Christian-based group sets classes to support single expectant mothers

Single mothers with unplanned pregnancies will now have a Christian-based support group as the Bridge City-Orangefield Ministerial Alliance teams up with the international Embrace Grace program.

Melissa Isaacs, director of the Ministerial Alliance, said the 12-week course will begin on Wednesday, January 25, in the evening and continue on Wednesday evenings until completed. The pregnant women will have mentors who have faced similar situations. The courses will include practical and spiritual advice for pregnancy and taking care newborn children.

At the end of the courses, each expectant, or mother of a newborn, will have a baby shower with local churches and members donating gifts to help.

The group also supports adoption, Isaacs said. "If the mother chooses adoption, we will hold a celebration of life" party for her, she said.

The Embrace Grace program, Isaacs said, is "Biblically based" and lessons include "no matter what you've done and what you've been, God's grace is with you and He loves you."

Expectant mothers may sign up for the program through the Ministerial Alliance office during working hours of 9 a.m. to noon on Mondays and Wednesdays. Phone call registration may also be made during those hours at the number 409-735-8296.

The Alliance office is on West Roundbunch Road Bridge City. The office space is in a building set up in the parking lot of First Baptist Church of Bridge City. The expectant mother classes will be held in the Ministerial Alliance offices.

Isaacs said Embrace Grace Bridge City was started by Lynette Davis and first had space in another church. However, the Ministerial Alliance agreed to help with the program.

"We already take care of people who need help," she said. So the single expectant mothers program fit into the group's mission.

The Bridge City-Orangefield Ministerial Alliance is one of the faith-based charity services in Orange County and serves that area, though the expectant mothers classes are open to everyone with a need.

The Ministerial Alliance is supported by churches and individuals. Issacs said the non-profit group helps people having financial difficulties with food, utilities, and rent, if needed. In 2022, the group provided food for 4,120 people and gave toys to 605 children at Christmas.

The expectant mothers classes will help the participants "learn life-changing skills needed to get through pregnancy and being a mother," Isaacs said. Other mothers who have faced similar situations will be there to guide the participants through what they can expect.

"I'm very excited about this," Isaacs said.

After the first 12 weeks of classes, the group will begin another 12-week session.

The Embrace Grace website says the group was started in 2008 and has spread internationally. "Embrace Grace exists to help inspire and equip the church to love and encourage single and pregnant women and their families," the site says.

The group says it is "pro-life" and "the church should be the first place they (single mothers) run, not the last place they are welcomed due to shame/guilt."