Ministry Leaders Rank Abortion No. 10 Issue To Address In Churches

Abortion is the 10th most important issue today’s churches must address, according to a LifeWay e-business survey of ministry leaders from around the world.

By Kenneth Chan, Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Abortion is the 10th most important issue today’s churches must address, according to a LifeWay e-business survey of ministry leaders from around the world. During a three-month online research project, more than 1,300 evangelical leaders from Europe, North America and elsewhere were asked to rank the issues most important to their churches.

“After 30 years of legalized abortion in America, it continues to be a critical topic for the church to address,” LifeWay reported.

Last November, LifeWay asked thousands of evangelical leaders from various regions to participate in a Web-based survey titled "The Top 10 Issues Facing Today’s Church." The survey did not offer issue choices or topic suggestions, so responses were individual to each participant. In December, e-business sent e-mail invitations to the survey’s initial respondents asking them to rank their top issues from the top 20 gathered during the first round of the survey.

According to LifeWay’s survey, ministry leaders contend abortion increasingly is viewed as just another form of birth control, even within the Christian community. With 42 million abortions in three decades, these leaders believe sanctity of life must be highlighted within the church to help Christians understand the magnitude of the problem, as well as a biblical response to it.

"The church must speak out with a stronger and unified voice on this horror,” one participant from Hawthorn Woods, Ill., wrote in his survey response. “Let's put aside differences and come together to help the formation of consciences that will see abortion for what it is: killing of the unborn...the weakest among us."

Comments from other participants are available with the survey results at www.lifeway.com/top10. The site includes a variety of resources including sermon illustrations, dramas, film clips, Scripture passages, articles, PowerPoint slides, devotionals, music, helpful links and other materials to assist ministries in dealing with each issue.

Every week beginning from yesterday with abortion, e-business will announce a ranked issue from the survey in descending order each Monday through April 11.

At the conclusion of the 10-week series, LifeWay will offer a free special report presenting all the issues and associated Scripture, information, resources and materials to help ministries address those issues. The report will be available for churches and individuals to download.