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Posted on 08/20/2026 9:22:54 PM PDT by Morgana
The church, whose earliest accounts are recorded in the book of Acts, was established by Jesus and given a Great Commission (see Matthew 28:18-20) to continue His work in the world.
Taken seriously, what would the world look like if the church does its job? Does the ministry of pregnancy help offer a reflection of that work?
Reports from of a resurgence in faith from Christian research organization Barna Group versus Pew Research Center showing a slowing and leveling off in the decline of Christianity, both from 2025, may not align, but both offer encouragement.
News reports covering anecdotal trends of revival spark hope that younger generations are seeking answers from a Biblical perspective, as Barna’s research found.
Would a full-scale revival result in a decline in abortions? Does the continuing rise in abortion rates offer insight into the spiritual health of our nation?
Pastor, author, and theologian John MacArthur stated, “The true gospel is a call to self-denial, a call to submission, a call to sacrifice, not a call to self-fulfillment.”
Pregnancy Help News reached out to more than a dozen clergy from various churches, along with Dr. Michael New, professor from the Catholic University of America and the Busch School of Business, and senior associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute.
“Data from both the Guttmacher and CDC indicated that a decades-long decline in the U.S. abortion rate reversed itself in 2017,” New wrote. “That was the year the CDC loosened rules about obtaining chemical abortions.”
Changes included decreasing the in-person visits to the clinic from three to one, increasing fetal age limits for chemical abortion from seven to 10 weeks. Then came COVID.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA allowed women to obtain chemical abortions without an in-person medical exam,” New said, noting. “The Biden administration and Trump administration have continued this unwise policy—even though the pandemic has ended.”
According to New, the damage of loosening the rules on chemical abortions outweighed any lifesaving policy gains made following the Dobbs decision.
“As an aside, multiple analyses of birth data have shown that recently enacted pro-life laws have saved tens of thousands of lives,” New added. “If more children are being born after a pro-life law is enforced, that is powerful statistical evidence that the pro-life laws are protecting preborn children and saving lives.”
Pro-life laws protect lives, however, abortion pills loosely dispensed have managed to outpace those protections in nationwide numbers. Pregnancy Help News asked New to weigh in on the effect of the church and possible resurgence in church attendance as Barna reported.
“While I think that there has been a resurgence of church attendance and interest in church—I think this increase has largely taken place among certain demographics that get a disproportionate amount of attention from the mainstream media,” New explained.
“That would include college students and young professionals living in cities like New York and Washington, D.C.,” he said, concluding. “While this is culturally important—increasing church attendance or religiosity among these demographics may not have a large overall impact on abortion numbers.”
Kirk Martin and his wife formed a team which planted a church in Alliance, Ohio—the Alliance Christian Center. He is an elder there and has an additional ministry training individuals and church leaders to obey the Great Commission in making disciples.
Through that ministry, these teachings have reached into effective pregnancy help in Alliance.
Martin noted that just as in Jesus’ day, when crowds followed Him to hear teachings, their hearts were drawn to what He could do for them through miracles rather than to who He was (John 6).
Similarly, Peter, Jesus’ disciple, noted that a man named Simon (see Acts 8:21) who sought an initial spiritual experience did not have his heart focused on God, but his own selfish desires.
“Personally, I wonder if some (certainly not all) of what we are seeing in these reports of revival is an emotional response to an event rather than a wholehearted surrender to Jesus,” Martin pointed out. “It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of the moment without considering the commitment you are making when you turn to Jesus.”
Jack Bryan has just begun his work in ministry as a youth pastor at Sunbury Christian Church. Bryan spoke at the 2025 National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children and brings the perspective of Gen Z into the conversation.
Bryan pointed out that individualism has become the hallmark of our culture both inside and outside the church.
“The more individualistic and self-centered we become, the darker things get.” Bryan observed.
“Another factor may be that many people are taught about Jesus and told that He forgives everything, but their faith is never developed into something deeper,” he said.
Bryan went on to explain how individualism inserted into those who simply attend church is self-serving as God is made into a “god” who works for the individual’s truth and at their convenience.
“It’s a sad reality that many people love the idea of ‘God,’ but only if He is presented in a certain way—or according to their preferred ‘interpretation,’” Bryan added.
The teaching from Martin and his team is focused on leading individuals to follow Jesus through discipleship in which the sanctification process (see Romans 12) has its effect to align hearts and minds with Jesus’ teachings. This is the solid ground where pro-life values thrive.
“As believers grow in Christ, their thinking, values, and worldview are gradually reshaped by Scripture,” Martin stated. “Discipleship is the process of bringing every area of life under the Lordship of Jesus, and it takes time.”
Beau Stanley, senior pastor at East Side Grace in Blacklick, Ohio, is encouraged by the signs of revival among Gen Z but cautions that life change among the spiritually awakened can be a process of months or years.
Discipleship and teaching from the Scriptures are the job of the church and Jesus followers, according to Jesus’ command given in Matthew 28:18-20. Does this include specific pro-life teaching?
New weighed in on this, saying, “I would also say that while many Christian churches have strong pro-life teachings—there are also many priests and pastors who rarely discuss sanctity of life issues during sermons or homilies.”
Stanley said the abortion issue and how it factors in here are complex.
“The concept of abortion as a right or a personal freedom is deeply entrenched within the younger generations,” he said, “and that viewpoint is supported by a complicated web that could take quite a while to unravel.”
Greg Bondurant has been in ministry for over 40 years with a record of preaching regularly on pro-life issues from a Biblical perspective, and he sees the disconnect among churchgoers is that they see faith in Christ as having nothing to do with their body.
“Many people see themselves as spiritual, but they rarely read and apply the Word of God,” Bondurant stated. “In my book this is the disconnect. If I don’t digest or consume the word, I can live my life my way.”
The pastors and church leaders Pregnancy Help News spoke with did all agree that local pregnancy help centers are an important partner with their church and in the community.
“I think the work that is being done to encourage mothers to choose life is brilliant and very impactful, unfortunately the battle is just that big,” Bryan told Pregnancy Help News.
“Media has too big a voice and is one-sided. Colleges are incredibly liberal. And the pressures of society can convince these genuine hearted women that their life is over if they do not abort this child,” he said, concluding, “All very sad but the fight must continue.”
“Our greatest battle is not ultimately over legislation or politics, important as those may be,” Martin reasoned. “It is the battle for the hearts of men and women.”
“When hearts are fully surrendered to Christ, lives are transformed,” he said. “Transformed lives change families, churches, and communities.”
We know, as the Bible teaches, evil will be overcome when Jesus returns. In the meantime, the command to proclaim the Gospel, make disciples, and stand for truth remains and our work is not done.
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