Mason Beasler
AFA Journal staff writer
November 2019 – “My birth mother had originally planned for me to be aborted,” said Nathan. “She actually scheduled an abortion.”
Thankfully, that is only part of Nathan’s story. His mother was in the Air Force when she discovered she was pregnant. On the morning of the scheduled procedure, she overslept, and missed her appointment. She then began looking for other options.
The search led her to a ministry that would ultimately help save her baby. At that desperate time of need in her life, God led Nathan’s mother to Crisis Pregnancy
Outreach (CPO).
Abortion’s lie
During the 1980s, members of Christian Chapel often prayed outside Tulsa, Oklahoma, abortion clinics for women facing unplanned pregnancies. Church members Cheryl Bauman, Marilyn Guthmann, and Dr. Howard Guthmann felt more should be done. So, in 1983 the three started CPO, a non-profit organization to help abortion-minded women find life-giving alternatives.
Since then, CPO has helped thousands of women discover that abortion is not their only option, and through adoption, their babies can be given a chance at life. CPO is outspoken about abortion and the effects it has on the women who choose it.
“I call it the great lie,” said Kelly Jacobson, who has worked with CPO since 1996. “Women are told it will fix all their problems. They are told it’s no big deal, and it will be over quickly. They say you have a choice, but the way it’s presented, it’s not really a choice at all. [CPO] gives women the help they need to choose life in a society that promotes death.”
Jacobson has served the volunteer-only organization in nearly every capacity, from adoption director to her current role as a consultant for the ministry.
However, Jacobson’s family has also been deeply impacted by CPO through its ministry connecting birth parents to adoptive parents. She and her husband Steven already had three biological children when the Lord called them to adopt, and they stepped out in faith.
Adoption’s solution
“God has always provided,” Jacobson told AFA Journal. “I believe God loves adoption and will always bless it.”
In 1997, they adopted a little girl named Jewel, whose mother disappeared soon after she was born. Two years later, the family adopted again, this time adding baby Isaac to their family. His Islamic mother was pregnant out of wedlock and in danger of an honor killing as was common in her religion. However, God led her to CPO, and Isaac soon joined the Jacobsons.
In 2001, they adopted Nate, whose mother was in labor at a Planned Parenthood clinic when Jacobson picked her up and drove her to the hospital. Six years later, although money and space were limited in the Jacobson home, God was pressing on their hearts to adopt again. They soon met Zac’s birth mom, and he became part of the Jacobson family.
“It’s been amazing,” Jacobson reflected, “to see how God had orchestrated the whole thing to bring us all together in His timing.”
Stories like those of Nathan, the Jacobsons, and others highlight how God will work through the obedience of His people in a local church.
“If we help only one girl,” Jacobson concluded, “if we help only one baby, if we help only one mother, then it’s all worth it.” 
Since 1983, CPO has shown how one church can make a difference, even the difference between life and death. CPO has helped scared and broken mothers find hope and healing in Jesus Christ, and assured life for countless babies. For more about CPO, visit crisispregnancyoutreach.org or call 918-296-3377.
