Wendy Lowe is a hometown girl. Her roots are deep and strong into the community that she loves and has raised her family in. Born in Wytheville, Virginia, Wendy grew up and attended high school and a community college there. She chose to complete her four-year degree at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, less than an hour away. Wendy then worked at Radford University for many years – another institution just a short thirty minutes from home. Wendy and her husband, Steve, have been married for 33 years and have lived all but just a short time in Wytheville.
The Lowes have been active members of Life Changers Christian Center in Wytheville, Virginia, under Pastors Todd and Tammy Porter, since 2016. Steve, a sergeant with the State Police, oversees the church’s security team, and Wendy serves on the praise team and as the Assistant Director of Women’s Ministries for the Appalachian Conference of the IPHC. Wendy and Steve have two grown children: a daughter, Stevie, 25, who is married to Heath and has given the Lowes their first grandchild, Joanna, and a son, Matt, who is soon to be 21.
Heath & Stevie Snyder, Carmen (Matt’s girlfriend), Matt, Steve, and Wendy
Joanna Laine Snyder
In 2011, Wendy was in a church service on Sanctity of Life Sunday (usually observed on the third Sunday in January) when she first heard a special guest speaker, the company CEO of the Pregnancy Resource Center. The message she shared touched Wendy deeply, and she knew she wanted to be involved. She began helping in her church, working to help raise funds for the center. All Pregnancy Resource Centers are donation-based, with the funds coming in from a few main fundraisers: the baby bottle campaign – where supporters collect change and fill a baby bottle over the course of a few weeks, the Walk for Life in April, and a fundraising banquet in the fall.
In 2023, after she had already been helping with the Pregnancy Resource Center for more than a decade, Wendy saw that the Valley Women’s Clinic, a Pregnancy Resource Center (PRC) with offices in Blacksburg and Radford, was looking for flex nurses. She immediately thought of her daughter, Stevie, a recent nursing school graduate who was job-hunting. In her research, she saw that the Valley Women’s Clinic was planning to open a new center in the Wytheville area; this new center would need a director. Wendy felt a small tug on her heart.
The board and the CEO originally began looking into the Wytheville area because they were hearing from Pastors within Wythe and Tazewell Counties about the need for resources there. In recent years, Planned Parenthood had moved into the Bristol, Tennessee area (approximately an hour from Wytheville), making abortions easily accessible, even to those in Virginia. Due to this, it felt even more crucial to have the hope and resources of Valley Women’s Clinic available to those who are dealing with an unplanned pregnancy. The Lord provided the perfect location in Wytheville, and the board purchased the building before having any other plans in place. Wendy is good friends with a former CEO of the centers, so she contacted her to ask if she thought Wendy would be qualified and a good fit for the director position at the new Wytheville location. Her friend encouraged her to apply.
Wendy didn’t know how this would all work out; the position at the center was part-time, so she wouldn’t have a full-time paycheck coming in. Even so, her heart felt a burden and some excitement to make the center a bigger part of her journey. She promised the Lord that if He made this possible, she would be obedient and walk into this new opportunity. It wasn’t long before Wendy was hired for the position at the Wytheville office; the center wasn’t even opened yet!
Wendy Lowe, Wytheville Center Director Pregnancy Resource Center of Southwest Virginia/Valley Women’s Clinic
Valley Women’s Clinic Wytheville
Wendy spent several months training, and with the help and support of her boss, she worked two days for her job at Radford University and three days training at the Blacksburg and Radford offices before officially retiring from Radford University.
The services offered at Pregnancy Resource Centers are numerous and essential. The center is, first and foremost, a ministry and mission of the church, working to educate and counsel the clients on the procedure and risk of abortion while offering alternatives. The center is non-profit, operating solely on donations, offering free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds if deemed necessary, STI (sexually transmitted infections) testing for women and men, and treatment. The clinic also walks alongside parents as they experience pregnancy and the eventual birth of their child, offering counseling and educational services (teaching the parents-to-be how to care for the baby on the way). The clinic has collected a book of referrals, for parents who choose life, that includes information on applying for Medicaid, WIC, transportation, and housing. The Valley Women’s Clinic has also developed opportunities for the parents to earn points toward purchasing needed items from “the baby store.” These points are accumulated through watching educational videos or attending classes. Available items for “purchase” include maternity and baby clothes, cribs, walkers, car seats, and essentially anything a baby might need within the first year of his or her life.
Available items for “purchase” at the baby store
Available items for “purchase” at the baby store
Words of encouragement for the new mothers in the baby store
The center wants to ensure that no individual who enters looking for help feels alone. When clients come in, they are assigned a volunteer mentor who stays with them the whole time they are in the office. Having been trained to use appropriate language and be compassionate, understanding, and nonjudgmental, this mentor is a support system for the individual throughout their time with the center.
Wendy Lowe has found a new calling in her life in recent years. She is honored to be able to walk alongside young women and men as they make the difficult decisions related to the life of their future child. Wendy said that the toughest part of her job is knowing that, ultimately, she is not in control of the clients’ decisions. When they see the ultrasound screen and proof of the little life growing inside, it is extremely difficult when they make the decision to leave and terminate the pregnancy. On the other hand, when the clinic team sees a vulnerable or abortion-minded client change their mind and choose life, her heart is encouraged, and all of the disappointment and difficulties are worth it. The Lord has truly brought a bright light to Southwest Virginia through the PRC Valley Women’s Clinic and the compassionate souls working therein.
In 2024, the Valley Women’s Clinic, across the three locations in Blacksburg, Radford, and Wytheville, had a total of 1,433 client visits. The Wytheville branch of the Valley Women’s Clinic has been a great asset thus far, opening just one day a week, moving to twice a week, and eventually three days a week. Wendy shared that the center’s staff gather for devotions and prayer every day before opening, and the nurses also gather with whoever is available before entering a client’s room. Once in the room, the nurse or mentor will also offer to pray with the client; of course, all interactions are permission-based, so they always check before praying with an individual. Wendy says that there are at least three times that each individual is prayed for while they are under the center’s roof.
A few Medical Program Statistics:
695 Patients Served
1,030 Medical Appointments
337 Pregnancy Tests
186 Ultrasounds
387 Sexually Transmitted Infection Tests
71% of women who tested positive for pregnancy were at risk for abortion.
Of those who were at risk for abortion, 66% chose life!
A few Educational Program Statistics:
60 (clients and support persons) Education Clients
508 Total Mentor Meetings
782 Video lessons viewed
109 (clients and support persons) Community Class* Attendance
* Community Classes = 6 group classes held in 3 different churches + 1 client appreciation event at a local park
Clients participated in spiritual discussions 512 times and accepted prayer 732 times!
If you are interested in learning more about the Pregnancy Resource Centers and their work nationwide, visit:
https://www.prcsupport.com/ (website for supporters, employment opportunities, events, etc.)
To learn more about the Valley Women’s Clinic serving the Blacksburg, Radford, or Wytheville areas, visit:
https://valleywomensclinic.org/ (website for clinic and patients)
