The Psalm 139 Project, which donates ultrasound machines to pregnancy centers and is one of several Southern Baptist ministries participating in Giving Tuesday, can rescue expectant mothers as well as the unborn, a program participant said.
Barb Gosa, executive director of the Citrus Pregnancy Center in Inverness, Fla., told Psalm 139 Project organizer the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of an expectant mother whose ultrasound might very well have saved her life. The mother visited the pregnancy center when a technician was training nurses in the proper use of the machine shortly after it was donated.
The trainer told Gosa, “This baby she is considering aborting may have very well saved her life,” Gosa said. “In the end, we recommended she get to her doctor’s office, gave her copies of her scans and explained it was important to do it right away.
“But had we not received the blessing of the (ultrasound) machine, and had (the trainer) not been here on the very day she came in, we believe the outcome could have been very different.”
Giving Tuesday, a global charitable giving movement birthed in 2012, includes opportunities to support several Southern Baptist entities and related ministries, oftentimes with donations increased through matching gift allotments.
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) is offering an unspecified match to Giving Tuesday donations to For the Mission, with a goal of receiving gifts from 500 Great Commission givers. For the Mission is SEBTS’s four-year fundraising campaign to raise $20.5 million for student aid endowments, academic faculty endowments, campus construction and renovation and the Southeastern Fund.
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) is seeking to raise $250,000 on Giving Tuesday for its Providence Fund, which helps students prepare for full time ministry. The NOBTS Foundation Board has pledged $100,000 on the day, marketed at nobts.edu as NOBTS and Leavell College’s Giving Day, and is challenging donors to collectively match the gift.
Among the most generous matching gifts is the $500,000 to match donations to the Mission:Dignity benevolence ministry of GuideStone Financial Resources. A Mission:Dignity endowment covers all administrative and overhead costs, allowing 100% of gifts to go directly to retired Southern Baptist workers, ministers and widows near the poverty line, GuideStone said.
“We would encourage anyone interested in giving this year to consider multiplying the effectiveness of their gift by giving it on Tuesday, Nov. 30,” GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins said.
SEND Relief through the North American Mission Board is seeking to provide 1,000 food boxes to Afghan refugees through GivingTuesday. The goal of $30,000 will help the group as they care for refugees across the United States and also in Central and South Asia.
The Psalm 139 Project is accepting donations at erlc.com/50by50 to support ERLC’s goal to place 50 ultrasound machines at centers by the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade in January, 2023. Already, ERLC is on track to place 25 machines by the end of 2021, Psalm 139 placement manager Rachel Wiles said.
“When you partner with the Psalm 139 Project, 100% of your gift goes directly to placing ultrasound machines. All of our admin costs are covered by the ongoing generosity of Southern Baptists through the Cooperative Program,” Wiles said. “That’s what makes us unique, and that’s why partnering with us will make a real, tangible difference.”
Among other outreaches, J.D. Greear ministries is seeking to raise $60,000 to support ministry in an undisclosed location to Afghans. The ministry will provide matching funds up to $30,000, Greear announced Nov. 28, and a copy of Greear’s discussion guide “Be the Movement.” Donations will support a training facility, housing for local ministry leaders, language education support, a medical project for pregnant Afghan women and other outreaches.
(EDITOR’S NOTE – Diana Chandler is Baptist Press’ senior writer.)
