Visionary Address 2024

Words have incredible power—power to give life or to bring death.

When I was eight years old, (PHOTO) I dreamed of becoming a missionary, inspired by those who shared Jesus across the world.

But then, someone told me that my dream wasn’t realistic. Around the same age, my school teacher told my parents that I wouldn’t amount to much, labeling me as I would be nothing more than a "blonde bimbo." (NEXT PHOTO SAME PHOTO WITH A RED X)

I’m sure some of you have experienced the sting of words that leave deep wounds and make you question who you really are.

These words can stick with us, shaping our identity and leaving us searching for acceptance.

most of us have been there, I know the families we see do--trying to find out who we are in a world that often tells us lies about ourselves and who we should be.

This struggle with identity and acceptance becomes even more critical when families face unexpected pregnancies. The world sees problems —we see potential and opportunity.

We were going through a mentor session with some of our moms about renewing our minds.

Letting go of the labels as you see here that had left them wounded, but showing them and modeling for them what renewing and putting on the mind of Christ looks like. (NEXT PHOTO - BLANK BLUE SCREEN)

Society tells them that they won’t succeed if they choose life and that abortion is the only answer. These destructive lies undermine the value of life and the well-being of families

I know this battle all too well. After high school, I searched for my identity in all the wrong places—parties, drugs, and relationships that left me empty.

When I found myself facing an unexpected pregnancy, the pressure to abort was overwhelming.

Just get it done and over with –no one will ever have to know –But God had other plans.

I chose life for my daughter, and what a blessing to have her introduce me tonight as that could have been a different story

going against what others wanted- it wasn’t easy, what a gift the Pregnancy Resource Center would have been in my life. The path I was walking down was total destruction, but God

I was convicted of my sin and I cried out to the the Lord —he heard my cries, reached down in that dark pit I was in and He saved me when I was eight months pregnant, just a short month later giving birth to her

That moment they laid her on my chest (PHOTO WITH HER ON MY CHEST) when she was born-- I was going to fight

Fight for her life - and be the best mom I knew I could be (NEXT PHOTO - BLUE SCREEN)

we too can fight and stand strong in the Lord so families can have an open door to receive the truth in love when they face difficult pregnancy decisions

Together we will continue to blaze a trail for families to receive life-affirming alternatives to abortion

We can collectively use our voices tonight and the days ahead --united for life to take back what the enemy stole and is trying to steal

Because the enemy is after babies in and out of the womb, our children, and the minds of men and women in our country–attacking the very identity and image we were all created in - the image of God

For far too long the enemy has used Messages like--That is not reality, you will fail if you have this baby, just get rid of it, it is the best thing you can do to abort this baby,

We are here to say not on our watch- as the enemies message has expired

we are raising our banner high tonight to let families know there is a place of hope and healing a place to run to and speak words that give life not death

Sevierville

This is where the Pregnancy Resource Center comes in. We provide a safe haven for women like Jennifer, who came to our Sevierville office determined to have an abortion—she knew we were life-affirming and came anyway

Jennifer was deeply involved in witchcraft and had already made plans to end her pregnancy.

We met her where she was and held fast to this verse.

Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

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Jennifer recieved free pregnancy testing to learn she was indeed pregnant

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And then offered her a no cost ultrasound

as our nurse Rachel performed her ultrasound exam, educated her about her pregnancy options and how we can help her

Jennifer locked eyes with her baby and tears fell down her cheek

As she glanced in wonderment at the gift of life on the screen, she said under her breath

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What if this is the one that actually makes it

Jennfier had experienced loss through miscarriage, so to try to bypass that pain, this next pregnancy was going to be an abortion

She and her boyfriend already made plans to drive to North Carolina like many Tennesseans are doing the following day to have the abortion

As Jennifer and her boyfriend drove to the abortion business and she was ready for the procedure, she kept questioning herself

what am I doing

she started Texting her boyfriend --who wasn’t allowed in the building

Something is not right, I don’t feel right about this, I don’t think we need to do this

Her boyfriend texts back — then walk out

Jennifer courageously walked out of those doors of death and came back to the open doors of life

She chose life.

Our center stands firm on the truth, offering love and guidance to those who are lost and afraid.

Together –We are here to fight for the lives of moms, dads, and their babies in our communities, helping them find their true identity in Christ.

Jennifer was able to start on no cost prenatal vitamins with a local pharmacy partnership, we helped her start the process for insurance, and connected her to a local OB so they could start the care for her and her baby

We shared the holistic support programs we offer and our 12-week bible study that also connects her to a local church —this one peeked her interest

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b‌ut she would have to bring her son due to summer break - not a problem

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2 weeks in Jennifer wanted to repent and turn from her sinful lifestyle and desired to be saved

Jennifer accepted Jesus right there in our Sevierville office

Her last two weeks of class - her son listened to these life-changing truths of who God says they are desired to do the same

So mom had the honor to lead her son to the Lord right there in our building

Talk about changing a family line, We praise the Lord that Jennifer and her son, are no longer bound by the powers of darkness but now walking as children of the light ‌

As we celebrated her just a week ago at her baby shower — we had connected her to a local church that showered her with everything her baby would need as she welcomes him into this world very soon

‌Jennifer’s story is just one example of how lives can be transformed when women receive the support they need.

Jennifer now has a forever faith family—another open door

Jennifer is one of many of those hard appointments walking through our doors in Sevierville

The Need

But not too hard for the Lord

We have a big need for Sevierville

We are actively looking for a new building - being a debt free & community funded ministry we are being mindful of that right fit

Whether that would be gifted by someone you know Or has the means to invest in a new building for us

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most buildings we have looked at with adequate space to serve and grow into the capacity we need is around $950,000

This would allow us to have adequate parking (PHOTO OF BACK OF BUILDING),

As you can see here in this photo is the back side of our Sevierville office,

3 staff and depending on the size of the car the volunteers will park on this right side of the building

leaving one open space and one handicapped space,

the front of the building (NEXT PHOTO OF FRONT) has a small pull-off that is sometimes another space but then it makes it hard to get out of the half-circle driveway

A new building will allow us to serve the influx of need -- impacting twice as many lives

your investment tonight will help us as we grow forward

The need is great (close slideshow)

In 2021, there were 12,182 abortions performed in Tennessee according to the CDC, an increase of 8% from the previous year

An average of 33 lives a day –gone -that is one too many-

many not knowing there is help in Sevierville, Maryville, and onboard our mobile clinic

Mobile

Last year in this very room we announced that we were going to upgrade our mobile clinic giving us more space inside and added privacy to serve more families on the road, and you met that need with us

Our mobile clinic, delivered in December, like our brick and mortar locations offers free medical services such as pregnancy testing, ultrasounds and sti testing and unquiely allows us to bring life-affirming education to schools and colleges

One student, after seeing an ultrasound, said, 'I didn’t think it would be a baby yet.

this continues to be An experience that students will not forget- they are being shown the truth not what the media tells them

Operation costs for our mobile clinic is a little over 50,000 a year

many of you in this room played a pivotal role 6 years ago and now we have this upgraded one that continues to be an open door to travel the highways and byways and meet families where they are

A dad came up to us a couple of weekends ago at an outreach event thanking us.

His daughter was the first patient seen in our mobile clinic. He has a granddaughter alive today because we were there in her time of need

And to think the Pregnancy Resource Center all started with a vision 38 years ago to take a stand when we were just an idea

that someone said --somebody needs to do something --and they did

They drew a line in the sand

And here we are today on a firm foundation —watching God open doors that no man can shut

Watching him work in and through you

to see every life sacred, valued, and welcomed but we still have work to do

Impact

It is time to rise up, this is our line-in-the-sand moment, to speak up against this culture of death and say families deserve better

Our children deserve better

Last year, we saw the most we ever have, and this year is no exception -

We served 2,287 brave families total in all of our locations last year

with close to 95% choosing life —those that choose a different path we are there for them

those that have abortion wounded hearts

We can walk alongside them --leading them to freedom and forgivness in Christ

but it doesn’t stop there

we care about where they spend eternity

We continue to boldly stand on His truth making the invitation to our families —that there is a better way

the way, the truth and the life and that is Jesus

We had 15 families accept Christ as their personal savior last year and 4 rededicate their lives to Christ

one thing is for sure this generation is hungry for the truth

not a watered-down leaf blowing in the wind

they need us to boldly stand for those who have no voice — is that going to be you

Tonight you have a chance to pay it forward

for someone who could never do it for themselves

They need a safe place to run to, an open door to come on in when life wounds us, when paths we have chosen hurt us, we need someone to carry us

Lead in Maryville and Close

Will that be you?

I remember riding my bicycle for the first time, I was so excited to venture out from my granny and papaw's yard

I was ready to go one street over

and then another street over

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but then I crashed - it was a pretty bad wreck

i was wounded, a gash in my elbows, and my knees

i was in pain, but knew I had to walk back to her house pushing my bicycle

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I knew where I could go

walking down that alleyway to her cream-colored house with black trim-- it felt like forever

she saw me coming, opened the door,

took one look and knew I was hurt

she tended to my wounds, and bandaged me up, I felt safe

we do this every single day -

We see them coming, we open that door to the families who are wounded by the world, by words spoken over them time and time again

many times they’ve messed up,

but what we see is what God sees- we see a life that He created to look at their wounds of life and see that they too can be made whole

He can take broken things and make them beautiful - he is doing this for men through our dads program showing them what real fatherhood looks like

volunteer champion men showing up every day to invest in the fathers in our communities, staying late on Tuesday nights for men —putting a dent in the fatherlessness in our nation one dad at a time

We have big goals tonight

we have many more families to see

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A building in Sevierville, continuing to serve families on our mobile and meeting the growing needs in our Maryville office - would easily be a goal over a million dollars to accomplish all of this

We know we serve a God of abundance

meeting $200,000 or more would put a dent in those big goals

In addition to those special gifts, we are asking 50 of you tonight to become monthly givers. A both AND ask

Your monthly commitment will help us continue offering life-affirming services at no cost to those in need.

all because we can count on you to show up and give every month

what we need is being placed in the Lord’s hands, and we are asking him to multiply what you place in that envelope later tonight —lives are on the line, and they need you to pray, give, and serve

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Moms like Brooke, who walked through our open doors at our Maryville office where many days you will find every room occupied –

where words of life are being spoken over what seems to be an impossible situation

Brooke you are so brave— she is here with us tonight – thank you for allowing us to be a small snippet of your transformative story; this room is for you

Tonight--Your generosity will directly impact the lives of women like Jennifer and Brooke and their families, who are counting on us to be there for them.

You have the chance to open a door for someone who desperately needs it

This is a call to the ordinary for the extraordinary

Tune in as she shares her story through video

This is what sowing into the Pregnancy Resource Center financially looks like - being His hands and His feet —lives being changed both physically and eternally-