Silence In The Pulpit And The Pew
January is Sanctity of Life month, a time Christians remember that every human life is sacred from conception to natural death. We mark it because Scripture calls us to defend the weak and honor the image of God in every person. This is not political theater but a spiritual duty rooted in God’s heart for the vulnerable.
As a CEO of a pro-life ministry and a woman who has lived adoption and foster care personally, I have walked alongside women, children, and families in crisis. I have stood at marches, volunteered at clinics, and sat in living rooms where hard choices were being made. Those encounters shape how I pray and press my church to act.
(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push(["_mgc.load"])})(window,"_mgq");Walking with Christian young people at national life events fills me with hope, but it also raises urgent questions. Why are so many Evangelical pastors quiet or hesitant to preach plainly about abortion? When the church goes silent, the world fills the void with lies about dignity and health.
I see clinic staff across the nation pouring out compassion to women facing unplanned pregnancies and wonder why more local congregations are not partnering with them. A healthy partnership would multiply care, provide practical support, and point women to gospel-centered help. The church should be the first community a frightened mother meets, not the last.
Too many students—some raised in church—accept the lie that abortion is merely healthcare. Recent polling shows a confusing mix of beliefs among young adults, with a sizable minority identifying as pro-life while millions of unborn lives have been lost in past decades. Numbers should compel us to action, not reassure us into silence.
Stories make statistics human, and one has stayed with me. At a church conference about fatherhood I met a high school junior who was a new father and a football player seeking guidance. A room full of older Christian men committed to walk with him and teach him what it means to honor life and parent well.
His mother told me the son begged his girlfriend not to abort and that, by God’s grace, she kept the baby. She came to the conference because she wanted support for him as a young father. That decision saved a life and rallied a small village of believers around a fragile family.
(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push(["_mgc.load"])})(window,"_mgq");What stunned me was that this young man was bullied by teammates for choosing life. Some boys boasted they had paid for abortions and mocked him for refusing to “just pay for the abortion.” The cruelty revealed how deeply the culture has perverted courage and responsibility.
In places where abortion rates are painfully high, the silence of nearby churches is deafening. When congregations shrink back from hard topics, the result is not civility but vacancy—young people learn their moral cues elsewhere. The pulpit’s silence has consequences that echo beyond Sunday.
I once offered to host the film “Unplanned” at a large youth night and to bring the lead actress for conversation free of charge. The invitation was declined, and that refusal haunts me because education and testimony reach hearts. Studies show fewer than half of regular churchgoers identify as pro-life, and very few sermons address abortion directly.
So what keeps pastors from preaching truth? Fear, division, and the pressure of declining attendance play a part. But pastors also need people who will pray, encourage, and stand beside them as they speak the gospel into painful realities.
If 15 young people chose abortion in one school because they never saw the truth presented, then the church failed to be a light at a decisive moment. We cannot outsource courage to culture or to politicians; the church is called to lead. That means teaching, supporting clinics, mentoring fathers, and coming alongside women with tangible help.
Christians must look inward and commit to defending life daily, not just in January. Pray for boldness, resource pregnancy centers, welcome story-bearing ministries into your community, and challenge your leaders lovingly to speak truth. When the church speaks and acts with gospel-driven compassion, hearts and lives will be changed for eternity.