Hear Lucas Cullers’ story here about Parenthood Planned.
Transcript
The transcript was automatically generated and may contain errors.
00:05 :
So, so Lucas, I’m excited to have you on the Pro-life Team Podcast.
00:11 :
Would you introduce yourself?
00:13 :
As if you were talking to a small group of Prancy clinic executive directors.
00:21 :
No. All right. Ok, Let’s see. Are we recording now is it going out live now?
00:31 :
Oh, it’s. I’m recording.
00:32 :
It’s not live, but yeah, I’ll be.
00:35 :
Doing some editing, Yeah,
00:39 :
All right. Yeah my name is Lucas Colors i’m with parenthood plan. We’re pregnancy help organization. We’re virtual. And so we can reach a lot of people. Right now we’re here to help support, give underwear and support to those that with expected unexpected pregnancies. That’s all we’re doing right now. We started this 2022 but it went back several years before we. The calling came back to me when I had my first child around in my thirties, when I went and took a place called Planned Parenthood knows the flip. We were parenthood plan the other guys, I went to Planned Parenthood and we talked to them about how to be a parent. And the lady was younger than I was again, I was in my thirties she was younger than I was and she looks at me and said, mister colors, this is not what we do. We won’t help you be a parent i says why your name is Planned Parenthood? I said, well we do abortions here. Well, I got a little red face and I walked out. I think I made a decision then I would have to do something about this and I guess here we are 37 plus years ago and we’re doing something about it the best we can until we get grow bigger.
02:08 :
So yeah, so tell us or tell me what it is that you’re doing so how is how long ago?
02:14 :
Did you start Parenthood Planned?
02:18 :
Well, we officially opened in 2022 You know we it takes a while to get things ready and the way we do it, we have, we’re virtual being virtual we have we’re connected to Heartbeater and National Hope Sync and a lot of other affiliates. So they come to us, they have a concern, reach it through five different social media platforms. They have concern about their pregnancy or what or about just being a parent in general because we offer classes on how to be a parent. Say someone once like me when I was going to be and become a parent. You know there’s books out there, but you kind of want to talk to somebody how to be a parent. And so we’ll have, there’s a lot of information out there and we’ll direct them to the information they’re looking for and then if there’s an organization there’s a brick and mortar and they more feel more comfortable with that, we’ll hand them off to them and they will not connect that organization will take them from everything’s from conception to birth and beyond that that’s what we offer. We decided on the name because we went, it felt a calling we went through a lot of formats. Even when I signed up for some organizations they said you sure you want a name because and your social media, they won’t find you. I said it’s not a matter of being found, it’s the name I was called to use and that’s what we decided to use.
03:50 :
What’s been where have you seen God’s fingerprints?
03:53 :
In this work over the last well year and a half for almost 2 years, what’s where has God opened doors or provided help?
04:08 :
Provided helping me figuring out the ministry. You know I’ve started this even when I started this and we got organized and we got the paperwork done and we signed the papers and were officially Planned Parenthood. I didn’t understand if that was my ministry or not. So I went to various different ministries, ICC IM3 you know ICCI is a you it’s in a Christian organization would be certified as a Christian teacher or something like that or a business like that or an M3 is going on missionary trips. And then I went to Heartbeat International. Now that fulfilled what I then knew that’s where I was supposed to be at. This is my ministry. I was running away from it like Jonah going somewhere else, but I knew there ‘d be a lot of politics involved in this. So he’s helped me get involved more and allowed us to, you know. The gentleman that I, we were doing real estate stuff with, he’s very good at social media and I was almost not going to do some things and then we connected just out of blue and that spurred me to just launch everything, you know go through with everything. So that was a fingerprint right there, that connection right there. And then our social media, you know, anything’s better than 0 when you’re coming to social media and we’re hearing a lot of people come. You know sometimes we if you look at the at the statistics 320 % over last week. So we’re our social media is growing. So the words get now we’re making progress in our ministry. And that’s all due to, I think, to what God’s helping us do.
06:10 :
That’s good. Tell me more about. Yeah, How?
06:12 :
Your story.
06:14 :
Correlates with Jonah can you give it?
06:16 :
Can you give us some more details there?
06:18 :
Yeah, I was almost couple things. I was wasn’t going to use Planned Parenthood i wasn’t going to use Parenthood planned as a name. I was people were talking me out of using the name and finding out various ones and OK and I felt bad about doing that so I said then i got this. The thought that no, i’m going to use this name this is what we’re going to do. Also, men, I went to the other ministries, OK, do I want to do i want to get into a political hotbed of abortions and pro-life and stuff like that. You know, ’cause the other ministries they don’t seem to have the politics this does. In my mind it’s. But no, i again, the other ones didn’t feel right they didn’t feel like I was going to be and so it I didn’t get put in the body of a fish or a well, but I did get directed so hey, this is this is you because of the how comfort I the comfort I felt being in that in that group of people that that’s doing this. So that’s how I felt like what’s going on.
07:32 :
I think when I.
07:33 :
First heard it at Heartbeat International i think I probably provided some pushback on it because of the legal risk tied to it or you know the likelihood of that being an issue.
07:46 :
But when it comes to.
07:47 :
Following God’s direction, there’s no, no better place to be than to, yeah, than to go the direction that he directs. So that’s awesome. What’s been your prayer life like during that?
08:02 :
Jonah like.
08:03 :
Experience like what is that resembled or how would you describe your prayer life during that time?
08:11 :
I’m still learning. You know, I got workbooks and I listened to tapes of how to prayer better. All right, bunch of people and it’s just like there seems to be so many ways that the dates of this they suggest how you pray and I I’m working on what but I’ve the prayer life was been taken been happening since for quite a long time it’s just trying to find out. All of us come to the point where I said, you know, your will be done. Basically most of my prayers go that way, but every day there’s a definitely a prayer.
09:07 :
Going back to your back story or the.
09:09 :
Origin 3030 years.
09:11 :
Ago as you reflect on this.
09:14 :
Today, you know how.
09:16 :
A group.
09:17 :
Called Planned Parenthood, refused to provide parenthood training or does not provide.
09:25 :
Can you expand on that?
09:26 :
You know that thought and just the lack of honesty or the lack of integrity or.
09:34 :
Just how that’s like.
09:35 :
A you know their name holds a false belief in what and what they, who they are and what they do.
09:42 :
Well, I can just put it this way i understand why they say they plan, they offer Planned Parenthood, OK? And I’ve met a lot of people in this journey this when they were younger, they use these services for health benefits those free health benefits for even the simplest of Pap smears you know, the stuff that women have to take care of on an annual basis and they provided for that. I totally understand what they do and to me it is this if they would change their name and be more accurate and what they do. The abortion part i’m. I don’t believe in it, but I’m not going to condemn. I’m at a point where I don’t condemn for what they do oK that’s God’s plan. But I don’t. I don’t like the name they shouldn’t be using it as a Planned Parenthood but you know, I’m not It was going to change it’s going to change. But i’m like I use our name. So we know. But you know when you come to us, we’re all about planning to be a parent, even if you’re not one now come to us. You know, we use our resources. Use them, you know, we’ll find you a location, we’ll find you know, a house that maybe live in two if you’re pregnant and stuff like that we’ll find you a whole lot of things so you can be a parent and after that, after you deliver, we’ll help you know, stay, you know, maybe with some income or some other subsidies that can help you in raising that child. But we’re all our everything we do are to help you be a parent.
11:25 :
So if you were to compare.
11:28 :
What Parenthood plan does.
11:31 :
As a new organization.
11:32 :
Less than two years old or about two years old compared to Planned Parenthood. That’s like 100 years old when it comes to the services regarding parenthood. How would you compare what you do versus what they do.
11:47 :
We don’t offer any of the services they offer, right? We don’t offer an abortion we don’t offer any Wellness checks or condoms or birth control. We’re all about the survival. If there’s a baby, the survival of the baby again, if they want to be a parent, we’re all about, you know, teaching them classes, you know, cooking, taking care of the baby, exercises. I do social media posts all the time about general things like OK, fun things for pregnant women oK writer journal do this, do that. You know, just to help them understand there are things out there to do when you’re pregnant to give them the support if they’re having pushed back from their families to get to send them to maybe counseling or give them some information that I found through hopes saying to offer to send them. You know, there’s a lot of information that I could provide or we can provide parenthood plan not I, we in parenthood plan to provide to give the somebody the right vision of being a parent.
13:04 :
So one of the things that I’ve heard many.
13:06 :
Times is that planned?
13:08 :
Parenthood won’t use the.
13:10 :
Word Baby or mom or dad? What are your thoughts on using those terms and yeah, what are your thoughts on that?
13:21 :
It’s on our website. You know you’re your mom, you’re your dad, you’re everything. It’s a it’s a baby you’re from the from conception you’re responsible for it and here’s the thing, OK, you saw you come to us, so you go to one of our affiliates and you say then you decide that you want to do the abortion. Ok, We offer counselling after that. It’s a it’s a process in their mind what they’re going to have some We find that the statistics show there’s issues but people have remorse after they have the abortion what So we’ll have, we’ll have them counselling for that help them get to that process. And then maybe if they come back and they’re pregnant again they will go through you know, they want to be a parent they understand that hey I want they just they just didn’t have the mindset at that time to be a parent And we’ll say, OK, we understand. Let’s help you get through this.
14:24 :
So being.
14:25 :
That you’re a virtual center.
14:29 :
When it comes to someone, who?
14:30 :
May want to get an in person ultrasound or in person services do you provide referrals?
14:36 :
Or what does that?
14:36 :
Look like as someone providing remote service.
14:41 :
Give me a zip code give me an address. I’ll refer you out to maybe 3 to 8 different organizations, whether in a certain variety as to where they want to go to. If they don’t, if they want to go out of state, they don’t want to go local we can find, we can through our through our services we can find a place out of state or maybe a larger radius so they don’t want their neighbors to know what’s going on and what we’ll connect them we’ll make the make the well, we’ll talk to the person that’s reached out to us and say, hey, here’s some possibilities. We’ll give one or two ways do you want us to introduce you or do you want to introduce yourself or do you want that organization to contact you And those we’ll give them those three choices and then and then there with you know when they come into our system like that then we do follow up. We have their name and their and their some maybe some email or phone number and we’ll do follow up and see how they progress because like you know like I do the same thing. I want to do something and sometimes I say oh shit I don’t know if I want to do it anymore and so when someone follows up, i follow through and we do the same thing we follow up on the people to give them some courage and understanding the hey, you know you’re not alone in this process. So they can go through with and figure out what they want to do in their life with and with a child.
16:14 :
As a.
16:15 :
Relatively new organization.
16:18 :
What have you found as being the most?
16:20 :
Helpful for getting advice, direction, tools, resources like what’s been really helpful.
16:30 :
I pull off you know we started this and another reason I started is we started parenthood plan was because I hadn’t heard about any of this before oK, I got into this organization and then I went to, again, Heartbeat or Natural was one place and some of these people have been doing this for 40, some plus years and that blew my mind away because I haven’t heard about them yet. So what I’m doing, I’m taking the resources from the people who are i’ve been doing this 40 years. The large Heartbeat International, they put out information for that. There’s so much information once you get into this that I share, OK, we share what we find to the individuals.
17:16 :
That’s good, yeah.
17:18 :
Heartbeat International is yeah, a favorite of mine another some of the other resources that are on par or similar.
17:28 :
Would include.
17:29 :
Care net. And then there’s state level groups as well. Many states are forming state.
17:36 :
Coalitions and then something.
17:38 :
You know.
17:39 :
The state that seems to be.
17:41 :
The, you know, the an example to other states, it seems to be the group out of Missouri, Alliance for Life Missouri and then there’s also groups like NIFLA that focus on the legal.
17:52 :
And with the medical?
17:54 :
Yeah, maybe 60 % legal, 40 % medical. And then there’s groups like APLOG, which are all medical, you know, Association of Pro-life Nurses and.
18:08 :
But anyways, all to say.
18:09 :
Is, Yeah, Heartbeat International is definitely an amazing, Yeah like we’re there’s several diamonds when it comes to getting resources i would say they’re, yeah, definitely one of those top level places to find resources.
18:23 :
We don’t offer medical or anything so I use the resources. I’m just getting the information to the individuals so they can go to that brick and mortar that has the medical note that those organizations will be more aware of some of the stuff that you’d mentioned than I am right now. But as I get a brick and mortar, what I plan on doing and we won’t get more in tune with you know those resources as well.
18:49 :
Yeah.
18:52 :
Are you thinking about?
18:53 :
Brick and mortar.
18:54 :
Or are you thinking about getting?
18:55 :
A place on wheels which seems to be your priority or what are your thoughts on that?
19:02 :
Both right, Connor awesome simultaneously well, I don’t know it could be that I’ve looked, I’ve looked at both the. I think it’s brick and mortar first. It’s housing it’s what we really want housing for the women to stay at whether and then we want if we have our own facility for them to do the sonogram, that’s fine too but i want to provide housing and have the other groups who divide a sonogram that need housing to come to us. And then we’ll open our facility to provide our own sonograms and the training sessions and all that stuff in person. And then eventually we’ll go from there to the like save the store and stuff like that. We’ll do a mobile type service.
19:57 :
Awesome yeah, ’cause I’m just.
19:59 :
Imagining having parenthood planned parked right next to an abortion clinic that to me, that sounds sounds very exciting, yeah.
20:14 :
So what’s something as a new?
20:18 :
Director of a new clinic.
20:19 :
What’s something that you’ve?
20:20 :
Learned that you would like.
20:22 :
You think?
20:23 :
Was Many other directors may not really know or understand, You know, that’s.
20:29 :
Something that What’s a nugget?
20:30 :
Of information that you’ve learned along this new journey.
20:36 :
I don’t have a nugget to share with the directors i’ve been there because I’ve been doing it more a lot longer than I am. What I know is that I need a bigger, bigger team. I need to we’re getting, you know it. Funding is always the hardest thing and once I get the funding set up then we our team will grow because I can’t We can give volunteers but for the for directors I if you find look at my social media, it’s not me in there i’m not I’m pushing I’m not supposed to be here I’m this is it’s an organization that grows by itself. Parenthood plan that’s an organization so we need we need directors we need all the people that will facilitate the growth of this as I’m looking to pull back out of it name wise as fast as I can so i just want this organization to do that it’s a it’s big responsibility and I need more help doing this.
21:40 :
Oh, that’s good. Yeah, I’ve yeah, I’ve got a couple of thoughts one you know if you try and make the audition.
21:49 :
Grow on its own without you as the you know.
21:52 :
As a key part.
21:54 :
That’s you know sort of an ensures longevity or you know it makes it so that you’re it’s not reliant on you into the long term but it makes it yeah but it’s by having procedures or the team set up to grow and to take care of everything that needs to be done. That’s a that’s a good place to be. It’s also probably a it’s a.
22:17 :
Difficult project if.
22:19 :
You get to the point where you can step out but.
22:22 :
And then also I’m imagining when it.
22:25 :
Comes to your website.
22:26 :
Content I.
22:27 :
Do a lot of SCO work which is tied to like showing up on Google for certain phrases and I’m imagining.
22:33 :
You know how well your content.
22:35 :
Could or maybe does or will?
22:37 :
Compete for.
22:38 :
Phrases based on your name and how that would be really helpful to see that grow as your team grows in that area and as your content grows.
22:50 :
Yeah, right now it’s not about the SEO though it’s what I’m going to churches, events, word of mouth. You know when we first got the website done, even if we knew the actual name parenthoodplan.org it was hard to find. We got that fixed. So now if you know the name you can find it now and it sure they search for parenthood, we you won’t find us. You don’t use keywords you won’t find us like that. But So what you’ll find is, you know, we’re got a database of 3000 people we’re sending information to that you’ll find us through them. And so God will take care of the SCO. God will care, will take care of what, how fast we’re supposed to grow. So I’m comfortable with what we’re doing right now.
23:48 :
Cool. How did you grow?
23:51 :
That support base of 3000 people or email, addresses What was that experience like?
23:59 :
Past a past life, A life of several years. Oh, OK, Take those, take all those contents and past careers. You know we’re going to we’re probably going through a point where we’re going to have to look and see unfortunately even through this last year I found some people that we were we were just have been talking to deceased it happens. So but again this we’re going it’s a it’s a it’s like a word of mouth oK, Apostle going out there and speaking to the masses and having them listen to what he says and that they go for somewhere else and they talk to somebody else and hey did you hear about this organization. So this is where we’re at. We’re in the grassroots stages right now.
24:50 :
So when it comes to going to.
24:52 :
Churches before parenthood planned.
24:56 :
Had you ever?
24:57 :
Gone to churches or spoke in front of churches before or.
25:01 :
And how was that?
25:02 :
Experience of doing that if that was new.
25:06 :
No, it I go to church to go to church to listen to the what the pastor has says or the minister or whatever the nomination i was out at that time and I have you know I’ve gone to the list and but now it’s yeah I’m reaching out to them said hey we’re in this we’re here we are some of them say well we already support this organization so and so forth i says fine that’s cool I understand that. But also we’re local. If you ever want us to stand up and talk to you talk to your congregation let us know and we’ll come couple minutes septum time or if you they just want some of our pamphlets or stuff to spread around however they want to share the word we’ll do that. But it is it’s more here’s the thing not every i’ve read this on an article on and it’s kind of true not every church is going to want to do this because it’s a political hotbed and it’s something maybe the congregation doesn’t want to deal with right now or it just it just doesn’t fit well with what they’re trying to do in their in their church life right now. So our we write letters of introduction to the local churches we then run then we write emails and then we start attending their churches and we frankly talk to the pastors individually and eventually they learn but get the here’s another thing when you walk up to say you say somebody hey i’m a my name is Lucas I’m a part of parenthood planned they hit they hear that other name first Planned Parenthood and that’s so like they’re leery they’re they don’t understand they think you’re a scam. So you have to talk to them and discuss and show them the information what you’re doing you give them a link to go to you give them a lot of information so they understand that you’re legit and once you get legit then they go and then they have to talk to OK we have to have a council meeting or the other pastors and members of the church to see if they want to do that so it’s a large process it’s just getting them to understand that you are a legit company and this is what your path is and this is aligns with God and through having being a helping those wanting to have children going through helping those have birth of an unexpected child. So that’s our that’s a large that sometimes.
27:43 :
So after you explain that.
27:44 :
To a pastor.
27:47 :
What what’s? What types of?
27:49 :
Reactions have you received after they, you know, finally understand you know what you’re doing and how you’re not Planned Parenthood.
28:00 :
This process you know we started, you know we got a local churches, we have a 20 local churches were contacted with and two of them responded back well actually one is only responded back and they said well we have to have a committee meeting we’ll let you know and the rest you know we’re waiting on responses. Like I said we have a we do postal mail first and then we’d like we try to do emails and then we’ll do a in person walk on you know meet at their office or do something and I’m expecting I don’t. My expectation is you know it may be another month or so before a congregation allows me to step up in the top front of somebody which is fine with me because I need to get the nerves to do that you know to be able to stand up in front of that congregation and explain to people what I’m going to do for what we want to do at the organization. So it’s been fun. I’ve been enjoying it.
29:10 :
What sort of?
29:11 :
Questions have you fielded from a church?
29:15 :
Congregation or what kind of yeah, what’s been some of the.
29:19 :
Comments afterwards after someone hears what you had to say.
29:23 :
They don’t question what I do i mean they end up to believe one type of convincing. It’s just we’ll get back with you. That’s all it’s been we’ll get back with you. So again, as I guess as I get back with me, they might have some questions because what i give them links to. We have an app, we’ve been developed an app. Ok, now I’ll go that app, you download it onto your phone. It’s not our Google app yeah, it will be, but it’s not yet. You can share your scan and share it, send it as a link, clever you in my signature if you see my signatures, you’ll see that app, my signature or my emails. With that app, you open it up and it gives you all my social media, all the plan, all parenthood plans, social media feeds, 5 feeds. It gives us, it gives you the website. It does give you a donation page if you’re so inclined. But they can go there and they can see exactly what we what we do in black and white or on the screen or whatever you want to call it. They’ll see what we do. And then after reviewing that, if they take time to view that, my assumption is they will come back to me say, OK, mister keller, as we saw this, we like to have a few more questions and this is and then they’ll they’ll have a process of saying, hey, OK, we might give you this much time at the end of the service or this much time and more some church, some churches I’ve been to, they don’t have time either way. They just have announcements so maybe I’ll be in a bulletin or something like that. So different churches are going to act different ways.
31:02 :
So going back to one of the original.
31:05 :
Problems that you identified of awareness meaning like you didn’t know that these organizations were working for a long period of time.
31:14 :
What are your thoughts?
31:16 :
On improving awareness of this issue and of the fight and of the people trying to do work, what are your thoughts on awareness?
31:28 :
I tell you, that’s why we live. Why were we let’s start over. I’m hoping on my add into awareness factor because that’s what our goal is as I got into it it’s like it’s like you’re going down the road and you want to buy this vehicle, this car and all of a sudden you see so many of them on the road i didn’t know, you know, it’s the same thing happened to me when I entered this ministry. So there and we have a rally coming up this weekend here near Austin, texas. I’m right down in the location near Austin, texas. Another rally this weekend we’re going to join that it’s going to be in Texas is a big pro-life state, so there’s going to be a big rally this week by Saturday i’m telling that it’s actually my first rally as a member of this ministry. It’s all, it’s my hope that through the people I talk to in the circles I go to give them the understanding there’s a programs out here maybe they’ve never heard of. I’ve had people say I have never heard that service before yeah when I tell them yes, I’m a member of a group of Heartbeat or Nashville where we are 3000 pregnancy health organizations and with a hundred and eighty thousand or eighty thousand individuals inside of that organization so it’s a pretty big group, but it’s not large compared to some numbers oK. I’m a real estate agent as well i was in my in my agency, my MLS, there’s 100 and how many 80? There’s 80.000 thousand, agents OK, in one little district. Now we’re talking worldwide heartbeat has 3000 agencies worldwide. And again, there’s an auxiliary. The people that work inside there makes a bigger number, but it don’t seem large enough yet. So we’re working on that and that’s how we get the word out to them and other individuals that’s through meetings and you know, podcast like this i guess I didn’t know why I didn’t think I’d ever be on podcast either but so that’s how that’s how it gets spread and so I don’t know what I know there’s a lot of people out there now and they’ve been working on this for a long time.
33:58 :
Yeah, and but awareness.
34:00 :
Is a real problem. A lot.
34:02 :
Of us know.
34:04 :
Each other because we’re in the pro-life movement, we’re doing pro-life work.
34:08 :
But the.
34:09 :
But the mainstream, you know the.
34:11 :
You know, the main just mainstream media.
34:15 :
Mainstream you know people that are not in the pro-life work don’t you know they don’t have exposure or awareness of how of this very important vital issue that hinges on you know it’s hinge to freedom it’s hinge to family it’s hinged to our country our neighbors our community in a in a deep way and it’s.
34:44 :
Not to say.
34:45 :
It’s the only problem and you know, there’s a lot of darkness, there’s a lot of problems, but this is, this is one that is big. This is a big one.
34:56 :
Social media though, it’s giving us a big, great tool to get out there. You know, we’re not as dark as we used to be. We can get out and once we get followers, those followers will share and share and share. So God’s given us a good tool and social media, we use it, right?
35:13 :
That’s good. Yeah, that’s true which platforms on social media are you? Have you been?
35:18 :
Using so far.
35:21 :
Facebook twitter linkedin instagram let’s see.
35:30 :
That’s most of them.
35:33 :
Yeah, YouTube.
35:35 :
Ok. Oh, good.
35:37 :
Five of them. That’s good and we post daily.
35:43 :
Ok, so Lucas, I’ve really enjoyed having you having you on this podcast.
35:52 :
What are your final thoughts before?
35:53 :
We wrap things up.
36:05 :
I just appreciate the opportunity here, Jacob, really do. That’s it that’s it. Thanks for having me on here.
36:13 :
Sure my pleasure. Would you?
36:15 :
Before we turn before.
36:17 :
We end it will you close this podcast out?
36:19 :
In a prayer.
36:23 :
And with expectation that.
36:24 :
Those who are listening could join in.
36:29 :
Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you. We thank you for this ministry You’ve given us this path. The view enlightened for us that we can follow. And I’m We know without you, though we cannot succeed. We ask you if we continue help through your Son, Christ jesus amen.
36:49 :
Amen.
36:50 :
All right i’m going to go ahead and stop it there.