1983 A doption, Wal e s Go e bel (Left)
THROUGH the
YEARS W R IT TE N BY N E IS H A R OBE R T S & JE N NY R IDDLE
Although 175,000 adoptions occurred in the United States in 1970, little structure and regulation existed. More significant, gospelcentered adoption practices were almost non-existant. By 1973, the landmark case of Roe v. Wade led to the legalization of abortion across the nation. Many women with unexpected pregnancies found themselves with a difficult choice between abortion or to place their child with someone they did not know and could not meet.
‘80s
BEGINNINGS Leaving behind a prosperous business in the early 1960s, Wales and Jean Goebel received a God-given burden for young girls who were faced with an unplanned pregnancy. In 1980, the Sav-A-Life crisis pregnancy center outreach was founded to counsel these young women toward options for the life of their unborn child. Renee Griffin, Lifeline’s second staff member commented, “Our heart was to offer the truth of the gospel to these women but also offer them options. If they chose to parent, we wanted to equip them to do so. If they wanted to place their baby for adoption, we wanted to make sure we had Christian families lined up. This was not about just saving babies. We walked with these women and supported them.” OUR FIRST ADOPTION As a ministry, Lifeline’s commitment has always been to work with Christian families to ensure that
Spring 2021
children placed in these families are raised with the truth of who Jesus Christ is as their Lord and Savior. In February 1982, Lee and Eugenia Birch became Lifeline’s first adoptive family. Vulnerable women of all ages, races, and backgrounds connected with Lifeline for support. In 1984, Lifeline Village was founded to meet not only a young lady’s spiritual needs, but her emotional, physical, social, and intellectual ones as well. Many birth mothers needed a refuge and safe haven to retreat to in the wake of a crisis pregnancy. To this day, Lifeline Village places girls into a stable and nurturing home environment where consistent love, discipline, and direction is given. GOSPEL FOCUS FROM THE START In the early 80s, the staff grew to seven. One new addition was social worker Chuck Johnson. Chuck later became Lifeline’s executive director in 1997. Recently, Chuck said, “We prayed as a staff at the start of every day — for each other, for clients, for foster families, for the babies by name, and that God would both use Lifeline for His glory and that He would provide the resources we needed to accomplish every opportunity that came our way. In fact, as a 22-year-old, this is really how I first learned to pray out loud and in front of others and to hold nothing back.” Longtime Lifeline staffer Lynn Beckett added, “Mr. Carr set the tone for Lifeline from the start — filling the ministry with compassion, a commitment to biblical principles, and a high level of excellence and sacrificial giving.”
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