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Our Mission

AGAPE demonstrates the Truth and unconditional love of Jesus in a safe and confidential environment to women, men, and families experiencing pregnancy or the effects of sexual relationships.

“For you created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful; I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:13-16

“Yet You brought me out of the womb; You made me trust in You even at my mother’s breast. From birth I was cast upon You; from my mother’s womb You have been my God.” Psalm 22:9

Welcome!

Dear Friends,

Welcome! I am so glad that you found our website today!

Since 1985, AGAPE has faithfully served the people in the Des Moines area offering hope, support, and care through the front lines of pregnancy services and beyond.

This year will be our 39th year of serving our community. AGAPE is expanding its services to serve more and to serve better! We will be continuing to offer pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, STD testing, as well as more classes, life-skills services, and job training support than ever before. We are excited to be able to provide ongoing support to help change the quality of life for the child that will be growing up in the home. It’s not only about being on the front lines in the crisis moments but also about changing and making a better life and future for parents and children.

By God’s grace, we are excited to say that AGAPE is flourishing! We are serving God by loving Him and loving others. We are choosing to show the light of Christ in the darkest of places. It is obvious every single day that God is in this ministry because He is blessing it beyond what we could have hoped or imagined. The power of hope, the hope that a relationship with Christ can bring, is palpable. People can feel a peace and a love every time they walk through our doors.

Thank you, donors and friends, for becoming burden bearers through your financial partnerships and gifts. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for giving your time as you work alongside of us. Thank you for being our family.

I am so excited to see what God will do next! Thank you for joining us on this journey!

In His service,

Leanna
Executive Director

Team Members

Leanna

Executive Director

Leanna has been at Agape since 2019. She is passionate about serving Christ anywhere that He calls her to serve. She desires to seek and serve the hurting and minister to the most vulnerable of individuals. There is no one more vulnerable in our world today than the unborn. If in any way she can be a voice or an advocate to save one life, it is worth a lifetime of ministry and investment.

Christina

Director of Family Services

Christina joined the Agape team in 2020 overseeing the social services department. Having been placed for adoption as an infant, she is so thankful that her birth mother chose life for her. She feels blessed to be able to serve the Lord while using her education and background in social services and crisis counseling. Her desire is to display the hope and restoration that she has experienced in her own life through her relationship with Jesus Christ.

Gary

Director of Church and Community Relations

Gary joined the Agape team in 2024. He is passionate about finding ways to meet the needs of individuals in moments of crisis and offering Jesus as the ultimate answer in life. Gary has been a pastor for many years, serving in churches and care ministries beyond the local church. His desire is to activate people of faith in Christ to connect their beliefs to Christ-like actions.

Rebekah

Business Manager

Rebekah joined the Agape team as the Business Manager in 2023. She has a personal mission to be a voice for the voiceless and an advocate for the most vulnerable. The mission, work, and team at Agape has always inspired her. She is so grateful to be joining this important work!

Emily

Resource Services Manager

Emily joined the Agape team in the spring of 2022. With Emily’s diverse background, she is excited to use what she has learned, her passions, and her talents in serving others for the Lord. Her favorite part of working with families facing unplanned pregnancies is connecting with them through authentic relationship, while providing tangible support, resources, and skills to grow in their role as parents.

Ann

Nurse

Ann has been a full time nurse at Agape since the spring of 2023. Ann’s personal approach to client care is meetings every person where they are. It is her privilege to play a small part in their journey and their personal story. She feels especially excited to integrate both her faith and medical skills in meeting each person holistically.

Crystal

Nurse

Crystal joined the Agape team in the fall of 2020 as a clinic nurse. She has been a nurse for over 13 years and has enjoyed working in a variety of different clinical settings, learning a lot from each experience. She has been grateful for each experience, but none of them have spoken to her heart as much as the organizational mission of Agape Pregnancy Resource Center. After reading about the mission, she knew that she wanted to be a part of this family and serve in this capacity. She considers it a blessing to be able to pour her nursing skills, education, and experiences into helping those who are vulnerable and hurting and show them the unconditional love of Jesus and the support they need.

Katlin

Care Coordinator

Katlin joined the Agape team in the summer of 2022. She is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute with a B.A. in Pre-Counseling and Bible and Minor in Theology. She aims to weave these passions together to see all people come to know Jesus as the only One who saves and satisfies. Katlin believes healing and growth are possible for every person, regardless of their walk of life and is thankful to serve the Lord at Agape.

Brenda

Spanish Care Coordinator

Brenda joined the Agape team as the Spanish Care Coordinator in 2024. She has a personal mission to meet people using her ethnic background and language to serve in any way that the Lord provides. The mission and work of Agape speak both to her heart and the life-changing power of her Savior. She is so grateful to be joining this important work!

Pastor Bill

Fatherhood Program Coordinator

Pastor Bill joined the Agape team as the Fatherhood Program Coordinator in 2023. He has always gravitated toward helping people in need and desires to come alongside people to support their growth. Because of personal tragedies in his life, he has a real heart for the broken and hurting. Bill’s desire is to model the truth that Jesus is the answer to our deepest hurts and our darkest spaces.

Sarah

Marketing Coordinator

Sarah joined Agape in 2024 to support the ministry through her marketing expertise. Sarah’s passion is to put her faith into action with her life. She is excited to be a part of serving the preborn, the moms, and the fathers with God’s perfect and amazing love!

Board of Directors

Paul Jensen

President

Paul joined the Agape Board of Director in 2017. Paul is passionate about the mission and ministry of showing the unconditional love of Christ to all the lost. Having the opportunity to enable the staff and volunteers to speak the truths of the gospel brings him great joy. He is constantly amazed at the work that goes on at Agape and the daily impact that the ministry has on people's lives, in a very individual and personal way.

Laurie Zepp

Vice President

Laurie joined the Agape Board of Directors in the fall of 2016. The mission of Agape is personal for Laurie as her husband, stepson, son, grandson, and son-in-law were all ''unexpected''. She understands that having information and resources available at that time is critical; having people available to provide truth, unconditional love, and a listening ear is life changing. The commitment and dedication of Agape's staff and volunteers to do just that day in and day out is amazing and so inspiring. To God be the glory!

Dennis Mueller, CPA

Treasurer

Dennis Mueller joined the Board of Directors in 2022. He recently retired from his 50-year career as a CPA and felt that the Lord was leading him to use his time in meaningful ways to further the “works of His hands.”
Because of his longstanding relationship with Agape, volunteerism had crossed his mind, but he was unsure of how he could contribute so he waited and prayed for the Lord’s leading. Then the phone rang…and Denny answered not only “the call” but the call to join the board of directors. He considers the work of Agape to be a mission that Christ is a part of every day. Denny felt as if he was waiting for the call to be activated for Christ, and he is more than honored to join Him in this work.

Pam Ellis

Secretary

Pam joined the Agape Board of Directors in 2013. Pam first learned about Agape when a board member invited her to join her table at a fundraising banquet. Since then, she has been inspired by the incredible staff, volunteers, and board members who make this ministry possible. Pam has always been Pro Life and found that serving on the board has been a tangible way to put her beliefs in action. She has witnessed God's blessings on Agape, and those who enter its doors in countless ways.

Julie Kistenmacher

Board Member

Julie joined the Agape Board of Directors in 2024. The mission of Agape resonates with her on a personal level, having found herself in an unplanned pregnancy as a teenager. After coming to Christ, her greatest realization was that she is both fully known and loved by God, no matter her past. She can now see all the ways God has protected and provided for her and her family. She is honored to be able to serve God through her time and testimony in this way for His eternal glory.

Mary Merrick

Board Member

Mary joined the Agape Board of Directors in 2018. Mary became informed of Agape’s services when an unplanned pregnancy touched her daughter’s life. By the grace of God, her daughter reached out to Agape and, through the love, compassion, and non-judgmental counsel of the staff, she was able to find the courage to keep her baby!

Mary loves that Agape can not only provide a full-service clinic but also education and support after the baby is born. She is inspired by the staff and volunteers of Agape and feel that they are some of the most selfless, faithful servants she has ever met. The thing that inspires her most is the love that everyone has for Jesus and how He is kept in the center of the ministry.

Doug Ohlfest

Board Member

Doug joined the Board of Directors in the spring of 2020. He is passionate about service and has used his abilities and talents at Agape in the areas of construction, project management, and renovations. He is excited to be a part of a ministry that supports the stance for life and offers love, grace, and the ultimate Truth of the gospel to every person who walks through our doors.

Dr. Craig Stevens, MD

Board Member

Dr. Stevens joined the Board of Directors in 2022. He is a retired physician who practiced for over 40 years as a cardiologist. He desires to be useful and intentional in his retirement doing kingdom work and using the time and talents the Lord has given. He is thankful to begin serving on the board of Agape and contribute in any way to further the work. He is most grateful for God's gift of saving grace and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, our powerful Creator - the One who gives life and redemption.

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Ephesians 2:10

Zach Westrum

Board Member

Zach joined the Agape Board of Directors in 2024. His passion for prolife ministry came from having a family with adopted siblings. This has made a big impact on his life personally. Supporting families in their times of need is a great opportunity to invest in the local community, positively impact others, and glorify God.

Advisors

Dr. Stephen Feltz, MD

Medical Advisor

George Davison

Legal Advisor

Andy Karas

General Legal Counsel

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