So welcome to empower you podcast you guys I'm Steve Holt and we have with us today Rich
Bennett and here's what's cool about Rich is that he is in Colorado Springs and been
here a long time like me and we love this city and he has had quite a contribution in
this city in the area of life and it's really exciting we just did a conference on God,
sex and science which was kind of crazy the science part was kind of different yeah but
all these pro-life groups were in you were here was awesome we started talking I said
you should do a podcast with me and our church supports what Rich is doing and I just love
who you are man so did you enjoy the conference I did enjoy the conference I appreciate you
know there's not every church in the city that would say hey we're gonna take a weekend
and we're gonna focus on the issue of life and why it matters to God and why it should
matter to us and so I just want to say thank you appreciated the opportunity to do it and
it was we were talking earlier it was energizing to be around so many other people who care
about life made in God's image yeah man yeah man it was cool it was see to see the lobby
and all those tables around and then see all you guys talking to each other and I feel
like one of my goals with the road is to be a networker for others who are better informed
more anointed more skilled in certain areas so we did like a thing with Sean Boyd Eric
Metaxas Lauren Boebert Doug Lamborn and myself in September or something like that right
before the election and we just had a blast you know with their perspectives on how we
hold the line as it relates to the political arena so this was more the pro-life arena
and those kind of relationships go without saying they're so important and it tends to
be I don't know so much in pro-life but I know in certain arenas there can be a little
bit of competition that's felt and I think that's certainly not what we want at all yeah
I think that was more true you know I came to this position six years ago from Focus
on the Family and definitely soften my focus seat unfortunately at times pro-life groups
being a little more competitive you use that word I think that was that's a fair word and
why we still see some of that honestly there's so much opposition now from people who are
not just quote-unquote pro-choice but pro-abortion that I think it's helped refocus you know
if we have competition it's certainly not each other. So Rich you've been in the city 18 years
and that whole time were you with Focus were you on staff with Focus on the Family? I was so I
had the privilege of being a part of the executive cabinet at Focus on the Family for 12 years so
that's what brought my family and I out here at the end of 2004 the back half of that time at
Focus I served as a volunteer board member for Life Network and so that just afforded me the
opportunity to live out more directly that passion to see life valued and you know love the Ministry
of Life Network cared about what we get to do and was doing that from a board seat and my
predecessor in the fall of 2016 came to me then I was board chair and said hey I'm going to step
down at the end of the year so you know we're gonna need to fill that seat and as I started
to pray about the process for doing that felt God nudging me to step into that and so I did and
started in the role as president and CEO of Life Network at the start of 2017 so just over six
years now and it's just it is amazing Focus does important work Focus does amazing work but you're
not as close to it you don't get to see people dedicate their lives to Jesus Christ you don't
get to hear the story of somebody who walks in set on abortion and they leave our center an hour
and hour and a half later choosing to parent and while they don't have it all figured out they know
that we're gonna stand and walk with them and I still get the chills talking about it it's a
privilege to be a part of and you know I just love what God is doing through our three centers well
man it's really I mean it's taken off since you took over it's been amazing to watch because I
was a part of it even before so ever since I've been in the city I've contributed to or helped
out in some way but to see even lately the difference that your leadership has made is
amazing so how did you come into a heart for the unborn and a heart for life and I mean that's
that's pretty huge I mean and you've really invested yourself in this you know I appreciate that
And there's a number of things that God has just done in my life that I think have instilled
in me a passion for life.
And if I go all the way back, growing up in the Chicagoland area, I grew up in a heavily
Catholic community.
My family wasn't Catholic, but most of my friends were who I played sports with and
went to school with.
I actually went to a Catholic school for much of my schooling because our public schools
weren't all that great.
And you know, while we may have theological differences undoubtedly with our Catholic
brothers and sisters, nobody values life as well as the Catholic church.
And so just seeing that as a kid, as a child, and then growing up and recognizing the biblical
importance of life, I think started then.
But it really wasn't until I got into a Sunday school class my first year in our marriage.
So my wife, Stephanie and I have been married for 28 years, and we had the great benefit
and blessing of getting connected into a group of nine other couples.
In fact, I just got to see a lot of them last week.
And this older couple in the church said, hey, we're seeing all these couples getting
married.
We want to lead these nine couples.
Eight of us were in our 20s.
All of us were brand new married.
And then we had a Sage Wisdom couple.
They were in their 30s.
I know.
They were old, right?
But they were married for the first time.
And the guy in that couple is a guy named Mike.
And one day he said something that I had never heard up until that point in my life.
He said, you know, there's a lot of important, quote unquote, issues that as a Christian
are important to me when it comes to voting.
But in my mind, none are more important than where does somebody stand on life.
Now I've heard that a lot since then.
But as a guy, 23, 24, I had never heard that before.
And I said, wow, tell me about that.
And so he started to share why that was.
And it actually led to a small group of us doing a Bible study for four weeks, just starting
to unpack all that scripture says about life and why life matters.
And Steve, I would say it was at that point that God really just further cultivated that
passion and bred in me, you know, I need to be a part of this.
And so my wife and I started supporting the Pregnancy Center in the Kansas City area.
I would say that calling is part of what led me to focus on the family in 2004 and
then being on the board and now in this role.
And so it's just cool how God can use other believers in our life to speak to us and water
those those passions that he's put within us.
But that's kind of my story of how I got involved.
So Rich, did you feel like as you moved into this new position, or maybe it was even before
when you went with focus, kind of a sense of calling that was that was somehow going
to be related to life and pro-life stuff?
Absolutely.
And I know that we have all kinds of supporters, yourself included, that share that calling
and they may have other callings as well.
But I would say what's unique about our staff, and I would include our volunteers, are just
like this is a top calling in my life.
And I look around and yes, competence is important.
Yes, character is important.
But if a staff member doesn't have calling, when things get tough, they're not going to
make it.
And I think it's the coalescence of those things that just I look across our team now
and we just have it in spades and it's just it's fun to be a part of.
How many staff do you have over at Black Network?
Steve, it's crazy.
We have 56 full and part time staff, and that's to do a lot of different things.
That's to staff our three pregnancy centers.
That's to staff our thrift store that opened three years ago.
And it's also to live out our in-school program, Education for a Lifetime, which is now in
26 area high schools, helping young people make healthy decisions when it comes to relationships
and sexuality.
So we do a lot and it requires a lot of people.
And holy cow, 56 full and part time staff still doesn't get it done.
We have over 150 volunteers that come alongside us to make all that happen.
So I was so impressed with Sienna and I've known about it, but I hadn't talked to Sienna
about it, even though I knew that she was doing it.
But that was cool at the conference to have Sienna there.
Now that's to me really revolutionary to take the message of even abstinence and what
we would call even just health.
It used to be called physical, what did we call that?
I think we called it physical health class when I was in school.
I don't know what they call it now, but it was called physical health back then.
Now we didn't talk about STDs and STIs and all that.
kind of stuff back then. But now it's a big, huge, pressing issue. And you guys are in there. So talk
to me about that, because I was super impressed with that aspect of what you guys do. Yeah,
well, and you mentioned Sienna. And for those who couldn't be at the amazing conference,
we've got a young lady in our team, Sienna Adams, who grew up in this church and grew up under your
teaching. And she is now living out her passion to make sure that young people know, even if
they've made unhealthy decisions in the past, they could make healthy decisions in the future.
And she's just a young lady that totally gets the redemption that Jesus Christ offers. And
obviously, we can't express it in the way that I just did at a public school. But that redemptive
message of you are not the sum total of bad decisions you might have made in the past.
And she, and under the leadership of Alan Hunter, that team is living out that so well and just
bringing hope to people that maybe didn't have what, I mean, I don't know the details of your
background, but I grew up in a Christian home. I had parents who, while imperfect, like all of us,
brought me up in the way I should go. And I knew at an early age what healthy relationships and
healthy sexuality was supposed to be. And even as I tripped up in that, I at least had the benefit
of that. There are so many young people that don't even have that. And so, if you grow up in that,
you make unhealthy decisions, and then somehow somebody communicates, well, now you've done it.
You've, you know, you're lost. There's no coming back from that. You know, that is not what our
program teaches. And what's so exciting to me is when we look at the data points of what that
program does, it's young people who have made unhealthy decisions, and they leave that program
understanding that they don't have to continue down that path. And to me, that's one of the
most important things about that program. And yes, of course, we want to get out in
front of unhealthy decisions. And so, for young people who are eighth, ninth, tenth grade,
and they haven't made those decisions, we certainly want to help them understand
why the healthiest decisions for them, you know, revolve around things like sexual purity.
And we can say that in a public school classroom, Steve, not because it's what the Bible teaches,
although it is, but because it's what's medically true.
That's right. And that's the scientific evidence is just catching up with things.
Yeah, exactly.
And we're talking about that. It's such a good way to approach it.
Yeah. We can use federal data and we can use medical truths. And the reality is it's catching
up to what Scripture has taught all along.
Yeah. So what we're talking about is this ministry out of the Life Network and the
Pregnancy Center here in Colorado Springs that Rich does, and he's the CEO and director of,
but they actually go into not just private schools, but they go into public schools
and teach on abstinence. And how many hours will they do, say, at one school?
Yeah. And I'll correct you just because I don't want anybody to freak out. We actually call it
sexual risk avoidance. Now, fundamentally, sexual risk avoidance. And it's really all about
understanding what is true about sexual health. And then what does it look like to avoid unhealthy
decisions? And so abstinence, I think over time became a loaded word. And I think quite honestly
is the kind of word that might keep us out of schools if we'd let out with that.
It's almost like now you can't say, you don't want to use abstinence and you don't want to use purity.
Yeah.
It's like this new thing that's kind of hit the culture the last five or eight years
that was never there before. I mean, I remember that not being a problem even with
those who disagree with us, but you're right. So now I like the new way though.
Yeah. Sexual risk avoidance.
Absolutely.
And the reality is in the church, you know, we could still use those other terms and we
know what we mean. I think in culture, it is more precise to say sexual risk avoidance.
And that's what we're teaching. And the reality is even those that might be pro-choice, even those
that are going to be pro-contraception have to acknowledge the medical truths that those,
that sexual risk avoidance is what's most healthy.
Well, it's more descriptive.
Yeah. And it's more descriptive as well. So yeah, we get the opportunity
five days in a health class. It's typically in the ninth grade.
Is it like when you say five days, would it be like one hour?
Yeah. It's one hour. And then, you know, a trainer like Sienna is going to go in and like the teacher
of that health class, she's going to see five or six classes one hour at a time for five days in
a row. And let me clarify four of those days she will do. One of those days is actually done by
a staff nurse who is a trainer who goes in and purely.
sharing from a medical perspective. And so we save some of the stickiest medical questions
for the nurse that's on our team that goes and does that part of the training.
Many of our trainers are staff members. Others are youth pastors in the city who are great with
teenagers. They're not going in as the youth pastor of Church XYZ. They're going in as a
trainer for Education for a Lifetime. And they understand what comes with that in terms of,
staying true to our script and keeping within bounds of all that. Because we're in 26 high
schools, we don't want to lose that opportunity. And so we do have to be mindful of how we're
operating within that. So Sienna's almost got a full-time job. I was talking to her about it,
and I know she works at a coffee shop or something else. But that is just like,
is that happening around the country? Or is that unique to here of going into public schools and
be able to teach this stuff? You know, it's happening around the country, but I would say
you have to be wise as serpents about how you do it. And just honoring of the reality of the
culture that we're in. We don't have to like it. We can lament the days where we could talk about
then the biblical basis for what is also medically true. And we can do that in a Christian school.
We can do that in a Christian youth group. We just can't do that in a public school setting.
And I know, you know, there are some people who have thought about volunteering with us and like,
that can be like, well, I don't know that I could do that. Well then, you know, this is probably not
for you. But the reality is there are other programs like ours around the country. And I
would say it just takes wisdom and discernment in how to operate that so you don't lose the
opportunity for impact. Now you were mentioning the idea of being in a national organization like
FOCUS. Then you came local and that was the transition six years ago. And you gave me some
statistics here that were pretty, pretty cool. The last six years, 1600 babies saved from an abortion.
I mean, we could just stop right there and close the program. I mean, if that doesn't get you
excited. Steve, how many people on a typical weekend attend The Road? I should know the
answer to that, but yeah. Do you know? Yeah. I mean, it's probably 1200. Okay. So imagine all
of those are going to walk through your doors on Sunday as saved babies. I mean, like that,
that plus 400 is what we've seen in the last six years. So yeah. And that's sitting down with them
a lot of times with a sonogram talking, maybe the only person in their life that's
wanting her to keep the baby. Do most people come in with kind of a proclivity toward abortion or
do they come neutral? It's a great question. And it is almost completely down the middle of 50, 50.
Okay. So half of the women coming in are at least getting pressure to, if not all the way to
determine to have an abortion when they come in. And in fact, just yesterday, a lot of times we
will see somebody for an initial appointment. We'll have them back for an ultrasound a day or
two later. And that was the case for this young lady who came in in this particular circumstance.
Unfortunately, her boyfriend was absolutely adamant they had to have an abortion. This was
not the time to have a child. They weren't married. They weren't ready to have a child.
And he was just dead set. She was less sure. So we saw them on Saturday. They came back yesterday.
And it was that sonogram, that meeting their baby via ultrasound, that softened their heart.
And they have now chosen to parent. And of course their journey's not done. Our journey with them
is not done. And one of the false lies out there, I guess there are no true lies. One of the falsehoods
out there is that somehow as pro-life Christians, we only care about the baby. Not true at our
centers, not true in our communities, from what I've seen. I don't think it's true in most cases.
And yeah, our journey is just going to begin with that couple. We're going to offer each one of them
a parenting mentor where they can meet every other week for the next two and a half years
and train them up as parents. Most of the young people we see didn't have great parent role
models. And so they get the opportunity to see what that can look like. More than that,
especially initially, they're going to get material resources, crib, car seat, baby clothes,
diapers, formula, and more. And all of that is earned in the context of our program.
And so the notion that somehow we're only going to be there until a mom chooses to parent and
then we're going to step out of it, it's not true at our centers and it's not true at most pregnancy
centers in our country. And just by the generosity of our community, we even have over and above
services beyond that. We offer professional counseling. And so a coach can do a lot.
But for a young woman who's experienced trauma,
I mean, we just have some clients who have experienced some hard, awful stuff.
A coach can do a lot in that scenario, but a lot of them need professional counseling.
We have a professional counselor in the building now four days a week at our center at Galley,
which I think is our, you know, our highest traffic center.
And we have counselors available for other centers as well.
And so again, we're caring about life, which means the life of that baby, the life of that
mom and the life of that dad.
And I think a lot of people are surprised that we're engaging with him as well.
And even if they've gotten things biblically out of order, we want to love on that mom
and that dad and provide support for both of them.
So 18,500 plus conversations about Christ.
So when you're talking to someone, do you guys, I mean, you must obviously kind of go
after a discussion about their spiritual life.
Yeah.
And all of that is done in an honoring way.
And I would say the phrase we use is a permission based way.
And so none of our services are contingent on, well, first you have to listen to the
gospel or first tell me about your faith journey.
The very, the very first thing we're going to do is care for them, care for the situation
they're in.
But we don't want to miss the opportunity to talk about, you know, what a healthier path
can look like beyond that.
And certainly we would say as Christians, being involved in a relationship with Jesus
Christ is critical to that.
Again, we're going to do that very carefully in an honoring way, in a permission based
way.
And, you know, one of the other false falsehoods out there is the notion that, you know, this
is just all a ploy to beat people over the head with, with scripture.
Our staff didn't do that.
That's not their heart.
We don't want to miss the opportunity to share about the most important thing.
And the number you just shared of 18,000 plus faith conversations in the last six years
is indicative of that.
But again, done with wisdom, done with the right timing.
And we have clients, Steve, who, when they start with us, they say, I will take the parenting
program.
I've chosen a parent, but I don't want any of that Jesus stuff.
And we'll honor that.
The reality is over time in relationship with that coach, their heart starts to soften and
then we can start to have those conversations in his timing.
So there's a, there's a, I don't know, maybe pre evangelism.
There's an aspect to this of, of building heart to heart connection at the most vulnerable
time in a young woman's life.
Talk to me about that because I don't see that.
I don't have the privilege as a local church pastor to, I mean, I, I get it as far as marriages
or something.
Maybe someone's pregnant.
They might come to me, but they're going to probably more or less gonna, they're going
to go to you guys on that.
So how do you train your people to really be sensitive to not being condemning?
I can't even imagine.
That's not even a word I can even imagine from Life Network because you guys just don't
have that.
But just that, that feeling that they probably have of condemnation maybe, and it's not always
the right reasons, but they still feel that.
How do you draw out enough of them that you can massage that with grace?
That's a great question.
And a lot of it starts with hearing their journey.
I mean, you just think about outside of the context of a pregnancy center, the most effective
thing we so often can do as believers is listen to somebody's story and share our story.
And so we have staff and volunteers that I think are really wise about how to do that.
And in one given engagement, it might be, let's talk to you about you.
And for a woman who's facing an unexpected pregnancy, that's the most important thing
out of the gate you can do is talking to her about her.
And I've gotten the opportunity to share a message in churches in the last few weeks,
and actually looking at the story of Mary and Joseph.
And of course, we're rightly very focused on the birth of Jesus when we look at that
come December.
But if you step back and you actually look at it through the wide eyes of Mary and Joseph,
and you look at the initial reaction that each one of them had, and it was about themselves.
How can this be, since I'm a virgin?
Or Joseph saying, well, plan A was we were going to get married, but now plan B is I'll
quietly divorce Mary.
They're thinking about the impact that it has on them.
Our clients that we see are the very same way.
They walk in and they see the death of their dreams.
They see this is not something I'm ready for.
This is not something I was planning.
And so talking to them about them, hearing their journey, hearing their story.
We just have a team that does that really beautifully.
And then with permission saying, can I share a little bit of, you know, what I've seen
in my own life, if that's appropriate, and if that connects.
It is so that I heard somebody say just yesterday, you know, God will bring together the right
staff member and the right patient.
the right staff member or volunteer and the right client, and we see that happen all over the place.
And so some of it can be planned, but obviously the Holy Spirit is at work way beyond our plans
and, you know, the best practices and everything else that we do to make sure our services are
professional and medical and well done. There's still amazing work that God does,
sometimes despite us, but certainly even amid all of those things that are good.
But, you know, God is going to work well beyond that.
Well, Rich, every time I've been with you, you're so positive. You always have a joyful
attitude. How do you keep that in the midst of a job that's kind of meeting people at some pretty
difficult situations? And some of them are not going to make the right choices.
How do you stay positive and joyful in your relationship with God, with Stephanie, with your
staff? Man, that's a great question, because I think I've shared this with you before.
We have high highs, and we've talked about some of those, and we definitely have low lows,
appointments that don't go the way that we want. And I've heard our nurses describe it this way.
When we do an ultrasound for a young woman and she's one of the 13 percent that doesn't choose
to parent, that nurse has the realization that the only two people on earth that will ever have seen
that baby are that mom and our nurse. And that's hard. It's hard to hear about. And, you know,
we cry together and that's tough stuff. And so I'm thankful that, first of all, we do have,
you know, many joyful outcomes, and I think celebrating those. And also I think it's critical
when serving with us, and most of our team really gets this, and this is what keeps us positive,
is it's not us, it's God. And so, you know, we want to be faithful in the moment in sharing what
we're trained up to share and sharing what God would have us to share and stepping into that.
But then the results are His. And unfortunately, even people, you know, presented with all the
right information and they see that baby and they see that beating heart, and they know on some level
that they're making a decision that's not only unhealthy for them and their baby,
but just not the right decision. They can't see past their circumstances.
And, you know, you just have to release that. And I would say, you know, that's kind of key to
keeping going is dwelling, not dwelling on those hard moments, entering into those, comforting one
another, talking through those. But then, wow, we just have so much to be thankful for and to
celebrate. And God does amazing things through our centers every day. And I think we kind of,
at least I try to keep my focus there. Well, since the infamous decision,
the Dawes decision in relation to dropping a Roe v. Wade and all that, what kind of an impact
has that had positively? And what kind of an impact has that had negatively? Now,
for some of you that are watching you outside Colorado, we're a very, very blue state.
And so abortion is still legal here in our state. The states have the opportunity to make that
choice. It feels like, at least in Colorado and to me, that the pro-abortion, pro-choice side
has gotten more animated than ever. Is that true? Is that just my misperception?
What's the difference since that ruling? No, I think that's right. And there is both
challenge and opportunity in that. Colorado, for those who are here, they may know, but for those
who are beyond our state boundaries, Colorado is one of six states that allows abortion until the
moment of birth. And I'm not somebody that looks to data for what is right and looks to polls for
what is right. But when you look at the polls, that's out of step of most pro-choice Americans,
let alone those of us who are Christians and pro-life. I mean, we know life begins at conception,
but in the back half of a pregnancy, when a baby can be born alive,
the notion that we're going to abort that child is just barbaric. It's just so hard
to wrap your mind around. And our nurses who know that life begins at conception,
when we have those moments where we see, and we do see patients that are in the back half of a
pregnancy, and they're still considering abortion, those are hard moments. And it's no more or less
a life than at one day or one second. But there is something about it's just so evident and obvious.
medically true that that baby could be delivered now and yet abortion is on the table. So,
you know, the opportunities for us as a state that's so pro-abortion
is we've become a state where people from states like Texas, like Oklahoma, like Wyoming around us
that have abortion restrictions, they're calling and contacting us. The reason that's happening for
us- They're calling and contacting you? They are. And if they're considering abortion,
one of the reasons why is we're very findable online. And so we've been very fortunate,
you know, through the investment of churches like yours to make sure that our website is a very
findable destination for women searching for desperate options. And if they search Colorado
abortion or Colorado Springs abortion or Colorado crisis pregnancy, terms like that,
we're very likely to come up in the first few results. So on average, since that June ruling,
we get two calls a day from out of state. Our goal is not drive and come see us hundreds of
miles away in Colorado, but it really has turned us into a regional ministry of our team knows how
to immediately get them connected. Once we've had a conversation, which we've talked to them about
them, once we've gotten them to understand, you know, a little bit of what state is at stake with
that decision is get them connected to a pregnancy center that's well-staffed and well-serviced in
their own area. And so, yeah, we're sending young people to centers in Dallas, Texas,
and in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and in states that are far away. And we don't know what God does with
those stories. But I mean, we get two a day now, which is just like, I would never have seen that.
Do some of them drive out here?
So we see that too. The typical scenario there is we might hear from them, they're on their way,
and one or the other partner is struggling with that decision. And so they're still deciding what
to do, or they get here and they're a day away from that abortion appointment. And they look
online and they see that we offer free medical services like a medical grade pregnancy test,
a medical grade ultrasound, services they're not going to have to pay for. And so from
that standpoint, the stakes are low in terms of, well, let's find out where we are in this
pregnancy and if it even is a viable pregnancy. And there is opportunity, even with the most
abortion-minded individual, to talk to them about their situation. And so many people,
it's hard to imagine this, but they don't see an option other than abortion. They just can't see
beyond it. And so even just giving them the space to breathe and to think about that and talk about
the implications of not only the abortion option they're considering, but parenting or making an
adoption plan. It's a tremendous privilege to get to do that. And we are seeing people
from out of state turn around and going home. So what's the future of the Pregnancy Center
Life Network kind of coalition, the different ministries that are in that arena? I mean,
is there some talk among executives that run the ministries about changing up
strategies or anything like that as we move forward because of the changes that have occurred
and the fact that some are in red states, some are in blue states?
You know, I think I'll just say what's happening here in Colorado is I'm increasingly on the phone
or on Zoom calls with other center leaders in Colorado. And one of the things I'm encouraging
them is, you know, we need to be beyond reproach. That's always been true. But in a state like ours,
where, you know, somebody is looking for a reason to condemn a pregnancy center, to see where,
you know, we've stepped out of bounds on something and to come after us, that's very real. And like,
we can like shrink back in fear for that, or we can like lament and be sad about that. But like,
what I think God has for us is let's be confident that we're providing services that are worthy of
the excellence of God's kingdom. And I think we're doing that. And it doesn't mean we always get it
right, but I think we're constantly looking for ways to get sharper, to get better. We're stepping
right now into not just that first visit, but early pregnancy care in that whole first trimester.
And the goal is not, we want to be their medical outlet for that entire pregnancy.
But the reality is, so many of our underserved clients don't get good pregnancy care after
that first appointment. And it just breaks my heart that they'll leave our center, maybe they chose,
for whatever reason, not to go on our parenting program, and then the next medical care they get
is in the emergency room when that baby is due. That's not good for mom's health, and that's not
good for baby's health. And so we're increasingly stepping into, and this year,
We're going to be bridging more clients with the aid of government services that are available.
And so, Medicaid, if they can't afford it, can fund what would be needed to make sure
they get just the most basic pregnancy care so that mom can be healthy and that baby can
be healthy. Because, again, to be pro-life is not just in that moment of the decision,
but it's to be pro-life for those lives thereafter. And I just think there are more centers that
are thinking that way. And for us, that's something that the board has approved and
we're going to step into this year is not to go beyond that first trimester, but to
be a bridge to getting them connected with good OB-GYN care after they've seen us.
Do you have connections with doctors and stuff that you guys can rely on? Let's just say
someone's going to go through with the pregnancy and they've been convinced that this is the
right thing to do. Do you have certain doctors that you recommend they go to or hospitals
or something like that?
We do. And I'll start by saying, and I don't think I've shared this yet, we have a medical
director that serves with us, Dr. Kevin Wehry, who's delivered, this is crazy, he's delivered
over 6,000 babies.
Oh, he's delivered some of my friend's babies.
Yeah, I think he's coming up on 7,000 babies that he's delivered.
He's got like 90 years old or something.
No, he's like our age, dude. He's a young guy.
Very young.
Right.
But yes, I know so many people that he's been their doctor.
And everybody in that Academy Women's Health practice, just top-notch caring for women.
That's a practice we're not going to hesitate to connect people with. It's not the only
practice we feel good about, but we do have a special relationship, I think in terms of
just knowing that women are going to get good care from them. And so bridging them into
a practice like that. And certainly Kevin does a great job serving our medical director,
overseeing all of our nurses and making sure that medical care remains at that tip top
level that I believe we're at.
So you and Stephanie would be classified in my mind as kingdom of God revolutionaries.
You're bringing the kingdom of God into the arena of women who have probably thought about
an abortion or unwanted pregnancy, and you're making a difference in thousands of lives.
And if you are advising someone right now, this is called empower you. And so what we're
trying to do is empower people to change the world. And something happened in your
heart when you were in your twenties, where you heard that guy in your Sunday school class
say something to you and it resonated in your heart. There's got to be tens of thousands
of young people out there that have that same kind of burden that they're carrying. What's
your advice to them as far as the steps involved in being a part of this kind of a ministry?
Yeah, I think it starts with praying about it for sure, but not ignoring, number one,
that stirring that God is doing within you and not letting the enemies lie. And we've
all heard it in our own lives. At least I know I have, which is, oh, you can't do that
because X, Y, Z. You don't have the time or you're not good enough or, you know, well,
you know what you've done. I mean, all of those lies that the enemy uses in our life
that keep us from doing what God has for us. And so understanding in my mind, when
that starts to happen, that's the enemy trying to stop you from what God has for you. And
so once you're able to press through that, you know, see, okay, you know, what is my
calling in this? Is it to be involved in, you know, the legislative arena as it relates
to life? That's not my calling. That's an important calling. I mean, you know, especially
in a state like ours, you know, I really admire those people that are still fighting
that good fight. You know, for somebody like me, it was getting directly involved in that
frontline care for women and men who are facing unexpected pregnancies. We have people who
start that training path and they knew they want to be involved in it, but they realized
that they just don't have the giftings or don't feel like they have the giftings to
do that in one of our centers. You know, those are people that are now serving at our thrift
store or they're a part of our prayer team. We have people who come on site and pray over
our ministry or they're praying at home. I mean, what does God have for you that you
can do to step into seeing life valued if that's a calling on your life? And, you know,
I do believe there is something uniquely important about life made in God's image. So all of
us as Christians to some level need to care about that, need to pay attention to that.
I also don't believe we're all called to work in a pregnancy center. And so you've
got to discern.
in that through prayer, through, you know, understanding your gifts and where God might
be calling you to serve. But everybody can do something. And that's just my encouragement
is, you know, somebody who's listening and they're saying, well, I'm a student right
now. School's my priority. You know, wherever you are in your community, I guarantee there
are women in your community right now that are considering abortion. Pray for them. I
mean, you could just start there. And I'll also say this, you know, as there are ears
outside of Colorado Springs listening, your local pregnancy center in all likelihood can
use you because pregnancy centers particularly now need support, material resources for the
moms they serve, volunteers plugging into their charity walk, you know, whatever it
is that's happening in that community. There are really practical things that people can
do to step into that. Well, I think the Galley location is such a great location. That area
of the city is perfect for the pregnancy center. I love that. Yeah. And that is still
our busiest center for sure. In fact, it's busy enough that they're about to push out
and administrative people like me, just because like we're serving so many people, what a
high class problem. And so, yeah, eventually some of us who have more office based jobs
may need to find a new home, but that center is thriving. And every day we're seeing women
and men who are facing pregnancies they weren't anticipating considering abortion and God
is using us to see those young people choose life. And I think, you know, it's not as dramatic,
but when a young person is coming in for an STD test and they use that as a moment in
time to say, my unhealthy decisions have gotten me to this point. I don't want to stay here.
What an exciting moment to help that young person. That's why we did the conferences
for that. Yeah. Not only make a healthy decision, not only get them healthy in that moment and
do treatment, which we do, but then help them see that there are healthier decisions ahead
for them. And that same truth that we get to do in classrooms, we get to do in our pregnancy
centers. And I mean, I get as almost as excited about that as babies getting saved every day,
which of course is, is remarkable. Well, Rich, we could go on and on, especially like I was
thinking about something you said and we didn't touch on it so much, but would you
say that a lot of the people who come in have heard about, um, the pregnancy center because
of someone else who you helped? Because I know that, you know, word of mouth is huge.
I know that that's how we've grown our churches. Everything's through word of mouth, but you
see that? Yeah. The top two ways somebody walks through
our doors are they found us online or somebody told them or the two together. And so those
two together account for, you know, at least 75% of the visits and yeah. So, you know,
somebody coming in for, you know, today's STD patient could be the person tomorrow that
says, um, you know, I hear you're on, you're facing an unexpected pregnancy. They took
really good care of me. I would go here. And that's another thing that's made that service
very strategic is, uh, it's another opportunity to be a women's health destination, get people
healthy and that word of mouth factor that you just talked about.
So there's 1600 people in our city or somewhere in the country, if they've moved that are
alive today because of what you're doing. And that is awesome. And that's the revolution
we need. So I want to just thank you, Rich, and you communicate to Stephanie too, because
you guys are a team. You have that same mission together, but thank you. Thank you for what
you're doing in our city. And thank you for being a model of a man. Cause I mean, a lot
of times in your pregnancy centers, women are directing and it's kind of like in our
school system, women are teaching the classes. It's so awesome to have a guy, a man in that
role who cares. And I think that may be one of those, I don't know, maybe it's a indirect
blessing that we don't talk about much, but a woman comes in, I'm imagining most of the
time without the boyfriend, you know, we encourage her to bring the father of that baby. How
many, what would you say? Um, it's over half now that I think are bringing in the father
of that child. And the biggest factor there is having a guy for them to meet with. Uh,
and we've grown that significantly. So you might be a father figure to them that they've
never had. That's pretty huge. And I know you don't see them all, but they're going
to see you walking around, you know, and then you're talking about, you've got men that
they're sometimes meeting with that are involved in it too. Yeah. Yeah. So, so yeah, she's
got an appointment. We didn't even talk about that, but our fatherhood program has grown
tremendously. And I do think that that's a linchpin to her choosing to parent.
Having the confidence to choose to parent is overcoming the lie of our culture that
as men, we should be silent in that moment and that it's her choice and that you need
to stay out of it.
Yes, ultimately it is her choice.
But if we as guys step into that and we communicate, I'm here for you.
If we know that we want to see that baby born, asserting that and that I'm going to be here
to support her and that child makes a huge difference.
And just this factor, you know, I talked earlier about if a woman meets her baby via
ultrasound 87% of the time she chooses to parent.
Well this next piece is national data.
If mom and dad are there together, that number goes to 97%.
That is the power of a present guy, a guy overcoming the lie of the culture that says
they're better off without you.
The lie of the culture that I bought even as a Christian young man of life is a woman's
issue.
And it wasn't until that Sunday school class and Mike came along and said, hey, as men
and women, we're called to value life and look at all that scripture says about why
life matters, that I kind of had my eyes opened and overcame the false lies of the culture
that said, you know, that somehow this is just a woman's issue.
It's a woman's issue.
It's a man's issue.
And increasingly we're seeing more and more men.
And really the linchpin there is inviting him into the conversation and having a guy
for him to meet with.
Wow.
So, Rich, tell us how people can find the Life Network.
Yeah, we are findable certainly online.
Our website is the letter E for everyone, lifenetwork.com.
So elifenetwork.com, you know, a Google search of Life Network Colorado Springs is of course
going to pull us up.
We also have a really active Facebook page that's for those who support life and support
what we do.
And again, if you search Life Network Colorado Springs, I think we're up to about 3,500 followers,
but we try and stay active on that.
And what's really encouraging about that is you're getting a lot of real time praises
and updates of what's happening in our center.
So those are probably two of the top ways that somebody can get more information about
who we are, what we do, and maybe what God has for you to be a part of it.
Well, Rich, I want to pray for you.
I want to just thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Having been here 28 years in the city, it really makes a difference.
And I know you know that.
I can tell that you know that, but from a pastoral perspective too, you really are on
the front lines of something that the church by and large tends to miss, not want to talk
about.
It's the big A word that you don't mention in church.
Well, that's not true in our church, and it shouldn't be true ever, but you're still
doing it.
And you guys are out there, a part of the spiritual warfare that's involved with it,
all of that.
So I want to pray for you, and I want to thank you for coming in.
And I'm excited about, I hope you're going to keep doing this for like a long time.
Yeah.
I had a board member just the other day say, you know, where do you see, right now God's
calling on my life is to be right where I am.
Even if you went to KU, and you might want to go back to Kansas, I have no idea.
You need to stay here.
We need you in Colorado Springs.
I appreciate that.
I feel called to be here for sure.
Yeah.
Well, let me pray for you, brother.
Thanks, Steve.
Well, Father, I just want to thank you so much for my brother.
I want to thank you so much for his love for you.
I want to thank you for Stephanie.
I want to thank you for his family.
I want to thank you for the whole Life Network and the impact that the three different centers
have.
The outreach into high schools, it's just amazing.
I pray a blessing over Rich.
I pray he'd have joy.
I pray he'd have righteousness, peace, and joy flowing through his spiritual veins.
Thank you for the enthusiasm he brings.
Thank you for this really growing team of staff and volunteers that are a part of the
Life Network.
And I pray, Lord, that the joy of the Lord would be a strength.
And I pray, Lord, that as the years go by, we all here in Colorado Springs could be known
as a Life County.
We'd be a Life City and a Life County.
People would know about it because we're all working towards saving every little baby we
can and every mother that we can and every family that we can.
So bless my brother in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Thank you, man.
Thanks, Steve.
Appreciate you.
Appreciate your church and churches like it that care about life.
It means the world to us for sure.
Amen.
Thanks for tuning in, everybody.
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God bless you.