N.C. Baptist leaders gathered on Friday, July 19, at The Hope Center in downtown Boone to celebrate the dedication of a new ultrasound machine.
Among the attendees, Wesley Smith, director of missions for the Three Forks Baptist Association, pointed out how the pregnancy resource center’s machine was an answer to prayer.
In December, he and a group of pastors asked God for provision so The Hope Center could continue to help educate, support and empower women facing unexpected pregnancies in the region known as North Carolina’s High Country.
“That kind of kicked off what we’re doing today,” Smith said. “It began with asking God to provide, and I’m also very thankful for the partnership and collaboration that made it happen.”
The new ultrasound machine was funded through the generosity of Hope donors and the partnership between N.C. Baptists and the Psalm 139 Project, a pro-life ministry of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).
During the dedication, representatives from the Psalm 139 Project and N.C. Baptists prayed over The Hope Center and its new machine alongside Hope’s board and staff members.
Brian Upshaw, associate executive director-treasurer for N.C. Baptists, led the time of prayer, asking God to use the center not just as a voice for the unborn, but as a vision for them.
“[We pray] that those mothers and fathers would see, Lord, the life that you have created in the womb, and that they would be compelled to bring that life into the world,” Upshaw said.
Since its installment in April, the new ultrasound machine has already provided 42 free ultrasounds, giving dozens of women the opportunity to see their unborn child and choose life for them.
“We are just so grateful for this new machine,” said Bevin South, executive director of The Hope Center during an interview about the dedication on a local radio program. “Ultrasound machines are not cheap. They are a lot, a lot of money, so this was just a huge blessing to us.”
When South joined the team last year, The Hope Center’s existing ultrasound machine was at the end of its life, which is only about six years. With the much-needed replacement unit, Hope’s nurses can check to see how far along a woman is in her pregnancy, make sure the baby is intrauterine and look for a heartbeat.
The ultrasound unit marked the seventh placement at a North Carolina pregnancy resource center from the partnership between N.C. Baptists and the Psalm 139 Project since 2022. Earlier this year, an ultrasound machine was placed in Harrisburg as a result of N.C. Baptists’ generosity.
“For years, The Hope Center has been on the front lines ministering to anxious mothers and fathers who find themselves confronting an unplanned pregnancy,” said attendee Miles Mullin, vice president and chief of staff for the ERLC. “We know that that work is needed more now than ever, and so the ERLC is thrilled to partner with The Hope Center and North Carolina Baptists to place this ultrasound machine. We pray this machine will help save many more preborn lives and minister to many more families in the years to come.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Beginning Aug. 1, N.C. Baptists will launch a survey for partnering churches across the state to determine the services and resources they offer to assist expecting parents in difficult circumstances. The provided information will be used to facilitate deeper collaboration between churches and pregnancy resource centers as they minister to their communities.)
