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3BEATING THE ODDS
5CAMP OF CHAMPIONS
Summer Edition 2014
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GO YE INTO ALL THE WORLD
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A LISTING OF OUR NEEDS
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outhern Baptists are, perhaps second only to their commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, known to be a missional people. Our International Mission Board and our North American Mission Board have rich histories and bright futures. Our disaster relief missionaries are always greeted with open arms and appreciative hearts when they respond to disasters in their community or in other communities. Our Southern Baptist Children’s Homes care for hundreds of thousands of children every year. Right here in Alabama our house parent missionaries and foster parent missionaries cared for 530 fatherless children in 2013. The purpose of your Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries is to protect, nurture and restore children and families through Christ-centered services. The vast majority of the children for whom we provide care are here in Alabama, but we are beginning to see opportunities to be obedient to the call of Jesus to “go into all the world.” A missionary family was recently home on furlough. They love being missionaries to an African nation, but the stress of being so far from home sometimes is difficult for their children. While in Alabama on furlough, they heard about Pathways Professional Counseling, a ministry of your Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes. They contacted one of our counselors and received intensive family counseling sessions while in Birmingham. When they returned to the mission field, other missionary families noticed the changes in their family and asked what had made the difference. Our missionary friends bragged on our counselors who worked with them and taught them some new parenting strategies.
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This relationship led to a group of missionaries in this African nation to pool their resources and host one of our counselors and one of our social workers for a week long trip to provide training and consultation to families in Africa! Our team stayed very busy while in Africa and saw dozens of families and provided training for teachers in an international school. Seeds were planted in these families and they all asked when our team would be able to come back. In June and in August, two teams from your Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes went to the Dominican Republic to help a sister ministry by building houses to provide safe homes for children and families there. These teams are made up of Children’s Homes employees, and Alabama Baptists who are supporters of our ministry and who possess a burden for hurting children in Alabama and beyond. God is doing amazing things here at the Children’s Homes and it is a privilege to serve God by serving Alabama Baptists. I was privileged to go with our first team to the Dominican Republic in June. Six individuals with Children’s Homes ties and 11 individuals from one of our top supporting churches spent 5 days in the Dominican Republic and built the walls for 3.5 houses. But we built more than houses. Strong relationships were built with the children in the community where we were building and Bible stories were shared with them through songs, coloring books and conversation. On the last day at the construction site, one young man who went on our trip had the opportunity to share his faith with a young man from the Dominican Republic. It was the first time that this young man from Birmingham had ever had the opportunity to share his faith. Due to language barriers, he had to repeat himself several times. Walls were erected, relationships were built and strengthened and seeds were planted. We hope to provide more international service opportunities in the months and years to come. Sincerely, Rod Marshall President/CEO
Alabama Baptist CHILDREN’S HOMES & Family Ministries
If you would like to know more about opportunities for short-term international service with the Children’s Homes, please visit www.alabamachild.org or contact Dr. Bob Dewhurst at 205-982-1112.
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by: Nicole Walker
T
he foster care system was created to take care of children experiencing neglect, abuse, and tough family situations. Too often when these youth turn 18 they are given a $100 check and expected to transition into adulthood on their own. The concern for these children doesn’t end when they turn 18, but too often the resources to help them does. According to the latest statistics, 20% of children released from foster care at the age of 18 become homeless by the age of 24, less than half of them are currently employed, only 4% obtain a college degree, and almost a third of them are not able to pay their rent. * When the church steps in to care and defend the fatherless, the odds stacked against youth aging out of foster care can be overcome. Because of the generous support from churches and individuals, we at Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries (ABCH) are able to help the youth in our care transition into a successful adulthood. We are able to provide scholarships and full tuition support for these youth going on to receive a post secondary education, whether that is college or skills based training. Emily Lepper and Stephan Reach are two examples of youth in our care that have been able to overcome the odds. EMILY LEPPER “When I first came to ABCH at age 16, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to finish high school,” Emily Lepper shares. Having been to so many different places before ABCH, Emily began to see things with a negative outlook. The idea of college felt even more out of reach because she had no idea where she could find support. While she was in our care, though, she gave her life to
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Christ and her perspective shifted. “I began to see the opportunities provided by ABCH and the support they provide after high school financially, emotionally, and spiritually. I don’t think I would be where I am today without their support.” Emily is currently attending the University of Montevallo and working toward her degree in Elementary Education. Because she found school to be an outlet while growing up, she hopes to one day be there for other children in similar situations. “Sometimes kids in the classroom have no one but that one teacher or that one person at the school they can rely on. I’ve realized being a teacher can make an impact in someone’s life and to be a safe haven for those children.” STEPHAN REACH “If it weren’t for the Scotts and ABCH, I don’t know if I would have been in the position to have good enough grades or the ambition to make a career,” Stephan Reach shares. “I doubt I would have had any faith in God at all.” At the age of 11 Stephan and his three siblings were brought into foster care by Dr. C. B. Scott, pastor of the church Stephan’s family had only been attending for two weeks at the time. Despite adding four more children in the home, Dr. Scott and his wife Karen saw that these children had a great need and reached out to ABCH for help. “The Scotts took care of us like they were my parents, like they had always been there.” We were able to help the Scotts during their time as foster parents, providing training and resources while they cared for Stephan and his siblings. Stephan is currently attending Samford University and was recently accepted into the McWhorter School of Pharmacy. He aspires to one day have his own pharmacy. “I would not have even thought about becoming a pharmacist, but because of the support from ABCH I can.” It is because of your support that Stephan and Emily are able to achieve their ambitions and dreams. Going through difficult family situations does not mean that the odds should be stacked against them at every turn. It means that God’s people stepped in to help these youth aging out of foster care to have an education, stable living, spiritual growth, and an opportunity to beat the odds. *Information based on July 2013 AFCARS Report.
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F
or 362 days out of the year, you are likely to find me dressed in neatly pressed khakis and a conservative dress shirt. My conservative dress hides my playful nature. But for three days every summer, I trade in my dress clothes for a pair of shorts, a favorite T-shirt and my legendary Ranger’s Hat. Like a comic book superhero, I transform myself into Ranger Riley, a hero to children who have come from hard places. At Camp of Champions, you can see my playful side and my passion for caring for children and families. And, for the 48 hours of Camp of Champions, you see children being transformed. Children, who have been neglected, abused or traumatized, get the opportunity to just be kids who are at camp. They laugh and sing. They play and swim. They eat too much and stay up too late. They do the same things all kids do when they go to camp. House parents and foster parents also transform themselves at camp. The mission field of Christian childcare can be lonely. Very few people understand why someone would choose to offer unconditional love to children from hard places. These children may look and behave differently from their new family. House parents and foster parents can feel alone and can get overwhelmed. But, at Camp of Champions, house parents and foster parents are the normal ones. They build relationships and bear one another’s burdens. They receive great training, but they also get to catch their breath and experience renewal of their spirits. Once a year, Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries (ABCH) hosts its annual Camp of Champions at Shocco Springs in Talladega, Alabama. 2014 was another great time for the ABCH family to gather together for what has become one of the most significant events in the life of the ministry for the children we serve, our house and foster parents, and our staff. Camp of Champions is unique to ABCH and it is one of the distinctive characteristics of our approach to the ministry of Christian childcare. As one national foster care expert indicated, “You guys are the only ones I know in the US that provide a camp like this for their foster parents.” He went on to say, “My hope would be that this camp experience could be replicated all across the country.” This year’s camp was the largest ever with nearly 650 attending! Camp is always a fun and meaningful time in the life of the ministry. While the children and students attend classes and experience different camp recreational activities (high ropes course, paintball, and bazooka ball), the house and foster parents receive training specific to their work. This is one time of the year they are able to receive specialized training in how to best love children from hard places. This year, one area of training focused on family worship. It became practical on Monday night when Matt Mason, Worship Pastor at The Church at
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by Riley P. Green III
Brook Hills, walked children and adults alike through family worship time focused on Psalm 23. Through song, the Word, and prayer, campers followed Matt through a large-scale family worship time. It was great! In addition to the training, ABCH leaders and board members, along with several leaders in the forefront of foster care took part in a roundtable conversation on foster care growth, trends, risks, and best practices and what these could mean for ABCH and those we serve. Participating in the conversation were: Jason Weber, Director of the National Foster Care Initiative, Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO); Johnny Grimes, Executive Director of Altar84; Polly Bice, Co-Founder of Altar84 and second year Camp of Champions volunteer; Rick Valore, Executive Director of 200 Million Flowers; Anita Bucher, Administrative Assistant to David Platt and Foster Care Coordinator at The Church at Brook Hills; and Dr. Bart Box, Pastor, Christ Fellowship Church, Birmingham. Thank you to all the churches and individuals that gave financially, donated snacks and supplies, along with the many volunteers that helped make this year’s camp a huge success. And for the third year in a row a group from Shades Crest Baptist Church were on hand at snack time to provide healthy snacks, to help with snack time and to spend time with the kids at camp. We are also very grateful that the students at Samford University chose our Camp of Champions as their Step Sing philanthropy for 2014. We’ll rest a few months before we begin planning Camp of Champions 2015, but in order to provide our wonderful house and foster parents the training they expect, we will not wait long! Camp is a big deal and we would love to find a way to get your church involved in our camp next year. Contact camp@abchome.org to learn ways to be a part of Camp of Champions 2015!
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e have a variety of needs at our locations across the state, including school supplies, cleaning supplies, food and pantry items. Visit www.alabamachild.org/needs or call (888) 720-8805 to obtain a needs list of the location closest to you. Engage and share with your church, Sunday school class, or small group ways they can provide for needs of the children and families in our care!
Alabama Baptist Children's Homes & Family Ministries P.O. Box 361767 Birmingham, AL 35236-1767
& Family Ministries
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