Our keynote speaker tonight, Stephanie Gray has given over 900 pro-life talks throughout the world, and after having heard her speak tonight, it’s easy to understand why she is so popular!

Stephanie began her talk by holding up three powerful examples of young people who have made a huge difference in our world.

First, she told the story about a young man named Zach who started an organization called “Loose Change to Loosen Chains” to help people who are enslaved. Word began to spread about his work and he ended up being featured on CNN and was hailed as a modern-day hero. Zach began this outreach when he was 12 years old.

Second, she told the story of a young woman named Hanna Taylor who, upon seeing homelessness, started the Ladybug Foundation. She began this outreach, which has raised over 4 million dollars to fight homelessness, when she was 8 years old.

Third, she told us about a student named Ruby Bridges who, in the 1950s, began fighting bullying – by parents – who were angry that she was an African American attending an all-white school. Ruby was 6 years old at the time.

These young people lived by three essential principles:

  1. They put others in front of themselves.
  2. They had perspective; the ability to change how they see things.
  3. They did the right thing even when it was hard.

Those of us who want to make a difference in today’s world should live by these same principles.

Stephanie outlined some great thoughts on how to share the pro-life message in a very clear and loving way, and I’d like to encourage you to either watch her talk in its entirety on our livestream or listen to the full audio that you can find embedded at the top of this page; I can’t do justice to her profound thoughts in this short blog post 🙂

Stephanie also shared a powerful video featuring a gentleman named Rick Guidotti who used to be fashion photographer, and who now focuses on taking pictures of young people and adults with disabilities. He is definitely changing people’s perspectives powerfully through the beauty of his photography!

She closed by telling us that her three life-changing principles can be summarized in one sentence which was spoken by Jesus: “This is my body, given for you.” As we know, Jesus put the others ahead of himself, changed our perspective on the meaning of suffering, and he did the right thing even when it’s hard.

It’s all about love, friends. Let’s keep making a difference!