{"id":7017,"date":"2024-01-25T08:30:05","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T16:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/randyalcorn\/?p=7017"},"modified":"2024-01-12T15:10:32","modified_gmt":"2024-01-12T23:10:32","slug":"unborn-great-commission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/randyalcorn\/2024\/01\/unborn-great-commission\/","title":{"rendered":"Standing Up for Unborn Part of Fulfilling Great Commission"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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Over the years I\u2019ve frequently been told that life issues are not what the church of Jesus Christ is to be about. A seminary student at my church once told me something I\u2019ve often heard in one form or another: \u201cIssues like abor\u00adtion are just a distraction from the main thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the main thing?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Great Commission,\u201d he said. \u201cWinning \u00a0people to Christ. That\u2019s what we\u2019re supposed to do. Everything else is a distraction.\u201d<\/p>\n

What that seminary student failed to understand is that nothing opens doors for evangelism like need-meeting ministries. Students who do a speech on abortion have follow-up conversations that can lead to sharing the gospel. Those who work at pregnancy centers have great opportunities to share Christ, as do those who pass out literature at abortion clinics and go on campuses to educate about abortion. People who open their homes to pregnant women demonstrate a love which leads to sharing the gospel. Whenever we meet people\u2019s needs, evangelism becomes both natural and credible. (I develop these thoughts in\u00a0Life Issues: Distraction from the Great Commission or Part of It?<\/a>)<\/p>\n

This topic was also the subject of a teaching session I recorded for the\u00a0Global Prolife Congress put on by\u00a0LIFE International, a wonderful ministry that has equipped over 15,000 international pastors to launch life-affirming ministries in their countries. The goal of this gathering was to advance the gospel and the message of life throughout the world.<\/p>\n

A friend of our ministry, who lives in Eastern Europe and attended the conference in Malta, writes, \u201cWe met people from 108 countries with 47 more countries participating on-line. \u2026the fellowship and the things we learned, the way God spoke to us as a part of that amazing gathering of His people, is what is most priceless.\u201d<\/p>\n

In\u00a0this clip<\/a>\u00a0from my message, I explain\u00a0that to\u00a0be pro-life should certainly mean more than being concerned for unborn babies, but it should never mean less than that:<\/p>\n