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Bridget Sielicki
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God called him to start a ministry that's 'equipping the church to defend life'
For more than 43 years, Raul Reyes has worked to save babies from abortions — and he says that the church is the global network that can make the most profound impact on the fight against abortion.
Raul Reyes believes the church can transform the fight against abortion on a global scale.
To help accomplish this, Reyes' ministry (Life Equip Global/Choose Life Global) educates pastors and Christian leaders worldwide to establish and multiply life-giving ministries that defend preborn human life, strengthen families, proclaim the Gospel, and restore a biblical culture of life.
Reyes believes the church can change hearts and minds on abortion, and also reach out to minister to women who need healing from past abortions.
Reyes' passion for promoting life has involved leading and planting pregnancy resource centers across the country and the world. Currently, he leads Life Equip Global (soon to be renamed Choose Life Global) where he continues his international work awakening the church to the global abortion crisis.
Reyes told Live Action News:
“In many countries, the church has a strong influence on its communities, but it has been largely silent on the abortion issue. Globally there are just 1600 pregnancy resource centers concentrated mainly in Canada, England and Australia. We need to tap into the infrastructure that’s already there by providing the knowledge and tools to help stop the genocide of unborn children.”
Reyes was called by God to the pro-life movement while working in Florida managing a Christian bookstore. There, he read a book by Frances Schaeffer, founder of the evangelical Christian pro-life movement.
Reyes said:
“That’s when I learned that 90% of abortions are performed at 10-12 weeks gestation. My wife was 10 weeks pregnant with our first child at the time. The correlation prompted me to call out to the Lord, apologizing for not doing enough to save babies. I asked him to direct me where I needed to go.”
Not long afterward, Reyes and his wife were invited to join a steering committee by friends launching a pregnancy support ministry in Florida.
“I served on the committee for two years," Reyes said, "then shortly thereafter was asked to serve as president where I remained for 14 years before transitioning to international pro-life ministry at Life International in Michigan.”
There, he was tasked with planting pregnancy support centers worldwide. When finances became tight, Reyes moved to Colorado, working with Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, as representative to the Hispanic community. Later, he served as president at what once was the largest pregnancy support center in the country: Choices Pregnancy Centers of Greater Phoenix.
“After five years, it was time to prepare the ministry for new leadership,” Reyes said. “God has blessed me with the unique ability to recognize entrepreneurial Christian pro-life leaders, like Marc Burmich, who has such a heart for God. I tapped him as my successor at Choices Pregnancy Centers in Phoenix. His business acumen has expanded the vision of the centers.”
Leading Choices, along with his experience in instituting pregnancy support centers globally, readied Reyes for his current venture as founder of Life Equip Global. Its mission has distinctive challenges and opportunities which he has met with technology.
At the core of Life Equip Global’s curriculum is a clear mission: to equip pastors and Christian leaders worldwide to establish and multiply life-giving ministries that defend preborn human life, strengthen families, proclaim the Gospel, and restore a biblical culture of life.
Training prepares the Church to prevent unplanned pregnancies, support women and families facing pregnancy decisions, and bring healing to those wounded by abortion.
Reyes noted:
“We’ve developed an online educational curriculum under the umbrella of Global Life Academy so pastors anywhere can access the tools and resources needed to advance life in their communities.”
But, noted Reyes, the Church also has an important role to play in guiding hurting women to Christ and teaching them about his mercy:
“Given that there’s 73 million abortions per year around the world, there’s an alarming number of women who are suffering.
Through the Church these women can find healing and redemption. We’re all wounded people in some form, but Jesus paid the ultimate price, so we don’t have to live in shame.”
While Reyes recognizes the importance of leveraging laws to reduce abortions, he notes that in some countries where abortion is illegal, rates are still high.
Reyes believes:
“You must change hearts and minds to eradicate abortion. The Church transcends language, cultures and economic conditions. Using the power of the Holy Spirit is critical to promote the dignity of life in a way no legislation can.”
He points to “The African Awakening” — a book he authored — which speaks of a strategy of starting in one small place to help multiply the message.
“In our Global Life Academy training we use Live Action videos to help educate through powerful messaging and imagery,” Reyes said.
Reyes has seen firsthand the success of his program. Life Equip Global has trained over 500 pastors around the world. He recalls that in India where he was training 30 pastors who led 10,000 churches, he was told by one of the pastors that a couple had come to him the previous week for counseling regarding continuing an unexpected pregnancy. He had advised them to have an abortion.
“During a break in our training, he got on a phone call and came back to tell me I had saved one baby,” Reyes said. “Once he learned the truth, he no longer supported the couple having the abortion and called to tell them not to do so.”
Another pastor in Kenya, Africa, shared his testimony to tell how he, too, had been changed through Life Equip Global which had equipped him to train 1,000 pastors and save 50 babies:
“Life Equip Global didn’t just train me. It changed how I see every life. I came in as a pastor with a heart for my community, but I had never fully seen the battle for life as my battle. That training shifted something deep in me. I stopped being a pastor who agreed with the pro-life message and became a radical advocate and defender of life, unwilling to stay silent while lives are lost.”
For this ardent defender of life, the mission continues.
“I plan to travel soon to Kenya for in-person training," Reyes said. “Until the Lord returns, we will keep equipping the Church to defend life, strengthen families, and bring the hope of the Gospel to the world.”
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
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·God called him to start a ministry that's 'equipping the church to defend life'
For more than 43 years, Raul Reyes has worked to save babies from abortions — and he says that the church is the global network that can make the most profound impact on the fight against abortion.
Raul Reyes believes the church can transform the fight against abortion on a global scale.
To help accomplish this, Reyes' ministry (Life Equip Global/Choose Life Global) educates pastors and Christian leaders worldwide to establish and multiply life-giving ministries that defend preborn human life, strengthen families, proclaim the Gospel, and restore a biblical culture of life.
Reyes believes the church can change hearts and minds on abortion, and also reach out to minister to women who need healing from past abortions.
Reyes' passion for promoting life has involved leading and planting pregnancy resource centers across the country and the world. Currently, he leads Life Equip Global (soon to be renamed Choose Life Global) where he continues his international work awakening the church to the global abortion crisis.
Reyes told Live Action News:
“In many countries, the church has a strong influence on its communities, but it has been largely silent on the abortion issue. Globally there are just 1600 pregnancy resource centers concentrated mainly in Canada, England and Australia. We need to tap into the infrastructure that’s already there by providing the knowledge and tools to help stop the genocide of unborn children.”
Reyes was called by God to the pro-life movement while working in Florida managing a Christian bookstore. There, he read a book by Frances Schaeffer, founder of the evangelical Christian pro-life movement.
Reyes said:
“That’s when I learned that 90% of abortions are performed at 10-12 weeks gestation. My wife was 10 weeks pregnant with our first child at the time. The correlation prompted me to call out to the Lord, apologizing for not doing enough to save babies. I asked him to direct me where I needed to go.”
Not long afterward, Reyes and his wife were invited to join a steering committee by friends launching a pregnancy support ministry in Florida.
“I served on the committee for two years," Reyes said, "then shortly thereafter was asked to serve as president where I remained for 14 years before transitioning to international pro-life ministry at Life International in Michigan.”
There, he was tasked with planting pregnancy support centers worldwide. When finances became tight, Reyes moved to Colorado, working with Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, as representative to the Hispanic community. Later, he served as president at what once was the largest pregnancy support center in the country: Choices Pregnancy Centers of Greater Phoenix.
“After five years, it was time to prepare the ministry for new leadership,” Reyes said. “God has blessed me with the unique ability to recognize entrepreneurial Christian pro-life leaders, like Marc Burmich, who has such a heart for God. I tapped him as my successor at Choices Pregnancy Centers in Phoenix. His business acumen has expanded the vision of the centers.”
Leading Choices, along with his experience in instituting pregnancy support centers globally, readied Reyes for his current venture as founder of Life Equip Global. Its mission has distinctive challenges and opportunities which he has met with technology.
At the core of Life Equip Global’s curriculum is a clear mission: to equip pastors and Christian leaders worldwide to establish and multiply life-giving ministries that defend preborn human life, strengthen families, proclaim the Gospel, and restore a biblical culture of life.
Training prepares the Church to prevent unplanned pregnancies, support women and families facing pregnancy decisions, and bring healing to those wounded by abortion.
Reyes noted:
“We’ve developed an online educational curriculum under the umbrella of Global Life Academy so pastors anywhere can access the tools and resources needed to advance life in their communities.”
But, noted Reyes, the Church also has an important role to play in guiding hurting women to Christ and teaching them about his mercy:
“Given that there’s 73 million abortions per year around the world, there’s an alarming number of women who are suffering.
Through the Church these women can find healing and redemption. We’re all wounded people in some form, but Jesus paid the ultimate price, so we don’t have to live in shame.”
While Reyes recognizes the importance of leveraging laws to reduce abortions, he notes that in some countries where abortion is illegal, rates are still high.
Reyes believes:
“You must change hearts and minds to eradicate abortion. The Church transcends language, cultures and economic conditions. Using the power of the Holy Spirit is critical to promote the dignity of life in a way no legislation can.”
He points to “The African Awakening” — a book he authored — which speaks of a strategy of starting in one small place to help multiply the message.
“In our Global Life Academy training we use Live Action videos to help educate through powerful messaging and imagery,” Reyes said.
Reyes has seen firsthand the success of his program. Life Equip Global has trained over 500 pastors around the world. He recalls that in India where he was training 30 pastors who led 10,000 churches, he was told by one of the pastors that a couple had come to him the previous week for counseling regarding continuing an unexpected pregnancy. He had advised them to have an abortion.
“During a break in our training, he got on a phone call and came back to tell me I had saved one baby,” Reyes said. “Once he learned the truth, he no longer supported the couple having the abortion and called to tell them not to do so.”
Another pastor in Kenya, Africa, shared his testimony to tell how he, too, had been changed through Life Equip Global which had equipped him to train 1,000 pastors and save 50 babies:
“Life Equip Global didn’t just train me. It changed how I see every life. I came in as a pastor with a heart for my community, but I had never fully seen the battle for life as my battle. That training shifted something deep in me. I stopped being a pastor who agreed with the pro-life message and became a radical advocate and defender of life, unwilling to stay silent while lives are lost.”
For this ardent defender of life, the mission continues.
“I plan to travel soon to Kenya for in-person training," Reyes said. “Until the Lord returns, we will keep equipping the Church to defend life, strengthen families, and bring the hope of the Gospel to the world.”
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
Bridget Sielicki
·Human Interest
Nancy Flanders
·Guest Column
Kim Hayes
·Human Interest
Right to Life UK
·Human Interest
Bridget Sielicki
·Human Interest
Angeline Tan
·Human Interest
Lisa Bast
·Human Interest
Lisa Bast
·Activism
Lisa Bast
·Human Interest
Lisa Bast
·Human Interest
Lisa Bast
·