From MISSIONARIES TO THE PREBORN

Are Preborn Babies a People Group Worthy of Our Ministry?

Preborn children are the most oppressed people group in the world today. In America, 4500 of them are murdered by abortion every day. That is a million and a half every year. Worldwide, 55 million are murdered every year.

All across the world there has been a campaign to strip preborn children of their humanity. They have been called "blobs of tissue," "products of conception," and "fetuses." All these terms are meant to dehumanize the preborn, in order to make killing them seem acceptable.

As Christians, we know that this is nothing new. Down through the years, man, in all his wickedness, has labeled people groups which he wants to oppress in terms which dehumanize the victims. In Germany, Jewish people were labeled in terms which dehumanized them in order to make killing them seem acceptable. In America, black people were labeled in terms which dehumanized them in order to make enslaving them seem acceptable.

Just because people say that another people group is "less than human" doesn’t mean that they are. In fact, as Christians, we know that they are made in God’s image, that Jesus Christ died for them, and therefore, they are worthy of our love and ministry. This is why Christians ministered to Jewish people in Europe during World War II. This is why Christians ministered to black people in America during slavery.

The question we pose is:
"Shouldn’t we, as Christians, minister to preborn people today?"

Is a Mission to the Preborn Legitimate?

A while back, one of our missionaries was told by a pastor that she was not a missionary and that Missionaries to the Preborn was not a legitimate mission.
We submit that Missionaries to the Preborn is legitimate. Earl Parvin, in his book, Missions USA, rightly declared what legitimizes a mission when he said, "The crucial factor that determines whether or not a particular group is a mission field signaling the need for parachurch assistance is a decision by the church that she cannot effectively evangelize that group by any other means."

The preborn meet the criteria of the "crucial factor." The Church in its regular functions has failed to properly minister to them. Their unjust slaughter has gone on for over 30 years now! Missionaries to the Preborn was established because there was clearly a need to have people set aside all in their lives and minister to the preborn on a full-time basis.

Though we must all do something on behalf of the preborn, a pastor from South Carolina, Michael Cloer, has recognized the "crucial factor." He recently wrote, " We want to put a full-time missionary in front of every abortion mill in America. A missionary that can help organize and lead the fight against abortion. A missionary representing the Church of Jesus Christ and supported by the Church, by people like you and me.

"Our experience, and that of others across the country, has shown that pro-life missionaries are essential. Of course, they are not any more important than you or me, but having their full-time effort is critical if we are serious about winning the war.

"You see, I’m a pastor by calling, not a missionary. I have a role in this battle, but I can’t devote myself to it full-time. I can provide leadership within the realm of my calling, but I cannot do all of the 101 things that must be done to fight the battle.

"Likewise, you also have responsibilities that prevent you from devoting yourself to full-time pro-life missions. It’s not that you don’t care, or that I don’t care, we simply have different callings and time limitations. That’s why we need full-time missionaries.

"They can be there when we can’t. They can do the things that we don’t have time to do. They stand in our place and represent us just like foreign missionaries do."

How Do You Bring the Gospel to Preborn Babies?

This is truly a cross-cultural ministry. The babies are preborn and we are postborn. The parents who come to the abortion centers are from every race and nationality imaginable.

How did the Good Samaritan bring the gospel in his cross-cultural ministry to the guy left for dead in the ditch? He ministered to his most immediate need. The preborn are in need. They are about to be murdered! Just because they can’t pray the sinners prayer or give money in the offering plate doesn’t mean they are not worthy of our love and ministry.

Amy Carmichael was often criticized by fellow missionaries for starting an orphanage for the little girls who were oppressed by the practice of temple prostitution. They said, "What you are doing is not spiritual." Amy’s response was, "Souls are more or less attached to bodies."

Missiologist J. Herbert Kane, in his book, "Understanding Missions," talks about the love missionaries have for people, especially the people group to which God has called them. He states, "Nor was this love confined to a passion for souls. With the love of God poured into their hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5), they overflowed with love to others - not just their souls, but their bodies as well. They loved them as persons, not just as potential converts; and they tried to minister to the needs of the whole man: body, mind, and soul.

"The missionaries went where others would not go, and remained with the people they loved through famine, flood, plague, pestilence, and war. Often they endangered their own lives to save the lives of others. They may not have raised the dead; but they healed the sick, fed the poor, and clothed the naked. They cared for widows and orphans. They took in abandoned baby girls, fed, clothed, and educated them..."

As Christians, we are to care for people and minister to their needs. This is the command of Christ. By doing so, we are obeying God and are afforded the opportunity to share God’s way of salvation with many. Missionaries to the Preborn exists to do exactly that!

Preborn children are not an issue.

Preborn children are "oppressed," Isaiah 1:17&58:6.

Preborn children are "weak and needy," Psalm 82:4.

Preborn children are "the least of these," Matthew 25:40.

Preborn children are "your neighbor," Luke 10:25-37.

Since Christianity affirms the humanity of preborn children, and affirms that abortion is the murder of preborn children, don’t you think there should be a Christian mission devoted to their love and ministry?

Before the year 1990 however, there was not a single Christian mission in existence in America or the world which had targeted the preborn child as its people group. That all changed in September of 1990 when Missionaries to the Preborn was founded with 17 full-time missionaries.