President and CEO of Sidewalk Advocates, Lauren Muzyka, presents information on the history of Sidewalk Advocates, and how they train individuals to be compassionate members of this ministry.
The vision of of this organization is that peaceful, prayerful, loving, and law-abiding sidewalk outreach be present outside every abortion facility in the U.S. and beyond, redirecting all to life-affirming alternatives, thereby ending abortion. Some of their values include love, peace, servant-leadership and excellence.
With two hundred locations worldwide, Lauren describes Sidewalk Advocates as one imperfect soul reaching out to another imperfect soul. As a peaceful, prayerful, loving and law-abiding program, Sidewalk Advocates has resulted in seventy-two abortion workers leaving the industry, the closing of twenty-five abortion facilities, and nearly 13,000 mothers served and babies saved.
The key to success can be summed up in one word….love. Lauren states, “if we don’t have love we will not get anywhere. It is more important to be effective than it is to be right, and we cannot be trusted with these stories if we lead from judgment.” Sidewalk Advocates was designed to be a sign of hope. It is important to remember the trauma, and be gentle. It is important to invite people in, not overwhelm them. A calm offering of prayers and resources, while using loving language, such as, “we know it’s been a rough day, we love you!” is stressed during training and throughout an advocate’s sidewalk experience.