Just this past month, we took 43 students to the national March for Life. This is an annual trip for Colorado Christian University. In 2020, we were selected by March for Life organizers to lead the national march.
The President of Colorado Christian University, Dr. Donald Sweeting, not only makes it a point to have the university help fund this trip to the March for Life, he takes time to fly out and march with the students. He was also a keynote speaker at Colorado's March for Life.
In addition to joining tens of thousands of supporters at the March for Life, we take time during the trip to do pro-life training. How do you talk to someone who is abortion-minded? How do you lovingly guide someone to embrace the sanctity of life? It's critical that our students are equipped with the practical tools to be leaders in the pro-life movement.
For some of our students, the March for Life is very personal. "I am here at the March for Life Rally because I am a child directly affected by the choice of my mother. The choice to give me life. I am the happy child of a family who adopted me. Through this, I see the opportunities each of these children could have. Taking their lives is not a choice. I want these little ones to have a voice. I am here to be that voice," said Sarah Shoulders, 19, from Monument, CO. She was adopted from La Paz, Bolivia.
The prospects of overturning Roe v. Wade with the upcoming Dobbs decision has energized younger pro-life leaders in ways our nation has never seen. "We have a newfound confidence since Dobbs because it proves that our voices have been heard and that no matter how hard the abortion industry pushes back, you cannot silence this generation," said Rosemarie Scoggin, 20, from Tempe, AZ. She was born at 24 weeks gestation.
Having the institutional support of a Christian university makes a big difference in our work raising up the next generation of pro-life leaders. CCU for Life, a student-led group, is one of the largest student groups on campus. The university helps fund our work. The President of the CCU marches with our students and speaks at pro-life rallies. Professors and members of the board of trustees regularly join the trip to DC. University donors gladly donate to help support these students.
You will notice at the March for Life that Catholic colleges and high schools take the March for Life very seriously. Many will fill up buses and travel across the country to participate. Protestant college participation, however, is much lighter. I hope many other protestant colleges will join us in making the March for Life a priority.
When we consider the important work of a university, we must consider training students to be civically minded. Competence in a particular field is critical, we want students to be leaders in their career fields. But we must also shape their souls and prepare them to be Christian leaders in their communities.
As America becomes more secular, our laws reflect that worldview. Christians have a duty to their neighbors to be good stewards of the communities in which they reside. This includes taking active steps to shape the laws of their communities for the common good of all.
But more than just training up students, Colorado Christian University is actively working to shape culture. The Centennial Institute, the university's conservative think tank, is writing laws in an effort to advance the sanctity of life at the Colorado state capitol. Not an easy feat in a state that embraces abortion up until the moment of birth.
Christian universities have a critical role in advancing biblical teaching for the welfare of our nation. We need to take seriously the education of our students to embrace Biblical teachings, become experts in their fields, and to take leadership roles in their communities.
But with universities being central to the thought life of our communities, we must put intellectual power into shaping our culture. Colorado Christian University seeks to do all this. To train students well and to impact our culture on behalf of Christian, conservative values.
America desperately needs great Christian thought leaders. Christian colleges can help lead our nation to embrace the sanctity of life.
