The history of Alpha Care Center
Following is a brief account of the history of Alpha Care Center from early plans in 2004 to present day ministry in Lowell and Lake Odessa
2004-2005
In Spring 2004, plans began to open a center in our community
In the Summer of 2004 and 2005 we held a LifeWalk, working with the Alpha Women’s Center of West Michigan (AWCWM). We used money made from those to start a satellite location of AWCWM in Lowell
Mark Blocher, Executive Director, gave the go ahead very late in 2005 to open our Center. The First Baptist Church of Lowell offered a portion of their Fellowship House for our Center. A major donor came through with start up money and others donated their time and talent in building walls for rooms, painting, and decorating
2006
In April 2006 we opened our doors for the first time. We used that location for just over 5 years before we moved to a bigger location. The Center has served anywhere from 90 clients the first year up to 225 clients.
2007-2009
In March 2007, all of the centers affiliated with AWCWM went independent. That meant we were responsible for raising our own support, hosting our own events, and becoming a 501c3 organization. We officially changed our name to Alpha Women’s Center of Lowell.
2010
We had been praying and searching for a new location for a couple of years and in the fall of 2010, we found it! The Attwood Corporation contacted us to say that we had been selected as the area non-profit to receive money from an employee sale ($9,000)! God provided the money we needed to turn a former flower shop into our Women’s Center.
2011-2014
June 27th, 2011 was our first day opened in our new location and we held an Open House in September.
2015-2017
Wendy Meyers (right) contacted Christa Wetzel on Sunday, August 2, 2015 to ask if we were interested in an ultrasound machine. Christa replied, “we would love to have one, but we don’t have the money at this time … however God does.” Christa went ahead and asked the board on Monday and they gave the go ahead to pursue getting the funding and see what God does.
On Wednesday, August 5 Christa pulled out paperwork dated August 5, 2014, on “going medical.” As Christa reflected, that was her 5 year plan. She would soon see that this was God’s one year plan. On Thursday, as Christa got to work, the doubt began to really set in. Within an hour a lady came into the office and said she would provide the entire $7,000 needed for this machine, but desired to allow other people to get behind their beliefs and take action. By the following Tuesday we had $12,000 in hand. God clearly paved the way for going medical.
August 2016 – became medical – offering pregnancy testing with medical confirmation and ultrasounds
August 2016 – Name changed to DBA Alpha Family Center of Lowell
2018
After adding the medical services and just natural expansion of programs, we were feeling a bit tight in the 517 building. We also didn’t like the fact that we had a large rent payment each month. So Christa and the board began to pray and seek what the next step might be. They knew the building to the east had sat empty for quite a few years and seemed to have what was needed in regards to space.
One of our supporters told us, two days prior to Christmas, that they were going to give us the funds to purchase the building. We were blown away!!! God brought in over $90,000 within about a month to renovate the building! Although the process seemed long and confusing at times, overall when we look back we can see God’s sovereign hand planning it all out and orchestrating every detail and every volunteer that helped!
We took ownership of Building 519 E Main St. in January of 2018. We held an Open House with over 100 in attendance on July 12 and opened to clients July 16, 2018.
https://alphacarecenter.org/locations/lowell/
2018-2020
In 2018 we began to talk with Sebewa Baptist Church in Lake Odessa. They pursued us to help start a pregnancy center in that area. We met as a board and it was unanimous that this was clearly God directing us. The board chose to open the center under the same umbrella and have two satellite centers. We opened the doors officially January 6, 2020. Stephanie Smith (now Wellwood) is the Lake Odessa, Center Director.
https://alphacarecenter.org/locations/lake-odessa/
2022 – it’s now Alpha Care Center
We went through one more name change in 2022 when we became Alpha Care Center! That’s the history of Alpha Care Center up to the present. We are excited to see what God has in store for our future!
