Organization Impact
Hope Women's Center

The Problem: 

Hope Women's Center leadership embraced a grace-centered approach, but many of their volunteers arrived with opinions and biases that didn't reflect the organizational values. They needed a way to align their entire team to understand and consistently communicate their values to clients and the community.

“Many of our volunteers have a good heart and a lot of hurt. That can cause internal conflict because they are bleeding to serve and love women and don't know how to do it faithfully. They need a tool. So I tell them, ‘We are going to equip you.’ And if our volunteers do not go through ProGrace training, I just personally say, ‘You know what? Until you go through this training, there's no client interaction,’ because ProGrace starts when they walk in the door.

“What I’ve seen is all good intentions. We all come to help and serve because of the love in our hearts. But we have wounds, and we have experiences…I start helping them see ProGrace because when they walk in, they think, ‘I have to do the Christian thing. I have to save these women. I have to share a Bible verse. I have to.’ But I say, ‘ProGrace. How are we going to handle you today? ProGrace. How are we going to handle the clients today? ProGrace. How are we going to do it? ProGrace.’”

- Vanessa, Center Director

The ProGrace Solution: 

Systematized training to align the team with a Biblical perspective and consistent language that reflects the grace-forward culture of Hope Women's Center, resulting in: 

• Clear internal and external communication
• Improved community reputation and more word-of-mouth referrals
• Strong relationships with churches

"When I found ProGrace, I knew I had finally found an approach that represents who Hope is. We had been looking for something like this for so long as we wrestled with the traditional Christian approach to this type of work.

Now our team is able to relax into being a channel for God' s grace and love, where before, they felt they had to say all the right things or a woman will make the wrong choice. I've seen relationships between our volunteer mentors and clients evolve into a more softer and collaborative relationship than before. And the center has exploded with growth as there are so many more women coming to us for help."

-Tammy Abernethy, Chief Executive Officer

Organization Impact
Laurel Pregnancy Center

ProGrace provides the resources, curriculum, and community to help leaders align their entire organizations and feel supported in their work.

“The ministry of pregnancy resource centers has been entangled with pro-life political activism and, specifically, the changing of laws, which has been part of our history. Often, leaders of these centers begin their journey into the pregnancy care center world focused on pregnancy decision outcomes without understanding the realities women are facing or what they need.  Many have a set script for their employees to read from and push a highly political agenda. 

When we found ProGrace, we were already on a journey of doing things differently. We were already wondering if our good intentions were interfering with our ability to see the needs of our clients. Our new mindset made us an outlier in the pregnancy resource field and began to put us on the outside of relationships with other centers. Finding ProGrace was a breath of fresh air. A heavy weight had been lifted from us. We felt comforted in the knowledge that we weren’t the only ones looking at this field of work and feeling that something was missing. It can be lonely to be different, and when you are doing something different from your peers, you wonder if you made a mistake in the way you are living out what you read in the Bible. ProGrace has been encouraging and affirming that we follow God’s call and love His people.”

- Andrea, Executive Director