Doing the Will of the Father -- The Steadfast Commitment of a Sidewalk Counselor

Angela - long time Cities4Life volunteer, homeschool mom, business owner

As the Cities4Life volunteer coordinator, I hear a huge variety of reasons for why people cannot volunteer on the sidewalks of our busy abortion center where 20-30 babies die each day. The top ten excuses include: family responsibilities, work responsibilities, too far to travel and too much time involved, too many children with too busy schedules.

Angela is a homeschool mom of four children, aged 18 to 9. She co-manages and owns a recruiting business with her husband. She lives an hour away from the abortion center. She has been a sidewalk counselor for about five years. Any one of these responsibilities or situations could keep her off the sidewalk.

When I asked Angela why she keeps showing up when she could legitimately find reasons not to, she said, "Oh, I'm a firm believer that if it is important, you will find a way to make it work. So that's what Mark and I have done. It can make for a busy week, but we definitely feel called to tear down our excuses and be there."

So what prompted Angela to go to the sidewalks in the first place? Here is her answer in her own words. 

Since high school, I've considered myself a supporter of the pro-life movement. I've voted for pro-life leaders and given financially to support local pro-life organizations. That seemed "committed" to me until I was invited to join a friend on the sidewalks outside the abortion clinic on Latrobe. 

On that day, I stood on the sidewalk and watched 30 women walk in and within a matter of a few hours 30 babies were dead. I was shaken to the core. I literally felt sick to my stomach. I came under huge conviction that my previous pro-life support was no longer enough. Although those things were good, it just wasn't enough. God was calling me to do more. I wasn't just compelled by the dozens of babies that died that day, but I was also overwhelmingly burdened for the women who exited the clinic with empty wombs and broken hearts. 

I now stand on the sidewalks once a week to offer abortion-determined women the truth about abortion, the truth of the life within them and the truth of God's love for them. The work as a sidewalk counselor is physically, emotionally and spiritually demanding, but God has blessed me beyond measure as I watch the lives of men and women be changed by the life-giving words of the Gospel.

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If, like Angela, God had convicted you that you desire to do more to stop the scourge of abortion in our city, please email me at vkaseorg@cities4life.com for info and training.

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2 Corinthians 5:10

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

Matthew 7:21

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.