I M A G O   D E I

Upcoming Events Help us promote these events! Download posters, shareable graphics, and bulletin announcements below. Download Promo Materials Please share these events with your contacts! Become a CCBR Rep for your church, school, or group to connect your community with pro-life training and outreach opportunities! Sign Up ON THE HORIZON Pro-Life Week of Action March Break Winnipeg Pro-Life Bootcamp March 25 - 27 Calgary Crash Course May 2 - 4 Summer Internships May - August or July - August Toronto March for Life May 2024 Toronto Pro-Life Crash Course July 4 - 6 DID YOU KNOW? ​ Pastors attend all events for free! ​ We believe it is essential for church leaders to be equipped to respond to abortion, and we never want cost to be a barrier. If you're a pastor, be sure to contact us to ask for a promo code to use when applying for events!

I M A G O D E I equipping Christians to respond to abortion Imago Dei is an initiative of the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform, w orking to equip and mobilize Christians to respond to abortion. ABOUT US TAKE ACTION LEARN Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. Isaiah 1:17 "The Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform is one of the most important educational organizations operating in Canada today. In a nation where there is still no abortion law, their work has been highly influential in turning the tide and remains indispensable for exposing the injustice of abortion nationally, working towards legislative change by re-educating the Canadian public regarding the true nature of this hidden atrocity. I cannot commend their outstanding efforts strongly enough." ​ REV. DR. JOSEPH BOOT, M.A., Ph.D. Founder and President of the Ezra Institute

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Sanctity of Human Life Sunday Dear church leaders, ​ Abortion on demand has been legal in Canada since January 1988, and in many American states even after the Dobbs decision of 2022. Since 1988, over 4 million pre-born human beings have been killed in Canada: little children who were knit together in their mother's womb by the Creator, whose tiny bodies have only ever felt the cold touch of an abortionist's forceps, and who have now been discarded as medical waste. This is not news to most of us, but it is an important reminder that we need to take meaningful action in order to rescue these children and provide hope to those who have been wounded by abortion. "Seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause." Isaiah 1:17 Sunday, January 21st is marked as Sanctity of Human Life Sunday by many churches across North America. Many churches use this opportunity to highlight the injustice of abortion by spending time in prayer and reminding their congregations of Christ’s call to defend life. In light of this, here are some ideas and resources that we pray are helpful as you prepare: ​ 1. Promote a pro-life training opportunity with the Pro-Life Guys Podcast : Join Cam Côté for an online Conversation Skills Conference January 19th - 20th to learn how to compassionately articulate the pro-life position. More information and registration available here . ​ 2. Put an insert in your bulletin or hang up a poster with more information. Download graphics here . 3. Pray specifically about abortion during the service. Find a list of suggested prayer points here . ​ 4. Take a special collection towards pro-life work. Donate to CCBR here . We are happy to print and mail bulletin inserts and/or event poster(s) to you at no cost. Send us a message here with your address and quantity requests. ​ *Please take a moment to share this article with other pastors you know. Suggested Bulletin Announcement: This Sunday is marked as Sanctity of Human Life Sunday by countless churches across North America. Abortion on demand was legalized in Canada in January 1988. Since then, over 4 million of God's tiniest image-bearers have been torn apart by abortion in our country. As ambassadors for the Creator of life, we have the privilege and responsibility of rescuing the innocent from death (Proverbs 24:11), caring for orphans and widows (James 1:27), and exposing evil (Ephesians 5:11). May we be a beacon of light and life in this dark world, seeking justice for the pre-born and loving mercy for those who have been hurt by abortion. Visit imagodei.ca to learn more. If you are looking for another way to equip your congregation to respond to abortion, check out our Pro-Life Study Series . This 5-week video series is paired with a comprehensive discussion guide and requires no previous training to lead. It covers a biblical perspective on abortion, pro-life apologetics and strategy, and practical tips for taking action to defend life. Consider leading this series with your youth group or starting a small group. LEARN MORE

A Christian's Guide to Defending Life in the Womb: Pro-Life Study Series ​ While many Christians understand the grave injustice that abortion is, they do not feel prepared to defend their position in today’s hostile culture. CCBR has created this program to aid pro-life Christians by providing them with an accurate historic, scientific, and Biblical understanding of abortion. This series is designed to run over five weeks, meeting once a week. Sessions begin with a 30-minute educational video by one of CCBR’s speakers and continue with small group discussions based on provided facilitator and participant guides. ​ This series will prepare your church or community to tackle the challenging topic of abortion and equip them to get their boots on the ground in defense of the pre-born. Contact us for more information on hosting this series in your community! ​ Topics covered: 1. Abortion in Canada & Why Christians Must Act 2. Can Our Culture Actually Change? 3. Pro-Life 101: Communicating the Pro-Life Position 4. Pro-Life 201: Communicating the Pro-Life Position 5. Loving Your Pre-Born Neighbours ORDER NOW ORDER THE STUDY SERIES > OPTION 1 ​ $500 / church or community group ​ ​ Includes Video series (USB or download available) 5 facilitator guides 25 participant guides ​OPTION 2 ​ Freewill offering Suggested amount: $30 / person ​ Includes Video series (USB or download available) 1 facilitator guide per small group 1 guide per participant PRICING

Why the Educational Arm is Essential Jonathon Van Maren ​ For over fifty years, the pro-life movement has fought the abortion industry tooth and nail from the streets to the halls of power. While there have been some legislative successes in the United States and organizations like Operation Rescue have been tremendously successful at shutting down abortion clinics, the societal situation at present still vastly favors abortion advocates. The ideal of the so-called “pro-choice movement”—abortion on demand throughout all nine months of pregnancy, which exists in Canada and is the status quo in several American states—is far more prevalent than the ideal of the pro-life movement—a Culture of Life where abortion is an unthinkable option. A majority of people still support legal abortion at some stage during pregnancy. Despite the rise of alterative media more friendly to the pro-life movement, the mainstream media is still overwhelmingly pro-abortion, ensuring that pro-lifers form the first human rights movement that is opposed by a media complex complicit in the cover-up. Public high schools do not teach a pro-life ethic, and the vast majority of academics push the pro-abortion worldview, with polling data telling us that many students who grew up in pro-life homes lose their pro-life views sometime during university. Politicians claim that abortion is a religious issue, religious leaders claim that it is a political issue, and the corpses quietly pile up in the middle. Our culture is sleep-walking through a massacre of unfathomable proportions, and people must be woken up. The pro-life movement has responded to the legalization of abortion in many ways, and those responses form what are traditionally known as the three arms of the pro-life movement: 1. The pastoral arm 2. The political arm 3. The prophetic or educational arm There are others, of course—the history of the Rescue movement from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s would be a strategic aberration—but the current pro-life movement can, for the most part, be organized into these three categories. ​ The pastoral arm essentially responds to the existence of abortion and attempts to mitigate the fallout. This arm would include crisis pregnancy centers, homes for unwed mothers, post-abortion counselling, and other forms of assistance. They attempt to alleviate poverty, provide resources, and ensure that women have what they need to care for their children. Due to the uncontroversial nature of most of this work, the pastoral arm is a favorite of churches and religious organizations. ​ The political arm is made up of the pro-life movement’s lobbyists and political activists. These would include those meeting with politicians to advocate for pro-life policies, organizations that support and campaign for pro-life politicians, and those working on the ground to create grassroots support and help elect pro-life legislators. The political arm of the pro-life movement, in other words, pushes to ensure that whatever social consensus does exist on abortion—like a ban on partial-birth abortion, for example, or a Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act—is enshrined into law. ​ The prophetic or educational arm is tasked with changing public opinion on abortion—in other words, rebuilding the pro-life consensus that once existed. Without pro-life activists doing consistent public outreach, millions of men and women would remain unaware of the truth about abortion. The educational arm is essential to the success of the pastoral and political arms, which simply cannot function if there is no movement to reach out to the public with the truth about abortion. ​ Educational activists ensure that crisis pregnancy centers do not simply have to wait for people to walk through their doors but send people there. Many million-dollar centres with paid staff sit empty for the majority of the year, reaching only a handful of women—it is essential that pro-life activists are out in the culture, where abortion-minded women actually are, telling them the truth about abortion and directing them to other, life-affirming options. An enormous number of pro-life dollars go to supporting centres that frequently has no way of actually reaching women outside of simply waiting for them or relying on increasingly suppressed advertising. Educational activists are also essential for the political arm of the pro-life movement (and generally work closely with both the pastoral and political arms). The educational arm works to create a new, broader pro-life consensus and to intensify support for pro-life policies among those who already hold anti-abortion views. It is this support that enables lobbyists to encourage legislators to take action. It is the task of the educational arm to turn the tide with the best educational tools at our disposal. The question, then, must be asked: What tools can the educational arm utilize? What is the most effective strategy for changing the hearts and minds of millions of people, when the lives of millions of others unquestionably depend on it? Is it even possible? What we at the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform and thousands of other pro-lifers have found—most of them veterans with decades of activism under their belts like Joe Scheidler, Gregg Cunningham, Mark Harrington, and Scott Klusendorf—is that the most powerful educational tool at our disposal is abortion victim photography. A visual generation in a visual world needs visual evidence that rises above the chatter and cuts through the din of modern life to push home a powerful message: Abortion is an act of violence that kills an innocent human being. From the days of William Wilberforce to the front lines of today’s abortion wars, we see over and over again a simple truth illustrated: When the ugly truth is brought front and center, that truth has the power to transform the way cultures see injustice, and when we change the way someone sees an injustice, you change the way people respond to an injustice. ​ Abortion victim photography is still considered by some to be controversial because it is so shocking and disturbing. It certainly is, but it is also the most effective tool pro-lifers possess. As lawyers for pre-born children who are sentenced to death or have already been killed, we must bring our best evidence into the court of public opinion.

Pastors & Church Leaders What you can do to encourage and equip your congregation to take action on the issue of abortion ​ Keep the emergency of abortion in your weekly corporate prayers Host a training presentation Run the Study Series at your church Attend one of our training and outreach events Request pro-life literature for your library and lobby Forward our quarterly e-newsletters to your congregation Recommend our resources to other pastors you know Learn more about how Imago Dei partners with churches to equip Christians to respond to abortion. Download PDF "The Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform is one of the most important educational organizations operating in Canada today. In a nation where there is still no abortion law, their work has been highly influential in turning the tide and remains indispensable for exposing the injustice of abortion nationally, working towards legislative change by re-educating the Canadian public regarding the true nature of this hidden atrocity. I cannot commend their outstanding efforts strongly enough." ​ REV. DR. JOSEPH BOOT, M.A., Ph.D. Founder and President of the Ezra Institute

Schools What you can do to encourage and equip your school to take action on the issue of abortion ​ Host a training presentation Run the Study Series Attend one of our training and outreach events Order pro-life literature for your school's library Forward our quarterly e-newsletters to your students and their parents Recommend our resources to your teachers and faculty Become a CCBR Rep for your school to connect your community with pro-life training and outreach opportunities! Sign Up "The Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform is one of the most important educational organizations operating in Canada today. In a nation where there is still no abortion law, their work has been highly influential in turning the tide and remains indispensable for exposing the injustice of abortion nationally, working towards legislative change by re-educating the Canadian public regarding the true nature of this hidden atrocity. I cannot commend their outstanding efforts strongly enough." ​ REV. DR. JOSEPH BOOT, M.A., Ph.D. Founder and President of the Ezra Institute How to Help Your School Get Involved​ 1. Meet with us ​ We'd love to meet with you to share more about CCBR and to talk about how we can help equip your students to respond to abortion. We encourage you to invite your school's principal and any other faculty who are interested to join the meeting as well. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2. Host a presentation ​ The goal of our presentations is to inform and equip Christians about the reality of abortion in Canada and how Christians can respond. You could organize a presentation for your church, school, youth group, elders and deacons, a conference, or any other group. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 3. Run the Pro-Life Study Series ​ The Pro-Life Study Series is a program designed specifically to equip Christians to defend life in the womb. There are 5 sessions that can be run over 5 weeks. Each one includes a 30-minute video presentation and discussion questions set out in facilitator and participant guides. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 4. Become financial supporters ​ CCBR’s life-saving work relies solely on the sacrificial donations of individuals and groups who are dedicated to ending the killing of pre-born children. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 5. Supply resources for your community ​ Forward our newsletter to your school community to stay up-to-date on volunteer and training opportunities, abortion-related news, and various resources. You can also request copies of our print literature and discounts on our books for your library. CONTACT US LEARN MORE LEARN MORE DONATE RESOURCES

Churches What you can do to encourage and equip your congregation to take action on the issue of abortion ​ Host a training presentation Run the Study Series Attend one of our training and outreach events Order pro-life literature for your church's library Forward our quarterly e-newsletters to your congregation Recommend our resources to your church leadership Become a CCBR Rep for your church to connect your community with pro-life training and outreach opportunities! Sign Up Learn more about how Imago Dei partners with churches DOWNLOAD PDF "The Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform is one of the most important educational organizations operating in Canada today. In a nation where there is still no abortion law, their work has been highly influential in turning the tide and remains indispensable for exposing the injustice of abortion nationally, working towards legislative change by re-educating the Canadian public regarding the true nature of this hidden atrocity. I cannot commend their outstanding efforts strongly enough." ​ REV. DR. JOSEPH BOOT, M.A., Ph.D. Founder and President of the Ezra Institute How to Help Your Church Get Involved​ 1. Meet with us ​ We'd love to meet with you to share more about CCBR and to talk about how we can help equip your church to respond to abortion. We encourage you to invite your pastor and any other church members who are interested to join the meeting as well. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2. Host a presentation ​ The goal of our presentations is to inform and equip Christians about the reality of abortion in Canada and how Christians can respond. You could organize a presentation for your church, school, youth group, elders and deacons, a conference, or any other group. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 3. Run the Pro-Life Study Series ​ The Pro-Life Study Series is a program designed specifically to equip Christians to defend life in the womb. There are 5 sessions that can be run over 5 weeks. Each one includes a 30-minute video presentation and discussion questions set out in facilitator and participant guides. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 4. Become financial supporters ​ CCBR’s life-saving work relies solely on the sacrificial donations of individuals and churches who are dedicated to ending the killing of pre-born children. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 5. Supply resources for your community ​ Forward our newsletter to you church to stay up-to-date on volunteer and training opportunities, abortion-related news, and various resources. You can also request copies of our print literature and discounts on our books for your library. CONTACT US LEARN MORE LEARN MORE DONATE RESOURCES

About Us In Canada, abortion is legal at any point in pregnancy for any reason or no reason at all. Approximately three hundred pre-born children are dismembered, decapitated, and disemboweled every single day. For every four children who are born, one child is killed by abortion. ​ As ambassadors for the Creator of life, we have the privilege and responsibility of defending their lives. God’s people need to take meaningful action to stop this bloodshed. Scripture commands us to rescue the innocent from death (Proverbs 24:11), to care for orphans and widows (James 1:27), and to expose evil (Ephesians 5:11). ​ Imago Dei is an initiative of the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform (CCBR) working to equip and mobilize Christians across Canada to save God's tiniest image-bearers from abortion, and to offer hope and healing to post-abortive men and women. We offer presentations and resources to inform and equip Christians to fulfill our biblical calling to love our pre-born neighbours and wounded culture. ​ 'Imago Dei' is a theological term meaning 'image of God'. The Creator of all things placed His image on the crown of His creation: human beings (Genesis 1:27). Our purpose as human beings is to reflect and display the glory of God in a way that non-image-bearers can't. This likeness to our Creator makes us different from the rest of creation. Abortion is wrong first and foremost because it ends the life of a human being who bears the image of Almighty God. TAKE ACTION ENDORSEMENTS Learn more Presentations Outreach Opportunities Resources Financial Partnership What We Believe​ ​ As Christians, we approach the issue of abortion first and foremost through the lens of Scripture. ​ We believe that Scripture is the Word of God and is authoritative on all things. ​ We believe in one living and eternal God, the Creator of all things, who is perfect in holiness, love, and justice. He exists in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ​ We believe that God the Son, Jesus Christ, is fully God. He became fully man and lived a sinless life, died on the Cross, and rose from the dead for the salvation of His people. He now reigns in heaven and will one day return to judge the living and the dead. ​ We believe that every human being, from the moment of fertilization, is created by God in His image. Because of this, every human being is precious and valuable. ​ We believe that abortion is wrong because it ends the life of a human being who bears the image of God. ​ We believe that the good news of Jesus Christ is that there is forgiveness for everyone who turns to Christ in repentance and faith. Abortion is not unforgivable, and the Lord extends mercy to all who come to Him in repentance. ​ We believe that Scripture clearly teaches Christians to respond to abortion: to defend the image of God and the crown of His creation.

Volunteer Whether you join your local outreach group to educate your community on the truth about abortion, or join one of our training and outreach events, there are many opportunities to use the time and talents God has blessed you with to change minds and save lives from abortion! Local Outreach Find out if there is a group already doing pro-life outreach near you! If not, get in touch with us so we can help you start one. Summer Internships Work full-time in the pro-life movement for your next summer job! Florida AAP A week-long trip to Florida to do outreach on university campuses during the winter semester break. Pro-Life Week of Action A week-long program for highschool students during their March Break! Toronto Pro-Life Bootcamp A 4-day training and outreach opportunity for university-aged students during their February Reading Week. Toronto March for Life Stand publicly for the pre-born in Canada's largest city. Crash Course 1- to 3-day boot camps held across the country to receive cutting-edge training on how to defend the pre-born. DID YOU KNOW? ​ Pastors attend all events for free! ​ We believe it is essential for church leaders to be equipped to respond to abortion, and we hope that our apologetics training can be a part of that. If you're a pastor, be sure to contact us to ask for a promo code to use when applying for events!

Prayer Points An end to abortion That people in Canada and around the world would recognize the horrific and sinful nature of abortion and reject it. ​ Praise God that He is coming again to establish perfect and eternal justice, and pray that God's people would be faithful in seeking justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with the Lord until that day. ​ ​ ​ Those affected by abortion ​ For the protection of pre-born children. ​ That the moms, dads, grandparents, siblings, and friends who have been hurt by the ripple effect of past abortions would find hope and healing through the Gospel. ​ That women in crisis pregnancies would seek the support they need instead of turning to abortion, and that the men involved would take responsibility as fathers. ​ ​ ​ The Church ​ That the Church would repent of her apathy, weep over the millions of lives that have been ended, and be convicted to act. ​ That local churches across Canada would be places of refuge for women in crisis, and places of grace and forgiveness for those who have had abortions in the past. ​ ​ ​ The pro-abortion movement ​ That pro-abortion politicians and advocates would reject abortion and fear God. ​ That the Lord would soften the hearts of those involved in performing abortions and bring them to repentance. ​ ​ ​ The pro-life movement ​ For crisis pregnancy centres and churches as they support families in difficult situations. ​ For those doing street outreach: that the Spirit would give them wisdom and compassion as they reach our culture with the truth about abortion, and that countless more minds would be changed and lives saved. ​ For courage and wisdom for pro-life politicians as they try to pass laws that will protect pre-born children. ​ For endurance and encouragement for those working and volunteering in the pro-life movement. ​ Praise God for the many children who have been rescued from abortion.