Harmony Association ministry offers hope to women in crisis
- Jun 6, 2008 - comment
A new pregnancy can be stressful. When that pregnancy is also unplanned, it can add even more worry and stress. Debra Burchfield, director of the Hope Women’s Resource Center (HWRC), and her staff of volunteers want to be there to help.
“When the girls come in, they can be a little worried,” says Gail Perry, HWRC volunteer who has worked at the center since its inception in 2001. “We try to make them feel welcome, put them at ease.”
Most women who come to the center do so because HWRC offers free pregnancy testing. They range in age from 13-50 years of age though most are in their late teens and early 20s, according to Burchfield.
Last year, HWRC administered 659 pregnancy tests. As of mid-April, they’ve given 242 tests this year.
If the test is positive, volunteers encourage women to choose the life of their unborn child over an abortion.
“Statistics say that 81 percent of women who’ve had abortions in the last five years say they wouldn’t have had one if they’d had some support,” she says. “We want to be that support.”
Providing support to women is what HWRC is all about. In addition to free pregnancy testing and counseling, the center also holds classes on reproductive health, childbirth, post-natal care, newborn care and more.
The Women of Integrity (WOI) program meets every week. HWRC hopes to graduate its first class of nine WOI participants May 28. Those women will then “move up” to a class on single parenting.
Burchfield knows HWRC cannot be a substitute for the church. “We need to make the connection between these young ladies and the church,” she says.
Through the classes, Burchfield hopes to take every opportunity to teach the women about God. “We want to begin sharing God’s ways with them even when we are going over the physical aspects of reproductive health. We want to make every moment a teachable moment. You can take the Word of God and lay it over any situation.”
Burchfield wants to help the women build a moral standard in their lives. “In helping them choose life, we want to give them the tools to having an abundant life,” she says. “And the only way you can do that is by sharing God’s ways.”
Right now, HWRC is working with Focus on the Family to obtain an ultrasound machine. And the center is gearing up for its annual baby bottle offering for area churches.
Staff members distribute baby bottles to churches on Mother’s Day. Church members fill up the bottles with money and bring it back on Father’s Day. “Last year we raised $27,000,” says Burchfield. “This year we are hoping to top $30,000.”
HWRC will also hold a fund-raising banquet featuring testimonies, music and more Nov. 13.
Burchfield believes all Christians have a responsibility to become involved in a ministry like HWRC. “I believe the Lord puts us in a position where we have to look outside our own resources and we have to involve other Christians in what we are doing here.”
And becoming involved in a ministry like HWRC has many benefits for believers. “For us to be selfish and not involve as many Christians as we can, is counterproductive to Kingdom purposes,” she says.
Burchfield says more churches are becoming involved with the ministry. For women and children who visit HWRC in the years to come, that’s very good news indeed.
This article is reprinted from the May 15, 2008, issue of the Arkansas Baptist News, the newsjournal of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention.
Further Learning
Learn more about: Faith, Ministry, Family, Parenting, Singles, Life, Abortion