If you are thinking about leading a 40 Days for Life campaign in your city but still have concerns, here are the answers to a list of Frequently Asked Questions:
- This seems overwhelming -- where do I start?
- Why is there a registration cut-off?
- Is this only for people from certain churches?
- Why is there a fee to lead a local campaign?
- How much more will this cost our community?
- Why apply? Can't we just do this on our own?
- Why ask for 12 hours of daily vigil coverage?
- Why focus our vigil on just one location?
- Can I really do this?
THIS SEEMS OVERWHELMING -- WHERE DO I START?
PRAY! The most important thing you can do to determine if you are supposed to lead or participate in a 40 Days for Life -- or to ensure the success of your local campaign -- is pray.
- Ask God to guide you in determining your role in this effort -- as a leader, participant, or prayer warrior
- Pray for wisdom -- for you and others in your community -- as you discern whether 40 Days for Life is right for your city at this time
- Pray that the right people in your community and around the country hear about 40 Days for Life and participate as God leads them
- Pray that America repents and turns back to God, honoring Him by protecting the right to life for all members of our human family
- Pray for an end to abortion!
If, after praying, you feel called to apply for your community, take the first step by going to:
We'll be right with you, working side by side, all the way through the end of your campaign.
WHY IS THERE AN APPLICATION CUT-OFF?
When we surveyed the leaders from past 40 Days for Life campaigns, they told us that adequate time was needed to prepare for a successful campaign.
By cutting off the registrations on Monday, December 21, at midnight, we are ensuring that you have enough time for your training and that the national team is 100% focused on helping you gear up for your campaign -- not continuing to handle registration details.
If you want to experience the life-saving benefits of 40 Days for Life this fall, apply no later than Monday, December 21.
IS THIS ONLY FOR PEOPLE FROM CERTAIN CHURCHES?
Absolutely not!
The mission of 40 Days for Life is to bring together the body of Christ in a spirit of unity during a focused 40 day campaign of prayer, fasting, and peaceful activism, with the purpose of repentance, to seek God's favor to turn hearts and minds from a culture of death to a culture of life, thus bringing an end to abortion.
During previous 40 Days for Life campaigns, we have been blessed to see people from just about every kind of church -- folks who may not always see eye to eye on theological points -- join arm in arm, united in their commitment to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.
WHY IS THERE A $197 FEE TO LEAD A LOCAL CAMPAIGN?
The national campaign invests more than $500 per location to provide the tools, technology, training, and resources that will be provided to your community once your application is accepted. Very generous donors help offset the majority of those expenses, but the registration fee helps to defray the remainder of the costs.
In addition to the registration fee, there will be some costs tied to your campaign for events, vigil supplies, printing, promotion, mailings, phone calls, etc. These costs vary by community and can range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars (depending on how ambitious you decide to make your campaign.)
Raising funds for this project can actually be a great blessing as you watch God provide for the campaign's needs. Several communities reported great success in offsetting their 40 Days for Life costs through organization growth, new supporters, sharing the cost among churches or organizations, special offerings, or by securing sponsorship from key individuals, organizations, or businesses.
However you choose to offset the costs of 40 Days for Life -- and we'll do everything we can to help you with this -- all funds raised for your local campaign will stay right where they are needed the most: in your community.
WHY APPLY? CAN'T WE JUST DO THIS ON OUR OWN?
You can certainly conduct pro-life efforts on your own -- and we highly encourage that -- but if you want to conduct a 40 Days for Life campaign as part of next spring's internationally coordinated effort, and receive all the training and resources needed for a project of this magnitude, you must apply.
This ensures the integrity of the campaign experience and protects you and everyone involved.
WHY ASK FOR 12 HOURS OF DAILY VIGIL COVERAGE?
To ensure a consistent experience for participants in 40 Days for Life campaigns at all locations, we are asking your community to commit to try and maintain a vigil for a minimum of 12 hours each of the 40 days during the 40 Days for Life campaign.
In rare cases, particularly where security issues are a concern, we will make exceptions to this guideline, but each request must be approved in advance by the national 40 Days for Life team.
If this applies to you, please e-mail your requests to: info@40daysforlife.com
WHY FOCUS OUR VIGIL ON JUST ONE LOCATION?
Without question, the most stunning blessings and potent results have occurred in communities where the campaign was conducted at a single location for a minimum of 12 hours a day for each of the 40 days.
We have found that when one team tries to do multiple locations, all too often the effort is spread too thin, volunteers get confused, and the campaign struggles -- and at times, no one is praying in front of any clinic.
This is not to say that there may not be room for more than one campaign in a large metropolitan area. But in such cases, each vigil location should be part of a separate application, with a separate local coordinating team.
While there may be more than one abortion facility in your city, and the need for prayer at each clinic cries out, the integrity of the campaign is best preserved -- and the results maximized -- when 40 days of intense prayer and vigil participation is concentrated on one location.
We really can't answer that question for you, but know that God can.
Pray for wisdom and discernment, talk with others who could help you implement this campaign in your community, and then take the step of faith -- make a courageous decision that could have a life-saving impact on your community: