Across  the  nation,  pastors decline or refuse to preach about abortion, thinking  that  this topic  will cause people to flee their churches.  But that is not the experience of Calvary  Temple  Church  in  Concord,  California.   There, according to Pastor Harley  Allen,  while  he  preached against  abortion  for  more  than nine years,  attendance climbed from 300  to  1,400.   Now  the church  is  bursting  at  the  seams  with people, and  its  members  have  great  plans  for  facility expansion.

Allen devotes an entire sermon to abortion every January to mark the two Supreme Court decisions    that  legalized  abortion  in 1973.   He  also  includes  the  topic   in    approximately one-third of his sermons,  speaking on it for three to five minutes each time.

There   is   no confusion at Calvary Temple between political correctness  and  the   Word of God,  so Allen does not encumber his messages with platitudes to avoid offending those  who are   pro-abortion.  He  calls  abortion  exactly what it is: “Absolute calculated  murder,   horrible holocaust,  and  the greatest sin in the history of America.” 

Even the thought of using such terminology would make most pastors cringe, but look  at this church’s attendance and growth!

“Because  of  the  sacredness of human life, as an evangelical pastor I have  no  choice:   I  must  speak  out  against  abortion,” says Allen. He believes  in the  sanctity  of  human  life  and reminds  his  congregation of people in the Bible–Isaac,  Solomon, Jeremiah,  John  the  Baptist, and Jesus–who God named before birth.

Although   Allen   receives  some criticism for his sermons on  abortion,   he   gets   “fifty times  more support–some of it very enthusiastic–than criticism.”  People will criticize  sermons on  any  topic,  he said, but to  those who strongly criticize his abortion  sermons  he   sometimes suggests  they  attend  a  liberal church where political correctness,  not  God,  is  king.   Calvary Temple does not scratch itching ears. 

Typically,  Allen’s  supporters  express  pride in having a pastor  who  will  stand  up  and declare from the pulpit what God says, especially on a controversial issue such as abortion.

During  the  nine  and  one-half  years Allen has been preaching  like  this  at  the  church, attendance    has    climbed   by   467%.    Calvary   Temple   has   gained   a   reputation    as    a dynamic,   growing,   no-apologies, no-compromise,  pro-life church–so much so  that  members have just sold their church buildings and property and are building a much bigger church  across

town.

When  1,500,000  babies  die from abortion annually in the United States,  and  when  the per-capita   abortion  rate is approximately the same within the Christian churches as  outside  of them,  and when  churches such as Calvary Temple are so successful, it is difficult to understand why  some pastors are afraid to preach about abortion.

Pastor  Allen  poses  these questions:  Are you a pastor who is afraid?  Do   you   know   a pastor who is afraid?  Would you inform him why he should not be afraid?

Kenneth   E.  Kogut  is  founder  and  president  of  Life  Research  Institute  in   Concord, California.