In my early twenties, my heart began to tug toward the littlest lives and the vulnerable women carrying them. The Lord placed me in a job where I could employ all my giftings as I headed straight into the trenches at a nonprofit pregnancy clinic. There, I spent four years of learning, growing, and expanding my heart to stand for life holistically. I stayed in that job role until I knew God was leading me out of it and into something different.
I joined Betenbough Companies in early 2020, where I first met Holly Betenbough. Several months later, unbeknownst to me, Holly was beginning her involvement in a campaign to make Lubbock a "Sanctuary City for the Unborn." Holly had been praying over every step of this campaign. She said the Lord put my face before her, and on January 16, 2021, she sent me this text: "Connar, just personally, out of your experience and with your beautiful heart, would you begin to pray about and seek the Lord for what you believe the narrative should be in support of Lubbock being a Sanctuary City for the Unborn?" I already wanted to get involved, so I said YES, seeing this as the Lord's confirmation.
“The truth is, the Lord placed me exactly where I needed to be to complete this mission, but He knew I couldn't do it alone.”
After just two meetings, I was appointed to lead marketing and communications for the campaign. I wouldn't have been involved in the campaign if I still worked at the pregnancy clinic because of specific guidelines. Instead, the Lord went before me and placed me in a new job where I could stay in my field and still employ the passion for life that continues to be at the forefront of my heart.
Walking into the campaign, the messaging felt cold, sterile, and loud. Saving lives? That is anything but a cold subject. The Lord brought out boldness and confidence in me, which empowered me to speak up. I began to change things to approach the campaign with truth, love, and grace. We needed a complete 180 in communications. I felt it in my spirit. We needed to communicate life, not fear and death. There was much to do, yet only so much I could accomplish after work hours.
I needed time during the workday to get everything done, and Betenbough allowed me to do that. The blessing of being able to spend paid time working on a campaign that I was volunteering for outside of work is not lost on me. A former Betenbough Companies graphic designer, Katelyn Creech, also donated her time, and her design brought this vision to life.
We set a meeting to present all the collateral to a team of well-versed political professionals working on the campaign. I remember that day so well. I prepped and prayed and paced. I was incredibly nervous.
I called Jeanna Roach, Betenbough Companies marketing director, for some last-minute tips on pitching a complete 180-degree shift in communications to a team of direct and dominant political professionals. She affirmed me and prayed over me. Holly prayed for favor and confidence over me, then sat back and let me lead. I walked into the meeting insecure, thinking I wouldn't be taken seriously or that I would get walked all over. Instead, the Holy Spirit was in every detail of that day. I left that meeting with thanksgiving in my heart, and we all left with a new, unified message: "Vote FOR life. Vote FOR the ordinance."
The truth is, the Lord placed me exactly where I needed to be to complete this mission, but He knew I couldn't do it alone. I can say without hesitation that He used the people at Betenbough to help me carry this load.
When the media reached out to me for an interview, 11 employees stopped what they were doing to gather around me and pray. When I needed help getting the message across to a specific audience, multiple women in the company got on camera to share why they value the sanctity of human life. When I was overwhelmed, two close teammates and friends came to my house to bring me breakfast and work on the campaign with me. When I felt discouraged or attacked by negative social media comments and news coverage, teammates reached out, prayed, and wrote encouraging notes.
And on May 1, 2021, when Lubbock won by a landslide vote to become the largest sanctuary city for the unborn to date, my teammates were the first to acknowledge what the Lord had done and to encourage and affirm me.
I saw so much fruit from this time. I experienced tremendous growth in communication, conflict, and leaning into my authority. I experienced the Lord's faithfulness in placing me in such an incredible support system at Betenbough Companies, holding me up at every turn. Most of all, I experienced a supernatural sense of God’s provision through asking me to be part of such a significant assignment and surrounding me with everything and everyone I needed to complete it.
Lubbock community supporting Vote FOR life
Connar Turner