Single women who decide against abortion and choose to have their babies often have nowhere to turn. That’s where Embrace Grace comes in.
Embrace Grace is a national ministry designed to make sure that “every young woman who is experiencing an unplanned pregnancy has a church family to go to for spiritual, emotional and physical support,” said Leslie Strange, director of the Embrace Grace ministry at Judson Baptist Church in Nashville.
Equipping local churches
The national ministry equips local churches to host 12-week-long support groups where women can come who are experiencing the challenges of being single mothers can come for help and emotional support.
“Many of the women when they first come to us are in desperate need of community. They feel very lonely. They feel very isolated. They don’t have great relationship with their own mothers. They don’t have a lot of family supports,” said Strange, who began the program at Judson after hearing a sermon where the speaker challenged those who were present to find places around their church where the gospel needed to be shared.
Though Judson supports the ministry, it does receive compassion ministry funds from the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions. The ministry is highlighted in one of the 2024-25 GOTM videos available for churches to view.
“When they come to us, they are hungry for friends, they’re hungry for community, they’re hungry for just people to love them and to take them by the hand and say it’s going to be okay,” she said.
‘What saved me was God’
Kiara Harris attends the support group at Judson. She acknowledged that she had thought about getting an abortion and had even saved some money to do it when she was pregnant with her last child. “What saved me was God,” she affirmed.
“He works in so many mysterious ways. He stopped me from doing it (having the abortion) and led me to Leslie and Embrace Grace.”
Had God not intervened, she admitted she would have “had a lot of regrets.”
Destiny Springer, another participant in the weekly sessions, agreed. “As a single mom who has been through a lot in life and had a difficult hand and didn’t know God, I didn’t have family. I didn’t have anybody there for me.
“This (Embrace Grace) is what people like me need. This is family. The members in this group are almost like moms to me. It’s like God is speaking through them to me.”
Strange said that during each 12-week semester they ask the girls to complete a survey and one of the questions is, “Do you feel like you have grown closer to the Lord during this time?”
One hundred percent of the time, the girls respond, “Absolutely, yes,” Strange said.
Next steps
“They’ve taken a next step with the Lord,” Strange continued. “They’re starting to listen for the Lord. They’re starting to hear His voice. They’re starting to read Scripture. They’re starting to have daily devotional time. And so absolutely the impact that we have on these girls in their personal relationship with the Lord is immeasurable.”
Harris acknowledged that “we all have our struggles. And a lot of times, some moms don’t have anyone to turn to and they just give up.
“Places like this (Embrace Grace at Judson) will save your life,” she affirmed.
Beth Moore, compassion ministry specialist, is grateful for churches like Judson and ministries such as Embrace Grace. “Because Tennessee Baptists give through the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions, we’re able to partner with churches that are serving single women across the state of Tennessee,” Moore said.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Lonnie Wilkey and originally published by Baptist and Reflector.
