Involving the Faith Community in Teen Pregnancy Prevention

INVOLVING THE KEY PLAYERS44is a problem, but may have seriousdisagreements about thebest way to solve the problem.Just because congregations sitat one table does not mean theyagree on all things. The natureand depth of these differenceswill affect efforts to unite the faithcommunity on the issue of teenpregnancy. A program’s intentionaleffort to create ongoingdialogue among members of thefaith community will help themstay connected to the work.Recognize the faith community’scontributionAppreciate the efforts made bythe faith community to be apartner in prevention. Acknowledgeits contributions to buildingthose personal “assets” thatreduce the risks for adolescents.Programs should provide publicacknowledgment of the effortsbeing made by their faith communitypartners, and expresspersonal thanks to their partners.Explore additional waysto work togetherThe more programs involve thefaith community, the moreopportunities for additional collaborationwill materialize. Asnew ways open for programsand faith communities to worktogether, programs should beready to explore the openingfrontiers with faith communitypartners with the idea that itshould be good for both.ConclusionThe faith community is a keyconstituent in any community orstate. When a teen pregnancyprevention program initiatesand carries out a partnershipwith a faith community that ischaracterized by positive intention,respect, and carefulattention to cultivating areasof agreement and resolvingpotential areas of disagreement,it has everything to gain.