At JFA, we prize one-to-one conversations and the opportunity to help pro-life advocates develop skills for one-to-one conversations. What isn’t always obvious when you look at stories of those conversations is a different sort of story—what it took to bring those conversations into being.
Every semester, I look with pride at the list of high-quality events we’ve just completed across many states, awed by what JFA’s staff, volunteers, and supporters were together able to accomplish with God’s help. Spring 2016 was a good example, as you’ll see in this Impact Report highlighting our work across nine states, including 12 seminars, various presentations, and 16 days of outreach on nine campuses. Our passions for more conversations and more advocates animated and emanated from every one of these events.
Thank you for your generous gifts to JFA to help us continue to work to make abortion unthinkable. We’re honored to serve alongside you.
Georgia
(Jeremy Gorr, Rebecca Haschke, Jon Wagner, Joanna Wagner, CK Wisner)
- February 19: Interactive Seminar (Roswell)
- February 20: Interactive Seminars (Roswell, Athens)
- February 20: Interactive Workshop (Smyrna)
- February 21: Interactive Seminar (Kennesaw)
- February 22-23: Outreach at Kennesaw State Univ. (Kennesaw)
- February 24-25: Outreach at Univ. of Georgia (Athens)
February: Jon Wagner (center) teaches during a seminar preceding outreach at University of Georgia.
Bakersfield, California
(Catherine Wurts, serving Right to Life of Kern County with Mentors from Right to Life of Central California)
- March 5: Interactive Seminar
- March 7-8: Outreach at California State University, Bakersfield
“The JFA training and outreach in Bakersfield was outstanding. The civil discourse, the fact-based information, and the consistent effort to find common ground prompted numerous thoughtful discussions with students. Those who stopped by the display were fascinated by the pre-born imagery and seemed eager to share their views and listen to ours. Of all our pro-life efforts last year, the JFA outreach in Bakersfield was by far the most impactful.”
Stillwater, Oklahoma
(JFA Team)
- March 21-22: Outreach at Oklahoma State University
March: During outreach at Oklahoma State University (OSU), JFA Volunteer Carson Banks (who also helped invite JFA to campus through his work with the OSU student organization Cowboys for Life) interacts with other OSU students.
Fresno, California
(Catherine Wurts, with Mentors from Right to Life of Central California—RLCC)
- March 31: Interactive Workshop
- April 2: Interactive Seminar
- April 4: Outreach at Fresno City College
- April 5: Outreach at California State University, Fresno
Highlight: JFA/RLCC Mentor Marcos Espinoza led his interactive small group at the seminar in Fresno entirely in Spanish—a first for JFA.
Lawrence, Kansas
(Tammy Cook, Joanna Wagner, Steve Wagner, CK Wisner)
- March 29, 31 (and April 1): Multiple Workshops and Presentations (Two Groups of High School Students)
- April 1: Interactive Workshop (Kansas City, KS)
- April 2: Interactive Seminar
- April 3: Interactive Workshop
- April 4-5: Outreach at University of Kansas
April: Workshop Preceding Outreach at University of Kansas
Pastor Chris (above, left), who also attended the outreach event commented that the workshop was "so helpful and practical as an introduction for preparing believers to begin a loving conversation with those who are for abortion."
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
(Joanna Wagner, Steve Wagner, Former JFA Intern Holly Fugate)
- April 8: Interactive Seminar
- April 9: Interactive Seminar
Highlight: JFA equipped four Methodist ministers during these two seminars in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This is especially exciting as recent pro-life efforts in the Methodist General Conference are this year causing productive discussion about the Biblical call to protect unborn children and will likely continue to cause discussion in future years.
Wichita, Kansas
(Paul Kulas, Jeremy Wheeler, JFA Team)
- January 15-March 15: Design of Two New Exhibits
- March 1-April 10: Construction of Two New Exhibits
- March 31: Test of the Structure of the New Exhibits
Note: In addition to planning events and giving leadership to JFA, Paul Kulas and I led the JFA team in the design, construction, and structural testing that enabled us to display each of our new large-format exhibits for multiple days in April and May. Jeremy Wheeler and Jon Wagner worked many hours in the warehouse with Paul building signs. All of our training staff contributed ideas, gave feedback, and shouldered various day-to-day tasks for Paul so that the exhibits could be completed. You can learn more about funding the new exhibits at www.jfaweb.org/invest. Look for pictures of the new exhibits in a future letter, at www.facebook.com/trainthousands, or at www.jfaweb.org/blog.
Fort Collins, Colorado
(JFA Team)
- April 17: Interactive Seminar
- April 18-20: Outreach at Colorado State University
April: Catherine Wurts interacts with a student during outreach at Colorado State University using JFA's new "Stop and Think" Exhibit.
Los Angeles, California
(JFA Team)
- May 21-22: Interactive Seminars (Playa del Rey, UCLA)
- May 22: Interactive Workshop
- May 23, 25: Outreach at UCLA
Other Events and Locations
In addition to the events listed above, JFA trainers were present at Washington and San Francisco pro-life events in January (Evangelicals for Life Conference, March for Life, Walk for Life West Coast, West Coast National SFLA Conference) and throughout the semester, JFA trainers gave presentations in Sheboygan, Wisconsin (Jeremy Gorr), Valley Center, Kansas (Joanna Wagner), Wichita, Kansas (Tammy Cook), and Prescott, Washington (CK Wisner). Steve Wagner led an interactive seminar in Washington, D.C., and Rebecca Haschke led an interactive workshop in Norfolk, Nebraska.
Recent Unforgettable Conversations
At the heart of all of these events are unforgettable conversations in which we seek to change hearts and minds about abortion. Here are recent newsletters:
- Don't Debate - Dialogue! (Alex) - March 2016 - Catherine Wurts
- "You totally changed my perspective!" (Nina) - December 2015 - Jeremy Gorr
- "It Looks Like a Baby Alien" - February 2016 - CK Wisner
- I Hugged a Protester - January 2016 - CK Wisner
- Jamie - December 2015 - CK Wisner
- "#Mindblown" - November 2015 - Rebecca Haschke
Thank you for partnering with JFA as we create events that make it possible for more advocates to have more conversations. Your gifts are especially helpful during these summer months, as our team focuses on planning a full slate of events for the fall!
More Recent Praise for JFA
“JFA does a magnificent job forming students to be winsome and persuasive when engaging the culture on abortion. I deeply appreciate how they communicate truth with grace and I heartily recommend them.”
“JFA’s training and outreach helped make me the pro-life advocate I am today. I wholeheartedly recommend anyone interested in learning how to defend the unborn check out their program.”