pro-life | Craig T. Owens

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Sunday Recap

January 19, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

In remembering Sanctity of Human Life Sunday we looked at some sobering, heart-breaking stats—

Planned Parenthood reported:

They performed 327,166 abortions in the course of one year and only 2,197 adoption referrals.
That’s 149 abortions for each adoption referral (149:1).
In order to hit this astronomical number they had to perform approximately one abortion every 96 seconds.
That means they killed more than the population of Grand Rapids AND Lansing. Combined!
They did all of this while receiving over $540 million in government grants and reimbursements.

But we also learned some happier stats from Alpha Family Center of Cedar Springs—

Alpha has been providing pro-life, pro-family services in Cedar Springs for 22 years.
11,300 baby and toddler related items were given out in 2013. That includes 1000+ packs of diapers, 214 cans of formula, 900 jars of baby food & baby cereal, and nearly 5200 articles of clothing for babies, toddlers and pregnant women.
Alpha’s counselors provided over 1000 peer counseling sessions, taught 850 parenting classes, and gave 70 free pregnancy tests.
And they did all of this without one cent of government aid!

Please support Alpha with your prayers and financial support.

In our series on prayer, I shared this great quote from Charles Spurgeon:

“Why do I not call on God’s Name? Why do I run to this neighbor and that when God is so near and will hear my faintest call? Why do I sit down and devise schemes and invent plans? Why not at once roll my self and my burden on the Lord?”

Great questions! In answering those we learned this great truth: How we pray is how we will live!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: abortion, adoption, Alpha Family Center, Calvary Assembly of God, Charles Spurgeon, Planned Parenthood, prayer, pregnancy, pro-family, pro-life, sanctity of human life. 1 Comment »

Valuing Life

January 15, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

“As surely as I valued your life today, so may the Lord value my life and deliver me from all trouble.” —David, in 1 Samuel 26:24

This is as strong of a pro-life statement as any in the Bible!

The Hebrew word for value in this verse means…

to grow up
to become great or important
to do great things

Throughout the Old Testament this word is used to describe people growing from a small, infantile state to a place of maturity and prominence.

David held King Saul’s life in his hand. Since Saul was hell-bent on messing up David’s life (even killing him, if he could), we could say that David had plenty of rationale to justify ending Saul’s life. But David would not touch Saul because he recognized Saul’s God-given human dignity.

David asked God to value his life in the same way that David valued Saul’s life. Even Saul himself affirmed this when he said, “May you be blessed, my son David; you will do great things and surely triumph” (v. 25).

What if God only valued your life as much as you valued others’ lives?

What if God only spoke up for you as much as you spoke up for the not-yet-born?

What if God only blessed you as much as you blessed the aged and disabled?

How much would your life be blessed by God?

Something to think about as we celebrate Sanctity of Human Life month. We will be honoring Sanctity of Human Life Sunday this week by bringing our donations for Alpha Family Center of Cedar Springs. I would love for you to join us!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Alpha Family Center, blessing, Calvary Assembly of God, David, dignity, King Saul, pro-life, sanctity of human life, unborn, value. Leave a Comment »

She Did What She Could

June 25, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

It is one of the most beautiful scenes in the Bible: Mary, a woman set free by the power of Jesus, anoints Him with her fragrant perfume. The Bible says that the people sitting around Jesus were “indignant at the waste” of perfectly good perfume. Some may have even thought, “What’s the point?”

But Jesus responds, “Leave her alone, she has done a beautiful thing to Me. She did what she could” (Mark 14:1-9).

Apparently Mary was not a woman of great wealth, but she did what she could. And Jesus said it was beautiful.

I cannot feed all the hungry people in the world, but I can feed one hungry student in Cedar Springs.

I cannot share the gospel with every unreached people group on the planet, but I can give a few dollars a month to a missionary who is reaching a tribe in northern India.

I cannot undo all of the injustice done to women, but I can support the W.A.R. Chest Boutique who is is helping rescue women from slavery.

I cannot counsel every woman contemplating an abortion, but I can volunteer at Alpha Family Centers whose counselors are lovingly counseling women to choose life.

I should never allow the largeness of the situation or the smallness of my resources to paralyze me from acting. I can be like Mary who did what she could.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Alpha Family Center, Cedar Springs, faith in action, Jesus Christ, missions, pro-life, slavery, Women At Risk International. 1 Comment »

Lifewalk 2013 = Huge Success

June 17, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

Lifewalk for Alpha Family Center was a huge success this year! Over 160 walkers representing 18 area churches raised $12,000 for this vital ministry!

Huge thanks to Lorrie Shelton (Alpha’s director), the army of volunteers who helped with all the behind-the-scenes work, and our sponsors and underwriters for boldly making a stand for life.

Below are a few pictures from our day together, but you can see my full collection on Flickr by clicking here.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Alpha Family Center, Cedar Springs, Lifewalk, pro-life. Leave a Comment »

Lifewalk 2013

May 8, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

I am grateful for Alpha Family Center in Cedar Springs. They provide resources for our community to promote life, including pregnancy testing, counseling, and other parental resources for young families in our community. They stand solidly for life.

And I want to stand with them.

Lifewalk is the annual fundraiser for Alpha. This one event brings in a significant amount of the annual budget that Alpha needs. Will you consider sponsoring me as I walk in Lifewalk?

If you would like to sponsor me or make a donation, please comment below or email me by clicking here, and I’ll get more details to you.

Thanks for helping me walk for life.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Alpha Family Center, Cedar Springs, fundraiser, Lifewalk, pro-life, sponsorship. Leave a Comment »

Sanctity Of Human Life Month

January 15, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

January is designated as sanctity of human life month. This is an issue about which I am passionate. Life is a gift from God, and the attacks against this gift are a slap at the Hand of our gracious Heavenly Father.

When a biblical principle is being attacked, we have two ways to respond: (a) Curse the darkness, or (2) Light a candle.

Since Jesus told us that we were to be the light of the world, I choose to light a candle.

There are lots of ways to do this:

Support pro-life legislators
Stay informed, and then write appropriate editorials and letters to editors
Pray, pray, pray!
Get involved with those on the front lines

In Cedar Springs we have a great pro-family, pro-life organization on the front lines called Alpha Family Center. (In the interest of full disclosure, I currently serve as the board president of Alpha, but I was a huge fan before I signed on for this.)

At Calvary Assembly of God, we are showing our support for the sanctity of human life by collecting needed supplies for Alpha during the month of January. Over the next weeks, please donate baby items like onesies, pacifiers, diapers, pull-ups, baby wipes, baby socks, or receiving blankets. You can also make a financial donation to Alpha Family Center (PayPal link).

Let’s shine brightly for life by supporting Alpha!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Alpha Family Center, family, pro-life, sanctity of human life. Leave a Comment »

Baby, I’m On Board

June 18, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

The theme for this year’s Lifewalk for Alpha Family Centers was Baby, I’m On Board! And I was so glad that Calvary Assembly of God was on board to help this wonderful pro-life organization in Cedar Springs! This year our worship team provided music prior to the walk, we had several from our congregation participating in Lifewalk, and our church was a sponsor for Lifewalk 2012.

Here are some pictures of the day —

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Alpha Family Center, Calvary Assembly of God, Cedar Springs, community involvement, pro-life. Leave a Comment »

Walking For Life

May 29, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Nope, this isn’t about exercising (although we’ll get a little of that in too). It’s about walking to make a stand.

Confused yet?

I’m talking about the annual LifeWalk for Alpha Family Center in Cedar Springs. I serve the God Who created life, and because I serve Him, I love life like He loves life. So I’m happy to throw my wholehearted support behind Alpha in their Lifewalk.

Can I ask for your help too? Here are some ways you can get involved:

Sponsor me. I’ll be walking in LifeWalk, and I would appreciate your sponsorship. You can click here to send me an email letting me know how much you would like to pledge me. I’ll send you a receipt that you can use for tax purposes.
Walk with us. If you live near Cedar Springs, you can click here to download your own pledge sheet.
Pray. Pray for organizations like Alpha. Pray that our elected officials will enact pro-life legislation. Pray for the young women that find themselves pregnant, that they will turn to organizations like Alpha.

I am especially excited this year that Calvary Assembly of God will be a major sponsor for LifeWalk! We want to do all we can to support life, and I hope you will join with us.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Alpha Family Center, Calvary Assembly of God, Cedar Springs, Lifewalk, pro-life. Leave a Comment »

A Story About Choice

March 1, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

What an amazing story about Ryan Bomberger!

And don’t forget about October Baby opening in theaters on March 23 (you can read my review of the film here).

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: abortion, adoption, movie, pro-life. Leave a Comment »

October Baby (movie review)

February 8, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Betsy and I were privileged to see an advanced screening of October Baby last night, and I’m still trying to process all of my thoughts.

It was emotionally moving, but not sappy nor sentimental.

It was thought-provoking, but not philosophically deep.

It was laugh-provoking, but not a comedy.

It addressed a woman’s struggle, but it’s not a chick flick.

It addressed parenting, but it’s not a dry documentary.

**It is just a GOOD movie.**

The script was good, the acting was good, the cinematography was good, even the soundtrack was good. The message that all life is precious comes through clearly, but not in an in-your-face, shove-it-down-your-throat way.

The movie is rated PG-13 because of the subject matter (a girl on a quest to find her birth mother, after discovering that she’s the survivor of a failed abortion attempt). But because of the purity of the movie (not a single swear word, zero sexuality), I would recommend families see this together.

This is a story that needed to be told, and the Erwin brothers did a phenomenal job telling that story.

Send a message to Hollywood, go see October Baby on opening weekend, March 23-25.