After nine long months of God’s reforming work in us, PPL has a new name, a new mission, and defined core values: Presbyterians Protecting Life
Names have meaning
There are many biblical examples of times when God gave an individual a new name at a critical turning point in their journey with God: Abram became Abraham when God made a covenant with him to give him offspring and land. Simon became Peter when he received a new mission from God to feed God’s lambs and become a fisher of men. Saul became Paul when he turned away from persecuting Jesus and his followers and became a follower of Jesus himself.
PPL’s Board of Directors deliberated carefully before changing our name.
We believe God is calling us to a multi-faceted ministry championing all of human life. For most in our culture the term ‘pro-life’ is tied solely to a position and a stand against abortion and while PPL has always valued human life at every stage and continues to stand against abortion and for the protection of the most vulnerable among us, our name causes many to assume we are a “one issue” ministry.
We are seeking as an organization to adjust to a more active and relational mode of equipping the church to champion life. We have always been and are still more than people of a particular position. We are people of active love, care, and leadership within the church, who hold that life at every stage has dignity and worth because we are created in God’s image and redeemed by our Savior, Jesus Christ. We are Presbyterians Protecting Life, equipping YOU to champion life at every stage.
Our Mission
Compelled by the gospel, PPL equips Presbyterians to champion human life at every stage.
Compelled by the gospel: The gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone compels us to base our ministry efforts on Scripture as God’s revealed word.
Equip: By God’s grace and in the context of relationship, we holistically prepare and empower people to trust God and champion life: inform, educate, encourage, model, correct, warn, inspire, walk with, and more.
Presbyterian: The focus of our equipping efforts is on those who share our Presbyterian heritage. We remain open to ministry relationships with others as well.
Champion human life at every stage: We desire that those God equips through us will rely on His grace to consistently and carefully promote and protect human life from fertilization to natural death as a gift of God created in His image.
Our Core Values
Gospel
We value God’s gospel (salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone), as revealed to us in Jesus and as made known to us authoritatively in the Bible, as the foundation for our ministry efforts.
(Gen. 3:15, 3:21, Num. 21:9 ref. Jn. 3:14-16, Deut. 7:7-8, 24:17-22, Ps. 136, Isa. 51:10-11, Zech. 3, Matt. 20:28, Jn. 10, Mk. 10:16, Rom. 3:28, 5:1, 6:23, Eph. 2:8-9, 2 Tim. 3:16-17, 1 Pet. 1:21)
Human Life
We value all human life from fertilization to natural death as a gift of God created in His image.
(Gen. 1:26-27, Ex. 20:13, 21:22-25, Deut. 24:17-22, Ps. 71:8 and 18, 139:13-16, Prov. 16:31, Jer. 1:5, Jas. 1:27)
Relationship
Because the love of Christ compels us, we value interpersonal connections as the context for all ministry efforts.
(Ex. 6:7, 19:5, Lev. 26:12, Deut. 7:6, Jer. 31:1, Ezek. 34, Jn. 10:27- 30, Rom. 8:14-17, 12:1, 2 Cor. 5:17-21, Gal. 4:4-9, Phil. 2:3-4, 1 Jn. 3:5-7, 4:9-10, Rev. 21)
Equipping
We value a holistic approach that prepares people to trust God and champion life by informing, educating, encouraging, modelling, correcting, warning, inspiring, accompanying, and more.
(Deut. 6:4-9, Jos. 4:5-9, Prov. 3:5-6, Isa. 45:1-2, Ezek. 33, Matt. 28:18-20, Jn. 13:34, 14:16-20, 15:1-11, 2 Cor. 9:8-9, Eph. 4:11-14, 6:10-17, Phi. 1:6, 2 Th. 1:11-12, 2:16-17, 2 Tim. 3:14-17, Heb. 13:20-21)
Advocacy
We value communicating graciously and clearly on behalf of defenseless and vulnerable human beings.
(Gen. 9:6, Ex. 3:7-8, Deut. 10:18-22, Ps. 82:3-4, 146:9, Prov. 24:11-12, Isa. 1:17-16, Jer. 22:1-3, Mic. 6:8, Mal. 3:6, Rom. 5:6, 8:26-27, 1 Jn. 2:1)
Presbyterianism
We value our Presbyterian heritage and focus on serving those in that tradition while remaining open to ministry relationships with others.
(Ex. 18:17-27, Rom. 5:1- 6:11, 1 Tim. 3, 5:17, Tit. 1:5-9)
Please join us in following God’s mission for PPL!
It will take us some time to roll out all the changes! You may have noted, for example, that we do not yet have a new logo in our newsletter header. For now, donations will still be made to ‘Presbyterians Pro-Life’ until we notify bank and government officials. We hope you will be patient with us and stay connected during the next few months as we adjust to God’s call for PPL to follow in His mission. Just as receiving God’s blessing of a new infant into your family, these changes to PPL bring with them an element of chaos as we walk out all the ways our ministry family is impacted by our new mission. Nothing is more exciting, however, or more of a blessing than when God brings a new child into a family and we feel a measure of that same excitement as we take on a new name, a new mission, and as we live more faithfully into the core values we have defined. We are so glad you are part of the family that is PPL and we invite you to join us in this great adventure of following God’s leading into the next season of PPL’s mission and ministry.