Often, women facing unexpected pregnancies are met with scorn and judgment from those around them. With the doubts of others in their minds, they may not fully realize all they can be as moms and daughters of Christ.
Your church can play a crucial role in providing love and community to pregnant and parenting moms. As a partner church, your pro-life ministry or volunteer group will serve these women and their families.
Together, we can show moms and babies the love of Christ.
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” – Galatians 6:2
The Impact of an Angel Friend Team
When a woman contacts Gabriel Network through our helpline, we identify her most significant needs and the support our Angel Friends can provide. Our Angel Friend Teams are trained volunteers from local churches who help women through their pregnancies and beyond.
If your church is interested in supporting women and their families through a pro-life ministry, this is an excellent opportunity to make a big impact in your community. Sometimes, women feel excluded from church settings because of their pregnancies. They worry that they’ll be judged.
We must meet these women where they are. In doing so, we are the hands and feet of Christ.
An Angel Friend Team is a group of volunteers from your church who pledge to meet these women in love.
Our eligibility requirements ensure we represent a unified front of committed men and women. Our churches must adhere to the following criteria:
- Must be Christian
- Must state and adhere to pro-life beliefs—life must be affirmed as beginning at conception
- Must affirm that belief in Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation
- Must be located in Maryland or Washington, D.C.
- Pastor of the church must sign an agreement and be open to serving women with volunteers from the church
Statement of Principles
All those (staff, volunteers, partner agencies) who serve as part of Gabriel Network embrace these principles or agree to uphold and promote them in our response to those we serve.
Faith: We acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord. Our loving service is inspired by His witness and teaching.
Ecumenism: We value Christian unity and work to achieve it by embracing a common mission, despite doctrinal differences.
Evangelism: We are dedicated to demonstrating and proclaiming the saving love of Jesus Christ through the witness of our lives and our actions.
Religious Freedom: We lovingly serve women who practice any religion or no religion.
Witness: We embrace a charitable spirit of invitation, and we reject any effort to proselytize or force our beliefs on anyone.
Respect: We recognize the great dignity of each person we serve and those with whom we serve.
Diversity: We see ethnic and cultural heritage as a gift to be celebrated.
Transparency: We acknowledge the need for complete honesty between those who serve and those who are served.
Confidentiality: We take great care when entrusted with sensitive information.
Quality of Service: We respond with a timeliness and care that shows our great respect for those we serve and those with whom we partner.
Stewardship: We trust in the generosity of our donors, and we are trustworthy and prudent in creatively putting their gifts to the service of others.
Motherhood: We uphold that motherhood within marriage is the ideal, and we acknowledge that single motherhood is often a valiant response to monumental challenges and deserving of our great respect.
Adoption: We recognize that adoption is a heroic and selfless gift from a mother to her child. As adopted children of our Heavenly Father, we are committed to sharing the benefits and joys of adoption with all we encounter.
Sexual Purity: We treasure the gift of sexual intimacy and consider its rightful place in marriage between husband and wife. We revere marital unity as our Lord’s beautiful way of sharing His creative power with all humanity. We do not embrace a contraceptive approach when offering care and guidance.
The Gift of Human Life: We rejoice in the gift of each child from his or her very beginnings. Abortion destroys that child and wounds the mother, father, and family. Our goal is to make abortion wholly unthinkable.
Forgiveness: We believe in a forgiving God and we bring that spirit of forgiveness to all our relationships. We acknowledge our need for forgiveness when we fail.
Hope: We trust in God’s providence and acknowledge that each new day provides a chance for a new beginning.
What You Offer
Each Angel Friend Team should have at least one coordinator who acts as a point of contact for Gabriel Network and coordinates services offered to women. When your church partners with us and creates an Angel Friend Team, you will provide church-based ministry services to women. These can look like:
- Practical support: Helping women find clothing, baby supplies, and more
- Emotional support: Listening to women, encouraging them, and helping them find jobs, insurance, daycare, support groups, and more
- Spiritual support: Helping women develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and deepen their faith (please note that women do not have to be religious to receive services through Gabriel Network’s partners)
How We Help You
Creating an Angel Friend Team within your church community extends a lifeline to women facing unexpected pregnancies and reminds them that they are loved.
When you partner with Gabriel Network, you won’t be alone. We’ll help you with every step of the process. Our staff members provide continuous instruction, child protection training, and background checks. We’re always available to address questions and concerns, and your designated coordinator will communicate regularly with us.
We are stronger when we come together. To start the application process, please complete our volunteer sign-up form.
If you have general questions about Gabriel Network, we’d love to answer them. Please use our contact form to connect with us.