Communities nationwide gear up for '40 Days for Life'

Communities nationwide gear up for '40 Days for Life'

Communities across America are joining in an effort to bring an end to the horror of abortion. Twenty-two cities have signed up so far for a pro-life campaign of prayer and fasting known as "40 Days for Life."

Numerous stories in the Bible demonstrate that God used 40-day periods to bring about major transformation -- and over the past three years, a handful of communities in America has conducted "40 Days for Life" campaigns in hopes of seeing lives transformed and saved. Participants in Green Bay, Wisconsin, report seeing two babies saved from abortion during the first hour of their campaign. As a result of the campaign in College Station, Texas, the local abortion rate dropped 28 percent. And in nearby Houston, one of the most notorious abortion clinics shut down after 20 years of operation when concerned Christians undertook the campaign and followed the directives found in 2 Chronicles 7:14.

Group spokeswoman Carmen Pate explains that the pro-life campaign is built on coalitions of local churches and believers.

"40 Days for Life is really a gathering of believers, to come together, really in repentance, asking for God's mercy and grace, to help end abortion in America," says Pate, who is co-host of Point of View on the USA Radio Network. "You know, we've tried legislatively, we have tried through the courts -- but we know that ultimately, ending abortion is in God's hands."

Early leaders of the campaign -- seeing how God has worked through their efforts to save the lives of unborn children and transform communities -- decided earlier this year to take the campaign nationwide. They have designated a 40-day period this fall (September 26 - November 4) as a time for simultaneous campaigns in communities across the U.S.

While providing such resources as training modules, community case studies, and public relations assistance, the campaign literature points outs that the simplicity of the campaign is one of its strengths: prayer and fasting, constant vigil, and community outreach (via petitions and church involvement).

"We feel that as a nation, we need to be called to repentance and [to] prayer and fasting," says Pate. "That's what it's about."