For the last 12 weeks, the Lounge has been a place of connection and community for three young, expectant mothers and their four leaders. These women started as strangers, but found a unique bond through their shared experience as young moms. We have shared meals together, talked about essential baby items these expectant mothers might need, and talked about how God impacts our lives on a daily basis. We were able to dive into topics of forgiveness, redemption, trusting in the Lord, and breaking the chains of sin.
“Thank you so much for allowing Embrace Grace to be started here at Northminster! We have grown such a strong group of women and have learned so much about ourselves, our faith, and our future. We will be forever thankful!”
- Jessica
I first learned about Embrace Grace two years ago as I was listening to a podcast. The founder of Embrace Grace, Amy Ford, shared about how she experienced an unplanned pregnancy at 18 and felt too ashamed to continue to go to church. She chose to raise her son and married the father. A few years later they came back to the church and Amy felt a call to start a ministry she wished she could have been a part of when she was single + pregnant. She started Embrace Grace with a small group of women in her church and eventually wrote a curriculum that has now expanded across the nation. There are now 850 churches with Embrace Grace groups in all 50 states. Embrace Grace’s goal is to equip churches to come alongside single + pregnant women. It is a 12-week Biblically-based study that teaches women about the Gospel, invites them into the local church, and connects them with women who are in similar situations of experiencing an unplanned pregnancy. PLUS we throw them a Baby Shower!
We have just wrapped up our first semester of Embrace Grace. We had three girls complete the program, two of whom gave their life to the Lord, and one has attended our Modern Worship service. Our amazing Northminster family has supported this ministry through bringing meals for our Thursday night meetings, donating gently used baby and maternity items, decorating for the Baby Shower, buying gifts for the girls, and praying for changed lives! THANK YOU for all of your support and prayer.
The 2nd Mile Offering in the month of May will go towards Embrace Grace to help fund curriculum, baby shower items, and special gifts for these mamas. As we look towards the future, we hope to be able to oDer more Embrace Grace groups to more expectant mothers while also inviting the current mothers into our church home. If you would like to partner with this ministry, please get in touch with Rachel Steel at rsteel@northminsterchurch.org
“Thank you so much for allowing Embrace Grace to be a part of your church. Being in this group has really made me realize that I made the right decision to keep my baby. I am so excited to be a mom! Embrace Grace saved me and my baby’s life.”
- Raegan