Annuals 2018 Annual Book | Page 59

The Tennessee Baptist Children’s Homes, Inc. The Tennessee Baptist Children’s Homes has been ministering to children who have found themselves in hard places for 127 years! Speaking of 127, James 1:27 says, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” It is the mission of TBCH to be obedient to this command of Scripture concerning children who need someone besides their parents to care for them. As of this writing, TBCH has ministered to 117 different children in Residential Care this year. While many of these children still reside on one of our three campuses, 33 children have been successfully reunited with their families, and 2 children have been adopted and placed in a forever family! We have assisted 13 of our young adults as they transition out of our care into adulthood. To cut our deficit spending, our residential program is now active in three locations: The Ranch @ Millington, The Brentwood Campus, and the Chattanooga Campus. Today, we have beds for 88 children in residential care with the goal over the next year to increase that number to 96. Streamlining to three campuses, while challenging, was a necessary component in our strategic plan to double the number of children we serve at any one time by 2020. TBCH’s Foster Care Program has served 108 children and has had 32 sets of Christian parents commit to be Foster Families. Several of these children are in “Foster to Adopt” situations that we are praying will result in more children having permanent homes. Already this year we have had 7 children adopted and placed in a forever family! We are also pleased to announce that our no-cost contract with the State of TN’s Department of Children’s Services has been renewed for another five years. We are excited about the expansion of our George Shinn Foster Care Program and the continued ability to place children who are in state custody with Christian parents. TBCH is also excited about the launch of our new ministry called Family Care as of June 1, 2018. Kelly Campbell is taking the lead in networking with our churches and other organizations in an effort to support and enable churches, biological families, foster families and adoptive parents to be successful in the task that God has called them to concerning children. Join us in praising the Lord for the 9 children in our care who have been born again while on our campuses or in one of our foster homes! Through the faithful service of our staff, our foster families, the local church, and by God’s grace an eternal impact is being made on the lives of the children who come into the care of TBCH. Total Impact: The Lord has allowed TBCH the honor of ministering the love of Jesus Christ to a total of 2,418 souls from November 1, 2017 through July 26, 2018. This number reflects the specific individuals that have been affected by the ministry of TBCH including residents and their families, other families we have ministered to through counseling as well as our foster children and their families. This great work would not be possible without the faithful support of Tennessee Baptists. Thank you for supporting the Cooperative Program and the Mother’s Day Offering that directly blesses the children in our care. Greg McCoy President/Treasurer