What is Love Life America?

0:00 I believe that there are thousands of Christians in the United States and across the world that they are aware of the issue of abortion and it's impact and they don't know what to do. Our ministries are now providing a packaged but effective way to say this is what you can do. I Am Yours, I am yours, I am yours. Send Me Lord. Welcome to the Gospel Center pro life podcast. This episode I do an interview with Josh Kappas with Love Life, about the merger of love life and cities for life, what God is doing through Love Life America. Stay with us. I felt show passish, touch your heart, use me love. Welcome to the Gospel Center pro life podcast. Appreciate you guys listening. Appreciate you guys who comment and leave us good and positive comments, because that's always important, because we've had a lot of negative comments as of late. So if you would leave a good review, that would bless my heart and I'm sure it would bless Josh's heart. To Josh Kappas is here with us today. Vicki is actually on vacation, so I'm sure she's a joy. That yeah, but I want to bring Josh Kappas in he's would love life, and we'll get into a little bit of what love life and cities for life is doing together, but I want you to introduce yourself, Josh, and just tell the folks what

1:30 you're involved with in love life. Yeahs Daniel said, my name is Josh Kappus, of the Director of city development for love life, which is basically just a fancy way of saying I oversee our local staff in the four major cities that were in, which is Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh and Manhattan, and then also have responsibilities of overseeing our expansion now through love life America and just helping to continue to cast vision and look for potential missionaries and Partnering Churches Across the United States and even beyond that, as we're seeing the reach of this go even outside of the United States, which is pretty exciting. So, yeah, we're going to get more into that here in a little bit.

2:14 Yeah, we will. Will jump into that pretty quick and just to let you guys know who are listening, who've been listening for a long time, you may have heard because a lot of folks that follow cities for life follow us on social media, also follow you guys and some of you guys have heard about the merger between cities for life and love life, and it's one of the reasons why I want to have Josh Own, because he's been an integral part in that merger and just the conversations we've been having and just seeing what the Lord is doing is just just been awesome. And so let's talk real quick about that merger and just what that means. And I guess maybe from from my perspective it's just a natural outflow. It's like the Lord, yeah, has really wanted to take I feel like it's one of the reasons why we started this podcast, to to take what we've learned in Charlotte, in cities for life and the sidewalk out reach ministry and really broadcasted across the nation, and that's one of the reasons why we put a lot of energy behind the sidewalks for life website, just helping people get equipped and all of that, and then partner with you guys seemed to be a natural flow of that. But talk real quick from a love life perspective, the reason for just praying through and having these conversations about the merging and then ultimately, Hey, this is God, let's do it. What was the thinking behind that? Yeah, you know, I mean look back at our history and how, you know, cities for life was in existence in the the founders of cities for life were influential in exposing our founder Justin to what we call the tragic truth of abortion. Yeah, you know, I mean Justin for

3:46 however many years, is doing business with, you know, one of his clients right across the street from the abortion. Clint didn't even know it was there, yeah, or what they were doing and all of a sudden, because of, you know, the Benham brothers, you know, he's exposed to that. So you guys are already already running with sidewalk out reach with cities for life, and Justin feels convicted to, you know, figure out a way to mobilize the church, to bring the church out in numbers, not in a protest, but in a prayerful presence, you know, ushering in kind of air support to what you as they're doing. Yeah, with being on the ground and actually being the ones who are engaging and calling out, making those connections, getting them on the mobile unit for a free ultrasound where you can kind of like take a deep breath. Yeah, process with with a mom and a dad, and be able to calmly talk through their options and get them connected to real help, to real peace and real solutions through Christ and his church. And so, you know, we've kind of like modeled what a real holistic outreach would look like between our two ministries here in Charlotte and beyond. You know, just a holistic outreach, you know, there really has been modeled to something that I think is unique to the pro life movement, of a willingness to humble ourselves to one another, to trust the Lord for provision and not make it about a name of a ministry

5:21 or a person or a personality and and say we are far better together. So we've been doing that, you know, without merging ministries. We've been doing that now since, you know, two thousand and sixteen, if it is. We've grown in relationship with one another and now, as we approach the idea of expansion and rolling this out across the United States, it only made sense that we would really just officially merge and partner together because the best of both worlds where we excel in the area of church engagement. You guys are second to none in sidewalk out reaching the effectiveness that you guys have developed of you know, I know your ministries ten years old, but even beyond that you've been doing sidewall ministry for fifteen plus years, taking all the expertise, all that you've learned, all the hard knocks and everything that you've done and now merging that all together and packaging it for pastors and leaders across the United States to be able to take this and run with it, yeah, in their cities. So I love, you know, the I saw the announcement video yesterday and I love the statement that Justin and David and Jason made that it's not about a name. Yeah, we're not concerned about a name and a branding and you know I mean we value those things are important our culture today, but at the end of the day, like we, both you and I and our ministries, desire just to see God's people present and

6:51 and loving our neighbor and he's abortion mission fields. I know one of the things I've said, and up said this to pastors, even as I'm having a conversation about about cities for life and in time past, trying to get pastors out there, which you guys have been massively successful and the cities for life, for whatever reason we just cann't get the traction we wanted with pastors again out there. But as I'm sharing with pastors, one of the things I say that catches them off guard as I say, you know what, pair church ministries like cities life should not exist. Yeah, we're a necessary I want to say a necessary evil, but we're a necessary component to the way the American church is geared. It's like peer Church ministries are the specialist right, and I really don't think. I guess in a big picture way, my heart is that ministry should flood of the local church. Yes, that's where it should flow out of. So I don't really think that cities for life, love life, should exist, but I know that we should to. It's kind of a weird dynamic, right. It's a necessitated component of church life. And until the church is is mobilized in a way where the church is really take an ownership of these mission fields, we're going to talk about that language a little bit too these that these are mission fields, then love life, cities for life, whatever ministry God Raises Up is going to continue to do his work. And you know what, you said about unity. I think people need to understand this is this is really important, because there maybe some people wondering like, well, why would you guys merge together? Why don't you just do this thing together? Really, all it is, it's just to minimize confusion from because we're we've been together since the

8:22 beginning of lives and Suders Life we've been walking step and step with one another, right, and so just to minimize confusion nationally it's like we've been together. So let's let's just bring these two things together. Let's do the sidewalk thing, let's do the church thing, and this is really the heart of God, I believe, across the nation and, like you said, I think we do pretty good with sidewalk out reach. You guys do excellent in church engagement, and those two things are just necessary components to work together, right. Yeah, and you know, I agree with you. I think one of the dangers of parachurch organizations is that they become a replacement for the church or kind of maybe take responsibility off of the church for things that the church should be doing. You and I are both former pastors and still pastors at heart. I mean, you know, the calling is on our lives to shepherd and care for people. But you know, we're busy, right.

9:13 You know pastors are busy right, and there's a lot of need out there, and so I do think organizations like ours and many others that kind of develop solutions that maybe a pastor doesn't have the margin to do, can serve the church in that way, as long as we're continuing to say we're not a replacement for the church, we are a tool for the church. We're coming alongside of you and we want to be a blessing to you and encouragement to you. And that's what we've seen happened. And you know again where there is such synergy in our ministries. You know, taking a church that maybe is, you know, as zero, two, three on the scale of engagement around the issue of abortion and asking them to start doing sidewalk counseling right off the get go as a big ask, because there's a lot of fear and unknown about what you guys do. A lot of stigma, feels, yes, stigma as well, right. And so love life, I think, is let that intermediate step, yeah, of Hey, just come and pray, come and worship, and exposing God's people to the tragic truth of a board Porson and then watching with the Holy Spirit does, yeah, to move them along to the point where they're so convicted and so burdened that there, you know, it becomes a I think it's a good idea to stand outside in ninety eight degree heat and be berated by, yeah, some twenty somethings for being out here to, yeah, offer life to a family that's considering killing their own child. Well, I know one of the keys. You know one of the keys for me and if you've, guys, have listened to this podcast for long enough, you've heard me share my testimony. You've likely even heard Vicki share her testimony, and it probably rings

10:46 true for you to one of the keys. The key things the Lord use to get me involved at the level that I'm involved in is to get me out there on the front line and have me exposed to the issue of abortion where it takes place. Yes, and you guys have been getting them out there to pray in hopes that, hey, I will take it to the next level, I will get involved in a way that I would never imagine that I would be involved in. You know, we have a guy who's one of our regular volunteers now who the Lord kind of set him up. His wife was really burdened with the issue of abortion. She'd come out with her church, she'd prayed with you guys and then really wanted to do something at the next level and got involved with us as a sidewalk counselor. And her husband thought she was kind of offer rails. Right, I mean right, how you being involve? I mean he knew abortion was bad, but it's like you're going to be out there, going to be protesting. That's the way people view it. Yeah, and she started telling him, of course, about what I was doing, but also some of the opposition.

11:43 He's like, well, I need to go and just stand with my wife, make sure to my mess right wife. And so he goes in there to stand with his wife to make sure, you know, she's protected and whatever, just to observe, and the Lord gets a hold of his heart right then, right there. Yeah, and now he's out, you know, sometimes two and three days a week he's driving the mobileultra sound unit from Monroe or to the abortion center in Charlotte, and the Lord just set him up in that way. Yeah, and I'm sure the Lord did that for you as well. And Yeah, some measure. Oh, it is a you know, it's kind of a funny word to say that it's a setup, but that really is what takes place. I mean, you know what, what is the the fruit of the Gospel in people's lives? And you look at Paul's letters and there's two things that he marks in the Intros of many of his letters where he he knew the Gospel came to a people because of their love for one another and their faith in the Lord. Yeah, and when you go to a place like an abortion clinic and you see all that's happening, you know from the whatever you want to call them, Pro Choice folks, the escorts, the security guards, that you know we've seen some vile things, we've seen some hateful things, we've seen some really foolish things. You know, in Raleigh one time one of the escorts started playing another one bites the dust. Yeah, in the parking lot of an abortion clinic and dancing. Yeah, you know. So when you see that you're stirred. When you see the MOMS and dad's going in going out, knowing what's taking place, you see the hoodies, you see the head down you

13:18 see the burden on them. If you have the spirit of God and you've been, you know, as Paul Talks about Philippines, to like if you have sharing in like fellowship in the spirit and the love of God and those sorts of things, like, it's just natural that your heart's going to be moved and you want to do something. Yeah, like you can't shut you can't go there and see those things and just being different. And if you are like that's kind of scary, that's not a great place to be in, and that's to where then you'll you know, for years the churches into a degree, has preached about life and talked about it from a political standpoint, but we haven't given our people things to do. You take forty five minutes to preach on abortion and then you close your Bible and pray and there's no call to action, there's nothing to do beyond that. Like you really kind of innoculate your people to yeah, the tragedy of abortion that really demends just becomes life change. It becomes just another issue, right, like this is another issue that pastor preaches own and for us to just make abortion and the issue of abortion just a common issue. It does do a disservice to the people, right. And so to see a pasture not just preaching about abortion, because he should be doing that, and the way you guys are doing it, and guys, if you haven't listened to the podcast I did with Justin some months back, please listen to it. And he's he talks about love life and what love life is doing. But to get a pastor to preach on the issue of abortion on a Sunday and to get him ultimately, by the end of that week, on that Saturday, to mobilize his people and really shepherd them out to the abortion center is is a I mean

14:48 that's a move of God in itself. Yeah, and it's really, though, that exposure out there, they're out at the abortion center, to some of the things that you mentioned, that really pulls the the scales off the eyes and lets these pastors and their congregation see this is not just some other issue, but this is the number one moral issue of our day. Yeah, and the way you guys have led pastors along rather than just asking them to go from zero to a thousand and like five seconds of pastor that's never preached on the issue of abortion right, because he's afraid he's going to offend some people in his congregation. To take him from that to addressing the issue of abortion and then to a prayer walk. I mean you're taking them along little by little, and it's been it's been very effective. Yeah, you know, the issue of abortion is been politicized, obviously, but it is so foundational as an as an evil and a work of the enemy. Satan loves the destruction of the image of God in the Earth, because the image of God in the Earth is meant for the glory of God. When God said, you know, we're going to make them in my image, is going to be fruitful in multiply and fill the earth, we're talking about filling the earth with image bearers, reflections of God. So Satan loves attacking the image of God in humanity, and the pinnacle of that is murder. It's the destruction of whether here it's in the womber, outside of the womb, it is murder, is the ultimate destruction and it is a declaration that I'm God. Right, if I can take your life, I'm saying I'm God.

16:15 When I take my own child's life, I'm saying God does not exist. And if he does exist, it's me. Yeah, I have the authority to give and to take away, and so you know it's important. I'll never forget in February of this year we were in New York City, before all this stuff broke out, and I was standing across the street from the largest plan parenthood New York City, the Marker Singer Center, and standing with a pastor there, and he said to me, he said, Josh, when I was getting ready to preach on abortion, it's the first time I've ever preached an abortion here in New York and I knew you know that I don't, but it may not be received well. Yeah, and he said the Lord brought me to a place where I believed my entire ministry hinges on whether or not I can preach on life. And if I can't preach on life, how in the world can I preach on anything else? And that's the kind of work that we've seen the Lord do in Pastor's heart.

17:11 So just help in them. See, like, this is not about a d and an Ur, this is right activism. Yeah, this is about the glory of God and the souls of men and women and just the church being the church and so when you help a pastor kind of shift in their thinking and not get, you know, forced into a corner that you can't talk about this because it's too political, it's Bologney, and they really can talk on it and talk on it. Well, yeah, I was in a meeting with several pro life leaders and one of them made this passing comment of like, you know, it's important for pastors to talk about abortion but not preach a whole message on abortion. Nobody wants to go to a church like that. And that comment flew all over me. I had dress I was sitting next to Justin and he had to call like, calm me down, I'm still new to all this stuff and you know, but that that's such a poor way of viewing this. The issues that we have in the church, of they are because we haven't spoken about it enough. Of what God says Hundred Percent Truth, hundred percent grace. We want to be railing on people from the pulpit, but there is much life that we're able to give to our people when we do talk about this from a biblical perspective.

18:18 Yeah, and I know you guys have seen even at the prayer walks, which is something I guess it should have been. What it wasn't really on my radar as far as people come into the prayer walks who have abortion in their past and being confronted with what they had done and, obviously in a very gracious way, repenting and get in healing. Yeah, before the Lord even being exposed to a prayer walk or being exposed to their pastor preaching on the issue of abortion. I know you've seen some of that stuff in the churches where you guys have been talk a little bit about that, just people getting set free from past abortions and things like that. Yeah, I remember early on, even before we partnered with love life, there was one young lady in particular that was supposed to abortive and was passionate about post abort of healing, and so you know that that brought it to the radar and we would do the typical annual message on life and there would always be like this like and intrepidation in me that I don't want to hurt people when I do this. You know, I know there's probably more in my congregation than I even know about, and actually quite the opposite is true. There's an article that karenet wrote and I remember a lady was quoted in there. She said I thought that I had committed the unforgivable sin because when my pastor preached on forgiveness, he never mentioned the sin of abortion. And I don't think pastors are doing that intentionally. I think it's like, you know, kind of how I felt, that I want to hurt people. I don't want to, you know, it's like bring up this wound. Yeah, but actually the opposite is true, that when we connect the gospel of Jesus Christ specifically to the sin of abortion, call it what it is. We don't have

19:48 to soften it. We don't help people by softening sin. Right. Yeah, like sin is so egregious. The only solution to the sin problem was the brutal murder of the son of God and him drinking the full wrath from the father for our sin on himself on the Cross and being resurrected. So sin is egregious. We don't need to minimize that because we minimize the value of what Christ has done for us. Yeah, so when we do it well, we do it effectively. We're not angry and railing on people, but just saying what the Bible says and then preaching the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that you're not a second rate Christian just because you had an abortion. You're not disqualified for the rest of your life from all ministry, like the Lord wants to use you. And so what we've seen is, you know, I believe six women. We have about a hundred and fifty people. There's been at least six women that I know of that have gone through post abortion classes in our congregation are now sharing their stories helping other women.

20:47 So some of that is in a public format, some of that is more just like this one on one. But you know, our vocal about it. They're not hiding, they're not covered up in guild and shame. And you know, a lot of that started with love life, participating in love life prayer walks. So yes, if you're a pastor and you're listening and you're just you're dabbling with the idea, or maybe you're just, you know, a congregant, whatever you're listening, you want to influence your pastor and encourage him. Someone what Josh said is really important to share it. You know, it's just like a doctor that doesn't directly address the issue that his patient is suffering with. If you don't address the disease, there's not going to be healing, there's not going to be a remedy that comes right. So pastors need to be sharing about the issue of abortion and even again, shepherding their people to take ownership of this issue and to go out and do something about it where it takes place. And that has been a key, I know for me. Being exposed to the issue of abortion where it takes place has been a key for so many of our volunteers and so many of the pastors that you, you know, you guys, are bringing out there and we're we're seeing pastors who, again, who weren't even talking about the issue of abortion, now bringing their congregation out, now even themselves coming out with their families, even when their congregations aren't adopting weeks, go and cover some of the other abortion centers here in Charlotte. So some of the ones that are I mean they've got some really vile pro abortion people there yet and they're confronting this, obviously with the grace of God, and they went it was took him step by step by step, and the Lord is very gracious to do that with us, but it wasn't from zero to a thousand.

22:18 And that's right. Again. That's one of the things that the Lord's really used you guys to do is to bring people along. One story that was really powerful for US friend of mine, she was part of our church up to start, our church. Her first love life prayer walk was the first time that she went back to that abortion clinic where she had an abortion ten years ago. Yeah, and like everything in her that morning like she didn't want to go. Yeah, sure, you know, and which is, you know, completely understandable. And she blogged about it later that day. She did go and she took her kids and and was a powerful experience. You know, it was like a picture of redemption, of what God does and what's available to people, that he takes our brokenness and our mess and our things from our past and he redeems them. And now, you know, she leads ministry. She Leads Ministry to other post abortive moms and you know, it's just what God does. Yeah, so a man.

23:19 Well, you guys are currently are we guys, I guess? Yeah, as are currently in Charlotte, of course, and then Raleigh, Greensboro. So the triangle the triad and then New York City. But listen, we know God's not just going to stop it for cities. Right, all right, the desire of God is at the church across the nation and across the nations. Yes, rises up and because Jesus Christ has given us this, this prevailing against the gates of Hale, we will not fail in this. We have the gates of hell won't prevail against the Church of Jesus Christ. We know that the church needs to rise up, and so I know it's on Justin's heart against simultaneously on my heart. Just like man, the Church needs arise up. We need to equip Christians to be out there, and God's doing it through what we're calling the love life America. Right, so talk a little bit about Love Life America, because it is going basically across America and beyond, and that's the desire. But talk about that, the motivation behind that, some of what that entails and whatever other details you want to share. Yeah, so you know, when I transition from pastoring a church to coming on with love life, it was to help launch Greensboro and Raleigh and from that point, I remember early on, we have been talking and praying about how do we move this across the nation in a way that it can spread quickly but it doesn't lose the integrity of what it is and at the same time, it doesn't kill our staff. Yeah, because when you look at what all was involved with launching each one of those four major

24:52 cities, it's quite an endeavor. Yeah, you know. I mean we talked about you know, we have over three hundred partnering churches. Well, the reason we have over three hundred partnering churches because it took a lot of hard work, it took a lot of relational work. Andre who is our director here in Charlotte, who was, you know, started with Justin from the very beginning. You know that that's our he's our grinder. I mean we are at where we are at because of Andrei's just relentless work to pursue relationships with pastors and bring them to clinics and move them along. And so we haven't really had clarity about how do we do that, how do we move this across the United States? And ironically, you know, when the pandemic hit and the message of our you know, from federal government all the way on down to local governments was we're turning our lives upside down to protect the vulnerable among us from this disease, because life matters. I remember Andrew Cuomo said no one would ever choose a human life over a single dollar bill.

25:55 Yeah, you know. So we had all of a sudden, you know, life is so precious valuable, and it is. I'm being a little tongue in cheek, but so. So we had this message, but at the same time local governments and and and others are saying abortion is essential, right. So what we're doing? All this stuff to protect the vulnerable. We're intentionally taking the lives of the most vulnerable among us and continuing. And not only was abortion continuing, but it was thriving. Yeah, because of the fear, right, of the pandemic and all of the unknown. And so, you know, early on, as as stay at home orders were coming and things like that, just I just remember just very clearly saying if abortion is essential during a podamic, during the pandemic, than a Christian witness is also essential at abortion clinics during a pandemic and beyond. And so early on that came at a cost, you know, as you were there and and and you were threatened with arrest and you were you know, they tried to local governments tried to use the stay at home orders to remove the Christian witness from abortion clinics and Greensboro and in Charlotte some of our leaders were arrested and all of those things started to happen. But in the middle of all that the clarity came. Let's start asking pastors and Christian leaders across the United States to lead a small group within the stay at home orders to go out and pray. It wasn't some like government rebellion right. It's just saying like no, if abortion is essential, Christian witnesses essential, let's go.

27:22 Let's yea, let's show that life really does matter. If we're going to change our lives to protect the vulnerable among us from the disease, why are we not also changing our lives and putting our lives on the line and sacrificing to go out and to and to protect the most vulnerable? So that's kind of how it started with, you know, just go out and lead. And what we saw very quickly was we went from covering for clinics to covering around twenty clinics with small groups. We're going out on praying and then they're in a zoom feed and we're broadcasting that zoom feed on our facebook page every Saturday morning at nine am. And so it just kind of took off and within that we realize this is the front door to expansion. Yeah, this is exposing people not only to love life, but is exposing people to the tragic truth of six hundred plus abortion clinics across the United States. Here's twenty of them. You're getting a front row seat to this from your home, where you can watch it. And now using that and leveraging it to say, all right, here's some next steps that you can do so you can lead a group yourself. So it started helping to recruit other leaders and new cities. And then the kind of the final component, which you and Vicki spoke about, the aspect of sidewalk missionaries and viewing the the abortion clinics as legitimate mission fields. All of that really kind of took shape during this pandemic to say this is a legitimate mission field, it's worthy of full time missionaries and and kind of that model of like if I'm you know, Honduras is

28:55 on my mind. We have a mission in Honduras. You know, there were missionaries that we work with in Honduras who were kind of the shepherds of that work, the experts on the ground, and we send people to them to work with them and to develop that's kind of the same aspect. Here. We're saying the abortion clinic is the mission field. There should be kind of at least one, preferably two, missionaries that are kind of the experts on the ground that are shepherding the work. They're not doing all the work, they're coordinating, they're equipping their training and then churches are sending their people, just like a short term mission trip. They're sending their people one day a month, one day a week, multiple days a week, whatever it is. But I'm working together so that there's a holistic ministry of the church, local churches in their area that are working with their local missionaries to do effective outreach at their local abortion clinic. So that is Love Life America and amazingly, when we announced this last week, unbelievable conversations as people have been reaching out to us and sharing their stories about how God is burdened them and convicted them to bring this to their city and one couple in particular there south of Savannah. They used to live here in Charlotte, so they knew about love life. Yeah, and they had always kind of said, you know, man, if we ever moved back to Charlotte, we're going to, you know, get involved with love life. And as I was talking to

30:25 her and her husband last week, she has started weeping. She was like we wanted to do something with love life if we move back. But now love life is coming here and there's something that we can do here in our city at our abortion clinic. And that's happening from Reno, Nevada, just got off the phone with someone, and in Visalia, California, Atlanta, Miami, Indianapolis, I mean they're just springing up all over and really all it boils down to, Daniel, and you know this. I believe that there are thousands of Christians in the United States and across the world that they are aware of the issue of abortion and it's impact and they don't know what to do. They want to do something, but they don't know what to do, and our ministries are now providing a packaged but effective way to say this is what you can do. Yeah, and and so you know, we'll have our hands on it to a degree, but we really want to give this over to local churches for them to run with it. And and we're starting to see the the first fruits of that taking places. You trained, yeah, fourteen sidewalk missionaries to too is a man is almost three weeks ago now. Yeah, and you know, just hearing the stories from that group alone of what's already happening is you know, they didn't waste the training right, immediately putting it into a fat run and, yeah, developing their

31:56 cities, developing a network of life, bringing people together, getting ready to go out or some of them are already going out to their sidewalks. You know, we it's our conviction, with with you and included, Daniel. I know you're convicted as any of us, that this is going to happen across the United States and even beyond me, Israel. You know, there's there's activity in Israel. There's a things stirring in Australia. Someone reached out to us today about Ghana, and so it's no coincidence we're seeing the uptick in Shenanigan's from yea, you know, counts people. Yeah, and those sorts of things, because they see now the churches is awakening. Yeah, the church is rising up and it really is just a matter of we're providing them some tracks and run on. Yeah, they're doing it. Yeah, so what are those tracks? So let's say somebody is listening to this and they've been praying about how to get involved and how to get their church involved and and all of that. What what are the steps? If someone says, yeah, I'm thinking maybe Love Life America might be that that thing that I needed to get on board with, what is the process? Yeah, so the first thing I would say is go to love life dot org slash America and just check out the landing page there and you can see some of our videos that lay some more groundwork. But the three steps, to make it simple for you, without even having to go to the page, is watch, go and launch. So we're basically saying every Saturday from nine am

33:30 to about ten fifteen, ten twenty eastern time, we're hosting a live virtual prayer walk on our facebook page. It's the handle is at Love Life USA on facebook in and go on there and watch, watch the prayer walk, pray with us and, you know, engage in the experience of seeing Christian leaders across the United States giving live updates. This past Saturday we saw, literally saw a family get in their car, drive out of the abortion parking lot over to the adjacent parking lot where there's a mobile unit there for a free ultrasound, and they chose life on the live feet. And you do. We're not putting people on blast and showing their faces and stuff like that, but you can see their car and in real time, like people praying and seeing an immediate answer to prayer in the Valley of decision. And so you know, watch, watch with US and invite others, invite leaders in your church. Why, Hey, guys, I heard about this thing.

34:27 Love Life. Watch the live prayer walk or right now you can go on our facebook page and they're all recorded on there, so you can watch some of the prerecorded ones as well. So that's the first step, is just watch and then, you know, connect with us and will equip you to go, okay and lead your own group out to pray at your abortion clinic. So a couple of things we just want to make sure of is that you know you're a part of a local church. Again, we're not a replacement for the local church. So you know, we want to know that you're a part of a local evangelical church and you're in good standing there and you have at the very least the blessing of your pastor to go and so we have, you know, some steps that we can walk through with you on that and we have a training website that we can share with you to get you prepared and equip to lead a group. We have tools for you to use that make it very turnkey and very simple but effective out there as you go. And then the last step is, as these new go groups or prayer groups are starting, the last step is all right, let's start gathering now other churches in the area share the vision of love life with them.

35:37 We're looking for partnering churches, what we call houses of refuge, and the idea there is many women stop running the local abortion clinics and instead of running to churches for real help and real solutions. And then, along with partnering House of Refuge Churches, we're looking to identify one to two sidewalk missionaries that can come to our five day boot camp here in Charlotte and be trained and equip not only during that five day camp. But you know, one of the major reasons we merge with you guys is because of your ability to train and equip and encourage ongoing the sidewalk missionaries across the United States to have an effective witness out there. A lot of times what we see in sidewalk outreaches kind of like the wild wild west. Anybody can show up and there's all sorts of approaches and it's very it's not very well organized and it's not very unified. Yeah, and I think that's one of the great fruits of our merger. And what we're doing is is bringing a level of I don't know, professionalism does not the right word, but like warmity. Yeah, you know, like a standard of care and a standard of time tested approaches to effective outreach that's been in place for the last ten plus years that you guys have been using, and I've seen over five thousand babies saved and their families saved from that decision as well. Is Putting that in place to where there is a unified affective tested a biblical biblically that's that's that, honestly.

37:14 I mean I'm appreciate you saying that, but that is one of the things that I admire greatly as the time that I've known you is what I've seen in your ministry and your approach out there. Sometimes we get a little too pragmatic with these sorts of things and data and all of that, and really the foundation is what does the Bible instruct us to do? Yeah, in these situations and bring not being afraid to bring that to the abortion clinic. Yes, speak, what does God say about the situation? When is God say about your baby? Was God say about you? And not saving that for last right, but leading with that. Yeah, because we believe in the sufficiency of the Scriptures and the power of the Holy Spirit to intervene in people's lives. And so, yeah, it's very exciting to me, Daniel, the potential of what can take place. As you know, in two of our cities this week we saw saves for the first time in Madison, Wisconsin and Fayetteville. Folks who have been going out and they're all different too.

38:15 That's the other thing too, is you know, I think the one guy is is like Filipino, and you have young, you know, one gals nineteen. Yeah, you have retired people. You know, it's such a diverse group, but the one thing they all share in common is this isn't a fad, this isn't a neat idea like. This is a deeply burdened group of people. Yeah, that are just saying yes, yeah, and I think in one sense, you know, when I share with people, and hopefully you guys who listen to this podcast list and our previous podcast, about this being a missionary endeavor, when I share with folks about the fact that this is a mission field, it helps to tear off some of that stigma which is associated with protesting and making this thing of political issue and really just helping churches, helping individuals to understand this is a mission field and those we are going out our missionaries. It helps to cut through that stigma in the light comes on for people. Sometimes they just can connect with Alice, sharing with actually my pastor a couple of weeks ago, just what God is doing and I was sharing with him. Know we're really contending for the language at this is a missionary endeavor that those out there are sidewalk missionaries and my pastors like it's exactly what they are. You're right there there, right this mission field. Their missionaries yeah, yeah, and so really just I think people understanding, people are listening, understanding that language, understanding what we're talking about. What we're trying to do is basically have these mission fields that currently in our country do not have a missionary, raising up missionaries to be

39:47 out there on those front lines, right, and just to see within that training those people that were there were you know, they've been involved, most of them in some measure, but to really see them embrace this idea that you're going to be sent out as a missionary. You're not just out there is just an individual doing your thing and you're not a prolifed activist, but you're a missionary. I really think I saw some lights come on with them when they really understood in that boot camp what we're after, what we're trying to do nationally. Right. So hopefully you guys that are listening, you understand what we're what we're seeking is to have these mission fields covered with a missionary. Yeah, and, you know, just to bring clarity, because I know there may be some like diehard and missiologists, who maybe, as parsing words, that maybe we're just being cute with this language. You know, the differentiator again is what you just mentioned about it being Biblical and understanding that. We don't just train subwalt missionaries to go out and save babies.

40:44 They're trained to share the gospel. Yeah, they're equipped to share the hope of Jesus Christ with people were we're intersecting because of the reason why they're there. Were intersecting with them because they have been brought to a place in life where they believe that a reasonable solution their problem is killing their child. But the end goal is not just that the child is saved, it's that people come to know Christ. Yeah, which is the mission of the church. Absolutely, we're commission to, you know, go into all the world, preach the good news, baptized, teach all of those things, and that is, in fact what our sidewalk missionaries are being equipped to do and to equip churches in their area to do as well, and that's why we're using the language of sidewalk missionary, because it is in line with the Great Commission.

41:32 Yeah, absolutely, in the discipleship component fits perfectly in with the necessity for these local churches to be involved and when a mom chooses live so not just be involved and come out there and pray that's great, but even within these churches, to identify mentors or disciples that right disciple these MOMS, because that's the goal. Again, it's not to want to minimize it, but not to just save a baby, but to disciple that mother right so that ultimately that child and that child is raised, that child is raised being discipled as well. And then, you know, God, by His grace and mercy, is saving mom's babies, being saved, these children to be in disciple. And this, this message of life, is covering the entire United States, from America exactly, and God is glorified through it. That's right, because that's the ultimate goal. That's right. Yeah, well, man, that's that's pretty much where I wanted to go with this. That's pretty much all I wanted to cover. Anything else you want to mention before we wrap this thing up? No, I just you know, I just would encourage folks check out love life dot org slash America, you know, and share it too. Yeah, you know, share it with people in your network that you know have a burden for this. You've had conversations with them.

42:43 I can assure you there are thousands of people in the United States that are praying and looking for something to do around the issue of life and and something that's far deeper than just political activism. That has a place. I don't want to minimize that, but for far too long the church has been waiting for politicians to change culture, which they don't do. They follow culture. Yeah, the Church has. It's not that just we are to be salt and light, it's actually who we are. That's what Jesus said we are. So you are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world, and that is the role that we played, the pillar and buttress of truth in society. We've advocated that and that's why we're in a lot of the trouble we're in is because we've gotten soft on truth and we're afraid to be controversial and we want to be liked by everybody, and I struggle with that just as much as the next guy. But we do have the unique opportunity to fulfill the God given role that he's already said that we have a commissioned us to be salt and light and shift the culture.

43:49 And you know, we have numerous stories that we can share if how that's taking place. But we're not satisfied with. You know just what's taken place in the last four or five years. And for you guys, ten years there's still a ton more people, yeah, that need Jesus. And I mean the reality is we've gotten this country three hundred and eighty thousand churches, and maybe half of those are Bible preaching churches. You know, some of these we wouldn't even identify as churches. We at least a hundred and fifty thousand, I would say, Solid Bible preaching churches in the United States of America. Yeah, and seven hundred abortions, the seven hundred abortion clinics is seven hundred too many, right, but when you compare it to how many believers there are, how many pastors there are, yeah, we should have these things covered in no time. There should be a there should already be a quick Christian witness there. Yeah, but I'm believing God and we're looking for by November of two thousand and twenty one, to have a Christian witness at every abortion center in the United States of America and we're going to celebrate what God has done, what God is doing. I'm believing God for it.

44:53 I'm I know it can happen and so, guys, if you're burdened, you heard Josh talking, you've heard I mean that. Listen, we're making it simple. Yeah, it's just three simple steps to get involved and we'll walk you through it the boot camp man. We're making ourselves available to train you, guys, to give you just the wisdom. You can learn from a lot of my mistakes. Yeah, Vicky, you'll be there in the training. Will have others in there in the training. Justin will be there. Josh's there. Just speaking about Church engagement, Andre that you mentioned earlier, who actually had on a podcast several months ago, will help you, equip you to engage with the churches, give the churches involved. We want to quip, we want empower these salwalt missionaries to be effective in these mission fields. So, if you're burden with that, I'm actually going to put a link in the description of the podcast so you guys can go to love life America and get connected and see the steps there and you can certainly reach out to me. For now my email address. You can reach out a deep parks of cities for lifecom it'll be. I'll be sharing my new love life email address. You guys. Coming up in the next couple of PODCASTS. You can certainly reach out to me. Please share this podcast.

46:00 Share. Like Josh said, there are a live feed there on facebook, but until next time, got blessed. Give me our love for love, give me our lift for gratitude. I know it will cost me my life. Nothing's too precious and some met you