Involving the Faith Community in Teen Pregnancy Prevention

WAYS TO LEARN ABOUT FAITH COMMUNITIES• talk to others in theprogram who may beactive in various faithgroups or know aboutthis general area• talk to community leaders• seek the advice of localfoundations, who typicallyknow their community well• use the library• visit public meetings ofvarious faith communities,including worship services• read their publications(this is a good way tolearn a lot about the membershipand its faith andpractices)INVOLVING THE KEY PLAYERS36Select potential partnersAfter developing a general understandingof the faith communitiesactive in the area, programs willneed to select a few as potentialpartners. The most promisingpossibilities will be those thatalready show signs of beinginterested in the issue of preventingteen pregnancy. Forexample, potential faith communitypartners are probably:• known for their work withteens (for example, theymight have a youth office andstaff member assigned toyouth work, activities andprograms for kids and teens,youth serving in leadershiproles); the more involved aparticular faith communityalready is with youth, themore likely it is to becomeinvolved with a pregnancyprevention project;• involved in community initiativeson other youth socialproblems, like drug andalcohol abuse, tobacco use,violence, poverty, and juvenilecrime; and• already partnering with othernonprofit organizations onissues involving youth.A second, important step, forgottenby many of those seekingto work with the faith community,is to understand the faith contextof that organization andhow it might influence a group’sapproach to teen pregnancy prevention.Each faith communitywill have a different “startingpoint” on teen pregnancy—thatis, its basic ideas and beliefsabout young people, sexuality,and outreach to the community.Programs also should learnabout who makes decisions.Some faith groups are governedlocally, with each individualhouse of worship or faith leaderexercising autonomous decisionmaking.For others, a leadershipgroup (such as a parish councilor board) will be the decisionmakingbody. Some faith communitiesinvolve the wholemembership in decisions. Stillothers are guided by regionaland national leadership groupsthat establish policy and set prioritieswithin a denomination.