When church leaders asked Lorraine Meyer to mentor a young, single pregnant woman, she responded with excitement. “That experience was a gift,” says Lorraine. “God told me He’d later give me a ministry to pregnant women.”
That ministry turned out to be a new team launch for Birthmothers. Lorraine (an adoptive parent) and her family moved to Colorado a couple of years ago and joined Timberline Church, a 5,000+ member congregation in Fort Collins. One Sunday, Lorraine noticed a display for Timberline’s orphan care ministry and asked if anyone was ministering to birth moms. “We’re praying for someone to take on that ministry,” the volunteer answered. That’s when Lorraine remembered God’s promise so many years earlier.
She found Birthmothers online and discovered that the ministry serves pregnant women one-on-one, so similar to the way she’d ministered to that young birth mom years before. God’s call had come full circle.
Lorraine traveled to Virginia for Birthmothers Friends Certification Training, returned home, introduced the ministry to Timberline’s leadership, and enlisted their 100% support to launch a Birthmothers Team. Soon, she trained 25 new Friends at Timberline. They now form the nucleus of the new Timberline Church Team, and 25 more have expressed interest in training.
Team members are putting together a local resource manual and planning their strategy to reach local pregnant women. “One-on-one mentoring in a friendship format outside the four walls of an organization is a whole new concept here,” says Lorraine. She’s meeting with adoption agencies and local pregnancy care centers, communicating how Birthmothers’ services are distinctive and complementary to what they offer, and explaining how organizations can partner with Birthmothers to help women who face an unplanned pregnancy.
“God went before to prepare us for this team launch,” says Lorraine. “I’m excited to be a part of what He’s doing through Birthmothers.”