a great resource because it details how the courses can be broken up by the amount of time a group has to dedicate to each course and to the curriculum as a whole. We’ll work with you to recommend a schedule that fits your needs, from a 12-week class to a weekend seminar.

Educe online learning walks along side you from the beginning, providing enrollment help, content support, and technical assistance, if needed, while courses are being facilitated by the group leader.

Once a group completes the online courses, we provide additional direction and support as well. Founder and curriculum author Sarah Quale facilitates a free online follow-up class, called Faith in Action, to answer questions about the curriculum and help apply learning to the real world. Sarah can also meet with potential point persons or leaders at that time to help provide guidance on sustaining commitment.

At an affordable cost, we can help you build the foundation your church needs to understand the spiritual battle, develop fresh discernment and compassion, and boldly bring the Gospel of Life into your community.

Session 1 only (our basics course) is $14.95 for the group leader and each participant. A subscription for Session 1 provides 30 days of access, and includes access to our online library, full of cited research, recommendations, and supporting materials for Session 1.

Our full Foundations pro-life curriculum (Sessions 1-6) is $59.95 for the group leader and $30 for each participant. Group enrollment provides individual access to the courses and our online library, full of cited research, recommendations, and supporting materials for all 6 courses. A subscription for the full Foundations pro-life curriculum provides 6 months of access.

You can phase the education in. Start with one group of a certain number and fix the budget to that cost. Then, begin the next group and the next. Another option is to ask participants to pay for the class in full individually ($30 per person) or contribute partially to help offset the cost.