Teddy James
AFA Journal staff writer
January 2015 – In 1982, noting that the late Dr. Jerry Falwell often spoke about fighting abortion, a reporter asked the pastor what he was doing personally to help girls facing unplanned pregnancies. Falwell took some time considering the question. It struck him deeply, and he felt called to create a place that would protect babies from being aborted. A few months later, he founded Liberty Godparent Maternity Home, a place for pregnant girls to find Jesus, hope, and a future.
Falwell is best known as founder of Liberty University, Thomas Road Baptist Church, and Moral Majority, a conservative Christian group active in the 1970s and ’80s culture war.
Unique challenge
Starting LGMH was a challenging new path for the outspoken culture critic. Ministering to mothers in unplanned pregnancies can be a daunting and draining endeavor. But it is a ministry with generational rewards. Few understand this better than Janelle Basham, director of LGMH. She told AFA Journal, “So many of these young ladies are coming from rough backgrounds. Some feel their own churches have turned against them. In the midst of that heaviness, one of our primary goals is for them to see the unconditional love of Jesus Christ through our teachers, counselors and house parents.”
Some LGMH residents come from the area around Lynchburg, Virginia, but others come from across the country. Basham said, “Young ladies come to us because their support system at home isn’t able to help them at this time, in this situation. That can mean mom and dad are divorced or that the home environment isn’t healthy for whatever reason. Most come to us very sad, broken, hurt. Sometimes their hurt is sourced in rejection by the baby’s father or their family. Many just need a restart and for someone to say, ‘We love you, and your past doesn’t matter to us. We are with you, and we will figure out how to keep moving forward together.’”
Unique approach
LGMH is different from a shelter in that the team looks to bring in girls early in their pregnancies. “We like to get our girls in by week 22 of their pregnancy at the latest,” Basham said. The reason is multilayered. For starters, each girl is assigned a counselor and is required to participate in provided classes. The counselor will help her with any issue she is dealing with beginning with the pregnancy and reaching into any other area of life that may be a source of tension. Basham said, “Many times the pregnancy isn’t the biggest issue for our girls. They may have problems that extend beyond the pregnancy such as eating disorders, abusive relationships, or substance abuse back home.” The counselor helps each girl work through her personal problems, but also works with the girl’s parents to discuss any relational issues there. With the majority of girls being from 15 to 17 years old, counselors focus on communication and relationship building between daughter and parents.
Beyond that, LGMH offers classes on life skills where girls learn how to balance a checkbook, use a bank, make a resume, dress for an interview, and other lessons necessary to be successful in life. Basham and her team also teach parenting and adoption classes. Basham said, “Some girls come in and have already made up their minds whether they will parent or give their baby for adoption. But we want them to be educated and make the best decision for themselves and their babies. Also, if one girl chooses a parenting path, her roommate might choose an adoption path, and we want there to be no misconception or misunderstanding concerning why different people are making different choices.”
Because of the home’s close relationship to Falwell, Liberty University provides homeschool curriculum for each girl. Liberty University students are available to tutor the girls. Basham said, “This is a massive gift for these girls. If you paid to homeschool 25 ladies in a year, that would kill any budget. But Liberty gives that, and when our girls leave, they are often ahead of their peers in education. We do this because we want our girls and their children to have amazing and successful futures. We know God can take this scary situation and turn it into something redeemed and beautiful. We also know education is a good step toward that plan, whatever it is.”
Unique opportunity
It costs an average of $125 per day, per girl to operate LGMH. But the girls living in the home or their parents never see a bill. “That’s why I don’t get a lot of sleep at night,” Basham said. “We survive because of people who believe in our mission, in our vision. It has to be God that keeps these doors open. Without Him in it, I cannot imagine how this would be possible.”
Basham believes there are three important ways to support LGMH. “First and most important, we always need prayer,” she said. “We are working in the middle of tough situations. In November, I got a phone call from a girl who was kicked out of her parents’ home. She got on a train and I picked her up that night and she moved into the home. So pray we all have wisdom, patience and winsomeness. Our desire is for our girls to see the joy and love of Jesus in our interactions with them and each other.”
The second deals with spreading the word about LGMH. In today’s world, everyone is bombarded with advertisements and messages jockeying for attention. How can a small, nonprofit home for 25 pregnant teens compete with companies spending billions just to be noticed?
Bringing LGMH up in casual conversations will broaden its exposure and extend its ministry. “Our biggest advertising is word of mouth. It’s people sharing our story in their churches and communities,” Basham said.
Lastly, remember that this ministry is 100% funded by donations. Basham said, “We strive to be the best stewards possible of the money coming in. If someone donates $20, I can tell you exactly where that money went and how it was spent.”
The challenge given to Falwell more than three decades ago is still alive and needing to be met. Will you answer the call? 
Janelle Basham is more than the director of Liberty Godparent Maternity Home. She is also a product of LGMH. She is living proof that God has a plan for the future of every girl in the home. She shares her story in Released and Delivered – Pregnant at 16: From Regret to Redemption, a book she co-wrote with Tasha Brown, her roommate at LGMH. Basham chose to place her daughter, Katherine, for adoption. Brown chose the parenting path. The book intertwines their stories, sharing how God brought beauty from ashes and how their decisions impacted their lives and the lives of their children.
The book closes with Tasha’s son, Joey, and Janelle’s daughter, Katherine, telling their stories. Released and Delivered is a great resource for ministers, parents, and teens.
Released and Delivered is available at online booksellers and by contacting Janelle Basham at LGMH at 434-845-3466.
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LGMH
124 Liberty Mountain Drive
Lynchburg, VA, 24502
800-542-4453
godparentfoundation.org/maternity
[email protected]
facebook.com/GodparentHome
twitter.com/GodparentHome
