In the five years since one couple launched a pro-life ministry, the organization has grown tremendously, helping abortion-minded women facing financial hardship choose life, positively impacting families throughout America and beyond.
Emily and Nathan Berning started Let Them Live a few months after they married in 2018. They learned about a Canadian woman whose cousin posted on Facebook that she planned to abort because she had lost her job and couldn’t pay her rent and she didn’t know how she could afford to bring a child into the world. The Bernings had received money as a wedding gift, and Nathan reached out, offering to pay the woman’s rent if she would not abort. That financial gift changed many hearts that day – the woman continued her pregnancy and Nathan and Emily founded Let Them Live.
“We both knew that we wouldn't be able to live with ourselves if we hadn't done that, but we knew that we could figure it out,” Emily said.
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Growth and grace
The organization has experienced steady growth since that day in 2018. More than 1,000 women have received financial assistance, meaning more than 1,000 babies have been saved from abortion. Nearly 50 people serve on staff, with about 100 volunteers, and an internship program has been established, Emily said.
The program itself, providing financial resources, such as paying for rent, utilities, and car payments, to help women who view finances as their primary worry in continuing their pregnancies, has grown tremendously thanks to numerous donors and strong pro-life partnerships. Program offerings, such as financial literacy and counseling services, took root and are embraced by the women Let Them Lives assists.
“Seventy-three percent of women have abortions due to financial burdens,” Emily told Pregnancy Help News. “Wherever they can get support and love, that's what we want for them.”
Partnerships with pregnancy resource organizations and other pro-life groups is important for Let Them Live, she said.
“Helping women to choose life is not insurmountable,” Emily stated. We’re definitely still growing our partnerships with pregnancy centers [and] collaboration with all different organizations. God does His magic when He connects certain people and then you see it all unfold before you and it's quite amazing.”
Additionally, the organization has expectations of the women who are assisted.
“We know what we're able to provide, what to expect, and we also require the mom to do her part, so there's a lot of good accountability,” Emily said. “We also have a financial literacy program so we can provide budgeting classes – we do Financial Peace University. We also offer that to our team too. We know how to manage our finances so we can help even more.”
The counseling sessions and support groups meet virtually.
Partnerships with churches have increased as well.
“We have an Adopt-a-Mom program in which churches and individuals or groups can come alongside and adopt a specific mom,” Emily explained. “They take on the financial support of her but also build a community around her. We are huge, huge on collaboration and partnerships.”
Growth through associations
Let Them Live recently enfolded a similar organization into their operations and plans to incorporate a second one soon.
“We acquired another nonprofit, my first merger,” Emily told Pregnancy Help News. “It's based in Nashville. They had a mission very similar to ours, and one of the founders called me and said they just felt like it was time to close the doors … so we took their moms.”
The second organization Emily and Nathan may add is located in Texas.
“God is just so good and however He directs us, that's where we go,” she said.
Tweet This: “God is just so good and however He directs us, that's where we go” - co-founder of pro-life group Let Them Live
The couple moved from Indiana to Florida during the past few years. Last year, they and the staff hosted the organization’s first gala, with Dr. Ben Carson serving as keynote speaker and a member of the Christian band 10th Avenue North providing music. About 150 people attended, including some of the babies, toddlers, and moms helped by Let Them Live.
“It was like, ‘This is our work in action,’” Emily said. “It was just such a wonderful event!”
Also in 2023, Emily and Nathan collaborated on their first book along with author John Greco, writer of The Sword and The Spirit, The Ascent, and other books. Let Them Live: How Saving One Life From Abortion Sparked a Movement released last September.
Moving forward
As Emily, Nathan, and their team step into another year, they envision more partnerships with organizations, including pregnancy help centers and clinics, and connecting moms in need with donors in a more personal yet technological way.
For example, a collaboration between Let Them Live and an organization that helps pregnant women in other countries is underway.
“One of the organizations we partner with is called Beautiful Feet International,” Emily said. “They help people in other countries establish pregnancy centers in Africa and South America.”
The organization is also creating an app to connect donors more deeply with moms in need.,
“The purpose is to further close the gap between donors and the moms they support,” Emily said. “Right now, we have a pretty good system of keeping them involved but we want to make it more personal. The moms can create an account and a profile to list their needs and their location. Donors will be able to log in and be able to see moms that are either near them or anywhere in the US and see their needs and basically be able say, ‘Okay, I'm going to take care of your needs.’”
She added, “We’re going to keep growing. We had a large donation recently, which was a huge answer to prayer, and we were able to increase our ad spending on social media. That’s something we’re very serious about because that’s pretty much where everybody is nowadays.”
