For more than 25 years, Gabriel Network has served women and children in Maryland and Washington, D.C. We provide comprehensive, compassionate support to pregnant and parenting moms and their families.
Inspired by Christ’s love for us, we’ve created a network of community support to help those facing unexpected pregnancies.
Our Vision
Every vulnerable mother and child is embraced in Christ’s love and the care of his people.
Our Mission
Gabriel Network empowers a committed network of Christian churches to accompany pregnant mothers and families in need by providing practical, emotional, and spiritual support through pregnancy and beyond. It realizes this mission through three programs: a helpline, a church-based ministry, and a housing ministry.
History
In the early 1990s, a church community posted a sign offering support to pregnant women. They were soon inundated with phone calls.
A neighboring community “adopted” the idea and recruited a team of local Christian churches in their area, and thus, the idea of a “network” was born. Taking inspiration from the angel Gabriel, it was called the “Gabriel Project.”
At the same time, Maryland pro-lifers mobilized in an attempt to defeat what would have been the nation’s most liberal state abortion bill in that period. The law prevailed, but many pro-life volunteers began to organize and do what they could to help mothers locally.
In 1993, the “Pro-Life Maryland Education Foundation” (PLMEF) was founded as a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to building support for women facing unexpected pregnancies at the “grassroots” level. They chose the Gabriel Project model of church-based pregnancy support.
In the following years, many other Christian churches – Baptist, Evangelical, non-denominational, Catholic, United Methodist, and others – joined the Gabriel Project by forming volunteer teams, putting signs in front of their churches, or financially supporting the effort. These teams of “Angel Friends” have served thousands of women and children in Maryland and D.C. and continue to do so today.
Eventually, the consistent need for stable housing for pregnant mothers drove the Gabriel Project to obtain and maintain maternity homes throughout Maryland. Beginning in 1998 and continuing to the present, Gabriel Network has operated maternity homes in Bowie, Silver Spring, Annapolis, Baltimore, Ellicott City, and Gaithersburg. Hundreds of women and children have been lovingly served through these homes in the last twenty years.
In November of 2006, the Board of Directors officially adopted the trade name “Gabriel Network” to reflect the organization’s growth and unique position in the pro-life movement.