For more than a decade, Denise has faithfully volunteered at New Life Pregnancy Center (NLPC), consistently and with a heart to serve. Like many volunteers, her journey began behind the scenes, stuffing envelopes, folding t-shirts and providing administrative support whenever help was needed. Over time, her role expanded to assisting clients through material assistance, especially after she retired from teaching English to refugees and gained more flexibility in her schedule.
“I used to teach English for refugees,” Denise shared. “I would drive past the center every day and one day I just thought ‘Why don’t I volunteer?’”
In 2025, NLPC volunteers across the state were invited to participate in an evangelism training through PreBorn, a partnering organization. Denise explained that spiritual conversations did not happen often in her volunteer work before the training. The pregnancy center was busy; clients came and went quickly and for many, particularly those with limited English, it felt difficult to know how to engage spiritually in a meaningful way. Prayer, however, was always present. Even when words failed, Denise trusted that God could work beyond language barriers. “God can do anything,” she said simply.
Asking the Question
Around the same time, Denise found herself reflecting on Proverbs 16:25: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” As she read the verse, she sensed God nudging her to turn Scripture into a question, one that could open the door to deeper conversation.
During the monthly volunteer meeting for the Tucson pregnancy center, she shared the idea of starting conversations with a question. Everyone encouraged her to try it. Denise began asking clients, “Which way seems right to you to get to heaven?” Their answers, “doing good,” “praying” or “being a good person,” became natural bridges to conversations about grace, sin, and the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
But Denise realized something important. While she was sharing truth, she was not always asking clients if they wanted to respond. Once she began intentionally extending that invitation, she saw God move in mighty ways.
The Response
Denise shared the first time she put to practice what she learned from the training and the prompting from the Lord to extend the invitation to know Him, she saw the fruit. While helping a client with material assistance, she shared the gospel and the woman accepted Christ. A staff member nearby connected the client to a local church, completing the moment in a way Denise described as “just a God thing the whole time.”
Not every conversation led to immediate transformation. Denise is honest about that. Some clients were open, others put up walls. But she learned to release the outcome to God, continuing to pray and trust Him to soften hearts over time.
Her conversations about faith did not stay within the walls of the center. Denise began using the same question-based approach on walks through her neighborhood, conversations she had never initiated before the training. Some encounters were discouraging. Others were joyful reminders of God’s work. One woman in her neighborhood even thanked her for the reminder of when she first heard about Jesus years earlier.
All of it, Denise says, has strengthened her personal walk with the Lord.
A New Routine
“Wednesday nights I prepare myself,” she shared. “I remind myself that I need to obey what God tells me to do. I need to be ready, willing and available.”
That posture of preparation grounded in Scripture, prayer and relying on Holy Spirit to give her the words for each client she serves has become her new routine.
For Denise one of the greatest joys of serving at NLPC is being surrounded by others who love the Lord. “I just enjoy being around people who love Jesus,” she said. That shared faith lived out in compassion and obedience is exactly what clients encounter when they walk through NLPC’s doors.
When asked what she would say to anyone hesitant to start a spiritual conversation, Denise didn’t hesitate.
“It boils down to obedience,” she said. “All you have to do is open your mouth and He will provide the rest.”
The training and the idea to start spiritual conversations with a thought-provoking question led to many wonderful conversations with clients across the state in each of our centers. It is incredible to see the ways God blesses His people as they work to expand the Kingdom and share the hope that comes only from knowing Him.