The Catholic theologian John Henry Newman stated, “Growth is the only evidence of life.” Newman, of course, was not talking specifically about biological growth, though his quote is curiously applicable to our work. Rather, he addresses the growth of change, the forward momentum of time as it brings about transitions and seasons.
I stepped into the position of Executive Director of Assurance in October of 2023. While I had been connected with Assurance for many years as a supporter and was a major advocate for life affirming work, Assurance was not particularly the destination on a career path. Becoming the Director of a ministry aimed at serving women and men facing unplanned pregnancies was itself unplanned. I responded to the posting because I felt called to do so but–at the time–even though I did not have a full sense of why. Responding to the role felt a bit more like being pulled than anything else. Indeed, my wife expressed hesitation initially–“God will have to convince me,” she said. The next day an individual that I hadn’t talked to in years walked up to her with something in his hands and said, “Can you give this to Randy? I don’t know why, but I felt he should have it.” It was a brochure that said Healing from Abortion. Other things also confirmed a suspicion that God was leading me to Assurance.
A few months into the position, it became clear to me that though I did not entirely know why I was pulled into the role, it was for a season. I knew I would not be the ten-year guy–I was here, perhaps, as an “in-between.” To help the ministry in a certain period of time for a certain series of needs.
Over the past two and a half years, Assurance has accomplished a lot, both on the front end of its ministry and on the back end organizationally. In fact, at our inaugural board meeting this year I shared two full pages of accomplishments that had taken place over the past twelve months, including shoring up of finances that were required to keep our client service programs active. We have navigated new territory in a post Roe vs. Wade environment, the advent of AI (which is increasingly replacing traditional search engine discovery), and increasing utilization of abortion pill access, which resulted in the long hoped for Abortion Pill Reversal program that we started in October of last year. We brought in nearly thirty new church partnerships, celebrated 40 years of ministry and wrote a forthcoming book called The Story of Assurance. We went through a major organizational and audit, trained up several new staff members to see clients facing all sorts of situations, re-launched ReKnew, our post-abortive care program, and are currently in the process of acquiring a new 3D-4D ultrasound machine. We have grown our regional organizational partnerships dramatically, helped launch Lexington’s first Embrace Grace program aimed at discipling women and couples facing unplanned pregnancies, and this year started a special committee aimed at helping develop Assurance’s mission and vision for the next season.
We have done all of this while daily serving myriads of clients across all our major programs. Those programs aim to meet the person holistically–physically, emotionally, spiritually, and socially.
It has only been due to the grace of God that I have had the opportunity to be in the lead chair of this ministry for the past two and a half years. Nevertheless, due to some personal and health reasons, I am being called to pass on the baton of leadership. On May 18th, Assurance’s current Assistant Director, Heather Mitchell, will step into the role I am currently in.
I first met Heather seven years ago when I had organized a community coffee shop panel discussion around the issue of abortion. I had invited a host of “intellectuals” to the panel, but had also reached out to Assurance to have a spokesperson come share about the work of the local PRC. While the intellectuals spoke about worldview, philosophy, and ethics, Heather shared her own story of crisis and healing. I remember the bioethics professor coming up to me after that evening and saying, “Her words were the most important of the night. You didn’t need the rest of us.” Many years later and after a few months into my role with Assurance, I realized that the person who had given her testimony was working as my Assistant Director. For months, we had never even connected the dots. Now, with the confidence of Assurance’s Board of Directors, she will be taking my position as the next lead in Assurance’s story. God has a way of writing full circle stories–not just with organizations, but with people.
Importantly, I am not stepping away from Assurance. I still believe wholeheartedly in its vision and mission. Over the years, however, I have become increasingly convinced that Assurance needs a dedicated development leader—someone single-mindedly focused on inviting individuals and churches to financially steward and invest in its life-affirming, life-serving work.
After all, Assurance is funded entirely through the generosity of individuals and churches. With the growth in services and ministry opportunities that Assurance has been blessed to experience in recent years—alongside the opportunities that still lie ahead—it has become clear that financial stewardship can no longer remain simply one aspect of someone’s position, but needs dedicated and concerted effort. Ironically, many ministries experience stronger financial stewardship when they are able to dedicate someone specifically to the work of building relationships and inviting others into meaningful financial partnership.
As Henri Nouwen says in his A Spirituality of Fundraising, “Fundraising is proclaiming what we believe in such a way that we offer other people an opportunity to participate with us in our vision and mission. Fundraising is precisely the opposite of begging. When we seek to raise funds we are not saying, “Please, could you help us out because lately it’s been hard.” Rather, we are declaring, “We have a vision that is amazing and exciting. We are inviting you to invest yourself through the resources that God has given you — your energy, your prayers, and your money — in this work to which God has called us.” Our invitation is clear and confident because we trust that our vision and mission are like “trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither” (Ps. 1:3).
As such, beginning in mid-May, I will be shifting my energies into a part-time Development Director role, which is primarily (though, not exclusively) concentrated on fundraising. This transition will allow the Executive Director to focus more fully on how Assurance carries out its mission, strengthens its programs and staff, serves its clients well, and prepares thoughtfully for both present challenges and future opportunities.
Serving in this role has been one of the greatest opportunities of the past four decades of my life. If you could hear the stories that I hear, you would know how absolutely pivotal Assurance is in both saving lives and serving lives. As we embark on this season of change, remember the words of Cardinal Newman–growth means life. And life is what we are all about.
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