Chapter Ideas:

Project SOUL Church Liaisons Bringing Churches Into Your Chapter's Fold

By Wayne Mays, Chair,
Washington Co. Right to Life, Arkansas

The best ideas are always the simplest. Several years ago, the Arkansas Right to Life Board of Directors was searching for new and better ways of enlisting financial and other support for its programs. I had long felt that direct pro-life support from churches was weak and unorganized.

As we brainstormed about how to change that, board member Carol Thomas said, "I've got a name for the program we're about to organize, and it'll help us sell our concept to churches; let's call it SOUL, which can stand for 'Save Our Unborn Lives' or 'Sustainers of Unborn Life.'"

We were immediately energized by this dual focus: they are trying to save souls; we are trying to save lives.

Unfortunately, the project never got off the ground statewide. But, in 2001, when I retired and moved to Northwest Arkansas, I found the perfect opportunity to implement it through our strong and proud local chapter -- Washington County Right to Life (WCRTL). Our leadership team of four agreed we could make the project work, and each committed to contact their own church, visit with their pastor or priest and get their commitment for prayer and financial and physical support of our chapter.

We reported back to each other regularly and found that our churches were ready and willing to support our efforts--which represented their beliefs in action--and were able to support us at varying levels. When we received our first SOUL check for $250, we rejoiced! We added a few more churches when our chapter members were exposed to the concept in a monthly meeting and approached their pastors. And we continued to add other churches as more individuals expressed a desire to get involved in a meaningful way.

Each new "liaison" was asked to join leadership team members at a get-acquainted luncheon where they were given a packet of information. Among the items included are those you would expect, like a precious feet pin, ARTL Directory, and "We Vote Pro-Life" bumper sticker. We also included three items we considered critical: a guideline for political action by churches and pastors brochure, the NRLC booklet "Building a Pro-Life Group Within Your Church," and a column from the NRL News January 2002 issue titled "Why Pastors Avoid the Abortion Issue and What To Do About That."

Results? Our liaison group now represents 18 churches. Our chapter budget has more than doubled. Liaisons have scheduled presentations by WCRTL members at their churches (especially on Sanctity of Life Sunday), and liaisons have accepted leadership roles in projects like Rally for Life and web site preparation, along with leading their fellow church members to a higher level of participation in the county fair booth and the Life Chain.

When advised by their liaison of the desperate need for a Caring Pregnancy Center (CPC) in our county to replace one that had closed, several of the churches stepped up to support our chapter efforts in a Baby Bottle Fundraiser, prayed for an affordable and appropriate location, and provided volunteers to staff the new CPC, called Loving Choices.

I coordinate the project and communicate with the liaisons via e-mail (except for three liaisons who don't have computer access) and try to get information about the next project to them for announcements and recruiting in time. Since morale is always important in organizational efforts, I report to our liaisons on our successes and point out liaisons by name when they deserve recognition.

We have a long way to go; several of the liaisons are struggling with their roles. Some are also fighting what I call "the battle of the church budget," meaning their churches always have more needs than money and we end up competing with youth department needs, transportation needs, and elders uncertain about sharing church funds with an "outside" group.

In response, we generally tell them we will be happy with their prayers and volunteers, and we always report back to them with chapter project results. After seeing our group in action and with the visible involvement of their member/liaison, several more churches started financially supporting our chapter. The framework to expand into our communities, get information to more people through a source they trust, and tap into the greater financial and manpower resources is now established.

Our chapter has always had a heart, now it has a SOUL.