Carol Covington
About five years ago, a friend and I had the desire to start a home for teenage girls. Specifically, the ministry would serve pregnant girls without a husband and no family to support them in their pregnancy. The Lord touched my heart to help this group because I knew God had placed me in Buckhead to do something big with all the gifts he had entrusted to me. God began to show me that even at sixty-two years old, he could use my hands and heart to gather Christians around the call to reach pregnant teens in Christ's name and help babies be born healthy. God also revealed that if we say that we believe in something we must also be willing to do something about it. Soon I realized that pregnant teens and their unborn babies are very close to the heart of God.
As soon as I shared this vision with my husband, he said I needed to call Dan at ACM to make this dream a reality. I must confess that I started out thinking that I was just going to see my friend Dan to get help with this effort. Yet I had not been in Dan's office long before he asked me if I was there to help my friend start a ministry or if this was my ministry too. In just a brief moment, I could feel the Holy Spirit breaking my heart, preparing me for service. This has been the most difficult thing that I have done in my life, but it is also the most fulfilling. God has met every need from the moment we began. I received multiple checks for $25,000 from very generous Christians. Through the faithfulness of fellow believers, we raised the money for purchasing the property for our future site in cash.
We have been provided with a wonderful interim home from a generous donor, so that we can begin ministry right away and learn as much as possible before building the permanent home. Many doors were closed in my face as the years passed but I always knew this work is not about earthly value. When God called me to this work, I was teaching Sunday School, leading bible studies, and many other volunteer jobs. Since I work full time, I thought I was doing all that God had for me--but then he gave me the remarkable opportunity to serve him in this life-changing ministry. I can tell you that I am not the same woman who began this journey with what seemed a great idea. I know my Lord now in a much deeper way now. I also know that he wants us to depend solely on him for everything, no matter how difficult. He will always give us the ability to stay the course. Thanks be to God!
