crisis pregnancy centers

Within our expanding network of friends and partners are many up-and-coming leaders along with existing youth leaders and pastors who express interest in taking our message of abstinence-until-marriage to the public school campus. To do this they must first undergo training on the fundamentals of abstinence-until-marriage education (that is, our curricula). Once they complete the training they can volunteer with us on the public school campus, communicating our youth development skills and supporting facts to students around the state. We refer to Operation Integrity as OI. OI training represents the beginning of the journey with CPC Prevention.

Operation Integrity Training

In a three-day sequence of facts, education, prayer, and testimony, we direct a step-by-step guide to our abstinence-until-marriage (ATM) curriculum. Our objective is to train youth pastors, youth workers, and up-and-coming leaders to step onto local school campuses with the invaluable message of sexual integrity. Operation Integrity (OI) is a crucial training ground for our educators to speak of freedom, integrity, and the choice:consequence connection. OI is a great way to bring God's wisdom and love onto the school campus by sharing with teens the most sensible and satisfying option for their future: abstinence!

Offered twice a year, the cost of $144 covers the three-day training and all meals those days, along with your bag and all the necessary materials (notes, DVD, leader's guide, props, and kit) for teaching our curricula in the public schools. For those who wish to audit the price is $35. To find out when our next OI training will be, or to speak with one of our staff regarding any of our curricula, simply call (480 821 7729) or e-mail (cclark@cpcphoenix.org) us.

Letter from the Director

Cheers to the health of young men and women developing into the strong leaders of tomorrow! But what are we doing to protect them and facilitate safe, thriving communities to anchor their growth?

Operation Integrity Training is one critical medium to ensure this reality! We need individuals who are passionately committed to God's design for sex and the "why" behind his perfect reasoning. Is that you?

If so, then know that your distinct role as an abstinence educator is one which will shape history-makers in this generation and beyond!

In 1997, the Arizona Department of Health Services approved the Passion & Principles curriculum for use in public schools. In 2004, Passion & Principles joined the Crisis Pregnancy Centers of Greater Phoenix, Inc. as the Prevention arm serving both middle and high school students. The abstinence-until-marriage (ATM) message conveyed through the Passion & Principles curriculum has been utilized in the greater Phoenix area for over 10 years and in over 54 public and private schools.

We believe knowledge applied is power, so we do everything we can to teach teens the truth about the messages of "safe sex" versus "save sex." In addition, we supply tested, medically accurate information. The students take this new knowledge and are encouraged to determine their course of action. Passion & Principles five-hour curriculum includes topics like "Worth Waiting for," "Risky Behaviors," and "Love Versus Lust."

In addition, we educate students about current sexually transmitted infections (STIs), condom failure rates, the powerful influence of the media, and statistics that help students to make sound and healthy decisions. We emphasize the importance of setting boundaries in relationships and the need for establishing specific life goals. We also encourage sexually active teens and unmarried adults to reclaim their virginity and to commit to "secondary virginity."

Teens completing the Passion & Principles curriculum are presented with a remarkable opportunity for freedom from the common emotional and physical complications associated with an early sexual debut. Unlike "comprehensive" sex education, we desire to empower teens to make healthy choices by sending a clear message of their responsibility to make an informed decision. We realize that confidence and courage are necessary for the decisions that sexual self-control requires, and so we make a concerted effort to instill those in young people as well.

The merits of abstinence-until-marriage (ATM) education cannot be refuted:

• 100% effective
• No side effects or health risks
• Prevents pregnancy and STIs
• Prevents emotional problems that can occur with teen sex
• Endorsed by many medical, religious, and community groups

I encourage you to review the evidence that abstinence programs across the country continue to unearth, namely that they save taxpayers money and lead to a healthier tomorrow for all of us. Allow me to cite a sampling of the supporting facts:

The 2006 National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, "By the Numbers: The Public Costs of Teen Childbearing," confirms that the annual cost savings to taxpayers since abstinence education has been funded for teenagers nationwide is $6.9 billion.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, sexually active teens naturally have increased pregnancies, abortions, and sexually transmitted diseases which can lead to infertility, genital cancers, HIV, even death.

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University has determined that sexually active teens are more likely to take drugs and drink alcohol (2004). Subsequently, these teens perform lower in school, and the risk of an unplanned pregnancy brings an impending limit on their earning capacity, resulting in the nationally recognized lower socioeconomic status of teen mothers. ("By the Numbers: The Public Costs of Teen Childbearing," The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2006)

A commitment to abstinence will enable teens to eliminate unnecessary stress and risk from their already challenging adolescence. We are privileged to carry a provocative message that subtracts "gray" compromise while compelling critical thinking and opportunity as driving discussion points. We carry great expectations for the youth who complete our curriculum.

We look forward to partnering together with you in this journey, and to working side-by-side to see this next generation capture the truth of abstinence, integrity, and freedom. From your mouth to their ears, into their hearts . . . moving healthy lives!

Saving lives and protecting futures,

Colleen Clark
Director of Prevention
Crisis Pregnancy Centers of Greater Phoenix, Inc.

Lord, I have heard of your fame: I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known.
Habakkuk 3:2

"History Maker"

There is a song that captures well our desire as educators to be history-makers who in turn influence teens to develop into history-makers themselves.

Is it true today that when people pray
Cloudless skies will break
Kings and queens will shake
Yes it's true and I believe it
I'm living for you

Is it true today that when people pray
We'll see dead men rise
And the blind set free
Yes it's true and I believe it
I'm living for you

I'm gonna be a history maker in this land
I'm gonna be a speaker of truth to all mankind
I'm gonna stand, I'm gonna run
Into your arms, into your arms again
Into your arms, into your arms again

Well it's true today that when people stand
With the fire of God, and the truth in hand
We'll see miracles, we'll see angels sing
We'll see broken hearts making history
Yes it's true and I believe it
We're living for you

(Written by Martin Smith of Delirious? ©1996 Curious? Music UK)

As you venture forth in this journey with CPC, we are thrilled to watch Christ move lives through you. Thank you in advance for pressing his fingerprints into the lives of the men, women and children that you will impact.

The building of Jesus' kingdom is our greatest desire. His grace enables us each to be a history-maker as we pursue his passion for life.