Columns
The Niles Pregnancy Care Center provides life choices and offers hope to individuals facing pregnancy related issues. Located in downtown Niles, MI, the center offers pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, counseling services, post-abortion support as well as other pregnancy related services facing young women today.
The following excerpt was taken from a recent fund raising banquet benefiting the Niles Pregnancy Care Center. John Lohr, who was the Executive Director of Niles PCC at that time, illustrates a recent visit with an abortion-minded client who they call Georgia.
“She saw the baby, it’s about seventeen weeks!” the client services director, described the outcome of the ultrasound, “the little baby’s waving at her while they did the ultrasound. It broke Georgia’s heart, it broke the counselors heart”.
John recalls his conversation with Georgia, an abortion minded client. “Following the ultrasound, I asked her, ‘Georgia how are you doing?’
‘Not good, John,’ Georgia replied.
‘Well listen, you need to know that no matter what you do, we’re here for you. We’re gonna talk to you. You can come back, no matter what you decide, you come back and talk to us,” John pleaded.
John encourages the attendees of the banquet, “You see, we could tell this girl she’s doing the wrong thing; and beat on her, alienate her and make her feel worse than she already did about the choice she was making. We’ve got to keep the relationship with her because it’s all we’ve got. If we save the baby and lose the mom, then we’ve really lost the baby too; but, if we can save the relationship with the mother, then there is hope.
We prayed for weeks, tried to make contact and prayed, and prayed. Finally after four months of silence we figured being embarrassed of having the abortion, she couldn’t stand seeing us.
We wouldn’t see her again. And then, last week she came in to visit us. She had decided to keep the baby. She was delivering the next week.
You see that’s what it is all about.
All we can be at the center is vehicles at His will. We don’t know how to counsel these ladies in our own wisdom but God does. I thank God that on that day, four months ago, God talked to Georgia and that baby was saved”.
Georgia represents a typical client of the Niles Pregnancy Care Center. A client who was pregnant, being led by fear and confusion that needed someone to show her hope, a solution to her crisis.
This is the primary goal of the Niles Pregnancy Care Center (PCC). With a mission to help women and their families who are facing pregnancy related issues, by informing them of life-affirming choices, and offering hope through Jesus Christ. The center offers free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, peer counseling services, post-abortion support and other practical, emotional and spiritual help to empower women and men facing pregnancy related concerns.
The vision of the Niles PCC began with Kevin Tonkin a resident of Niles. He began planning a shepherding home for pregnant women. While pursing that ministry, it was evident that the plan God had was greater. Kevin realized that the women were having abortions not because they wanted to, but because they lacked the support necessary to care for their babies. So as an alternative to the Michiana Abortion Clinic, which has existed in Niles since 1981, the Pregnancy Care Center opened its doors in the fall of 1985. In 1993 the Niles PCC joined with CareNet®, a Christian ministry assisting and promoting the evangelistic, pro-life work of pregnancy centers in North America.
For twelve years the Niles PCC was an all-volunteer ministry. Just recently the ministry added paid staff positions including the Executive Director position, a Client Services Director, and an administrative office position.
The ministry is a nonprofit 501(c)-3 business that is supported by individuals, businesses and churches in the local area. The annual budget for the center is $157,000. According to the Niles PCC Board Chairman, Jennifer Layman-Young, it is the centers’ desire to see the ministry supported by more churches and further promoting the Gospel. “With as many churches in the area, we would like to see this basis grow and have this be a church based ministry. Only a handful of the churches in the area support us. Considering how many churches we have in the area, the ratio is only 1-2% of the churches that support us”, says Jennifer.
Tammi Umbenhaur, Interim Executive Director of the Niles PCC acknowledges that the donor base has been much more difficult in the past two or three years do to issues such as gas price increases and stresses on the economy. She shares her concern of meeting the financial needs of an office while meeting client service needs. “It’s a catch-22,” says Tammi. “How can you grow something and compete against abortions? You know it’s legal and you know there is a place to do it, yet we need to let the community know that we’re here. And what we are trying to defeat, is the mindset that, (abortion) is acceptable, it is an alternative. We want to make it known that life is a positive choice. If you can’t get the word out, people just don’t know. You have to constantly be out there to let people know that there is an alternative, you can choose life”, says Tammi.
Tammi describes their client base as young women and teenagers ages 17-25. Some of them are abortion-minded, noting that the abortion minded clients seems to have increased in recent months. “That is the client that we really want to focus on, helping her to sort it all out and educate her.”
“Most clients do want to keep their baby. Those who are more ambivalent and unsure, a lot of times, just after talking with a counselor, realize that there is someone else who cares and someone who can help them through it. It is enough to help them through the pressure, they have and realize that they can do this after all”, says Tammi.
The 2005 client statistics for the center shows that out of 10 who were abortion minded, 3 were documented as choosing life and 7 remained as outcome unknown. However, when it comes to sharing the Gospel, it was presented to 354 clients, of which 100 were believed to be saved with 17 of those accepted Christ in the office at the center.
A potential client at the center would expect an intake counseling appointment determining the client needs and how the center can meet those needs. Walk-in clients are encouraged to make an appointment unless they are abortion-minded, then they are worked in immediately. Along with the assessment the center attempts to determine where they are spiritually. “ The foundation of our ministry is the Gospel of Jesus. That is the main thing we want to give our clients, it’s our gift to them.” Says Tammi. “We have very few who say they don’t want to hear it”. The center does offer Bible Studies at the center but the goal is to get the client connected and involved in a local church body.
If the client has a positive test and chooses to keep the baby and raise it, then the client is introduced in the Earn While You Learn program. She with the counselor chooses which classes are best for her and the enrollment into those classes begins.
Initiated in March of 2005 the Earn While You Learn (EWYL) program helps clients earn provisions for their prenatal care and the baby by learning how to care for themselves and the baby. Meeting with their counselor weekly, this program helps build relationships with the clients’ as well as learning how to better take care of the baby and their own emotional, physical and spiritual needs. As the clients’ complete various classes they earn coupons that can be redeemed for clothing or other needs from The Boutique within the center. Clients are also rewarded for making positive choices and for volunteering in the community.
Working with the local schools has been very good in helping schools keep the mandate from the state of Michigan, that schools are required to teach abstinence. The Niles PCC has been able to speak within the schools and present a video with Pam Stenzel a nationally known speaker on abstinence and STD’s. According to Lisa, the program has been very successful, “It has been received very well, the kids have been very receptive of it. In fact, one of the students actually asked their teacher, why haven’t we been told this before, this is something we needed to hear about”.
Volunteerism is a huge part of the center. Currently the center has 25-30 volunteers. With limited hours it has been a concern over the years as to how many potential clients are being missed. Ideally it would take 40 volunteers to have the center open full-time. Some of the needs that volunteers could fulfill would be to manage the hotline that is now currently staffed only 2 evening per week, organizing and operating The Boutique, church visitations, school visitations as well as assisting at the center with clients. With the help of CareNet®, the center does offer thorough training for counseling and other areas of the ministry.
In looking to the future of the ministry, Tammi unquestionably states that “we want to be focused where God wants us to be, and offer to the community exactly what He wants us to offer. In the next year we will continue to stay prayerfully before the Lord as a ministry.”
Being aware of the number of abortions in Berrien County (705 in 2004), Tammi feels that receiving abortion minded clients is a need that the Niles PCC is not meeting properly. Making the community more aware of the Niles PCC is one way of bringing those abortion minded clients to the doors. “Streamlining the ministry and filling that need would be our focus in the future”, says Tammi.
There are a few events that are instrumental to the success of the ministry. One of those is the annual prayer summit that takes place the first two business days of the year. The center closes its doors and members of the community, donors as well as church pastors come in and pray for the ministry. This summit has been increasingly effective over the past two years.
The Annual Banquet has also been quite helpful in raising funds for the center. Each year individuals, businesses and churches sponsor tables to help raise funds. It’s also an ideal opportunity to share in length about the ministry and create new relationships in the community. The next banquet will take place October 24th, 2006. The Keynote speaker will be Mary Verwys. Mary is a sidewalk counselor in Grand Rapids who ministers to women who are considering abortion or who have had an abortion.
Another event takes place the Saturday before Fathers Day each year. The Annual LifeWalk raises funds for the center. Sponsored walkers gather at the Niles Amphitheater and take a two-mile walk to raise support for the ministry. Sponsor packets are available through local churches. If you would like to be a coordinator for your church to help raise funds for the LifeWalk or obtain a packet, contact the Niles Pregnancy Care Center at 269-684-1896.
The LifeWalk this year will take place on Saturday, June 17th. At 8:30 a.m. The theme for this years walk is Psalm 139:13-16. “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in that secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Individuals and churches are encouraged to support the Niles Pregnancy Care Center either prayerfully, financially or through volunteerism. The center has an email prayer list that keeps its members updated on clients and encourages those to be prayer warriors on behalf of the client. The clients’ names are held in confidence in that each client is given a pseudo name to protect their privacy.
More information about the Niles Pregnancy Care Center, the LifeWalk or to volunteer is available by calling the business phone at 269-684-1896. Individuals who need crisis assistance can call the 24-hour hotline at 269-684-6200. The Care Center is located at 1011 Broadway, Suite 2 in Niles, MI. Current hours of the center are Mondays 6-9 p.m., Monday – Wednesday 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., Thursdays 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. and Fridays The Boutique is open 10:00 - 2:00 p.m.