By Kirk Walden
Editor’s note. This is excerpted from a post at Pregnancy Help News.
Whenever circumstances change, those with a larger vision adapt. They re-imagine. In short, while they may be surprised at times, they are never caught off-guard. They remember the vision and ask, “Based on this new situation, how do we succeed?”
The pregnancy help community has adapted and re-imagined for nearly 50 years. One salient example? In the 1980s and into the early 90s, our best avenue to reach prospective clients was a free, high-efficacy pregnancy test–better than those found in retail outlets.
But if we believed then we were in the “Pregnancy Test” business, we would have been forced to shutter our doors the moment those same pregnancy tests showed up on drugstore shelves.
We adapted. We now offer ultrasound. STI testing. Prenatal care. Oh, and parenting classes, mentoring, Bible studies, educational support, job training. And let’s remember all the material needs we meet as well.
The truth? Though it is not (yet) an industry-wide mantra, we are in the Hope Business. Perhaps our vision should be, “Our goal is to be the worldwide leader in hope.”
We understand that those who come in our door—whether they realize it—are desperately seeking hope in a challenging situation.
Our vision—through various delivery methods—is to provide hope so she (and perhaps he) is empowered to choose life.
Hope comes with a smile. It comes with encouragement. It comes with providing resources and solid, straight answers to tough questions. And it comes by sticking close to someone (with proper social distancing, of course) when others walk away.
Whatever our list of services, wherever we serve, regardless of our budget, we are in the Hope business. Let’s stay in business, becoming the best at what we do.
Will pregnancy help organizations one day be viewed as “The Worldwide Leader of Hope?” I don’t know, but it’s a vision worth considering.
Hope, after all, springs eternal.