Adoption, fostering was obvious call

Editor’s note: The observance of Sanctity of Human Life Sunday is Jan. 23. This article focuses on adoption and orphan care, which for many people is an inseparable issue from the decades-long debate over legal abortion in the United States. In November, SBTC messengers passed a resolution calling Christians to greater involvement in adoption and orphan care, citing more than 40 Scripture passages that speak of caring for the fatherless.

For most families, the decision to adopt or foster children is preceded by months or years of prayerful consideration. In the case of two Southern Baptist couples in Texas, it took only a matter of hours to respond to desperate situations of homeless children.

“I got a call at work from the police department telling me to come and pick up my 1-year-old relative or he would be taken to foster care until they sorted out the details of a domestic dispute,” recalled Amanda Kennedy of Euless. She and her husband David had been praying God would bless them with a child, but did not expect the answer to come through adoption.

The home from which Amanda rescued Ethan was littered with drug paraphernalia, dirty diapers and dishes covered in mold. Within weeks the Kennedys were named foster parents. “Money was very tight and we were getting no assistance from the state, Ethan's birth parents or anybody else. Work was tough because I now had the responsibilities of a mom—literally overnight.”

That responsibility was compounded when Ethan was hospitalized for eight days to treat a drug-resistant staph infection. “Hospitals require that children under the age of 8 be supervised by a parent or guardian at all times and I was his only guardian,” Amanda explained. Soon she found herself unemployed, having lost her job as an apartment-leasing agent while caring for Ethan.

“The Lord is the only one who saw me through this,” she added. “A month after losing my job, he gave me a job in the ministry and blessed David with a better job. Ethan ended up getting Medicaid and we were able to qualify for a hardship grant that covered his child care and clothing for three months.”

After seeing God provide for his family, David professed faith in Christ during a tent revival service at North Euless Baptist Church. “He said that seeing the Lord's hand work in our family through the chaos and uncertainty of our lives, he couldn't help but give his life to Christ,” Amanda remembered.

Ethan's parents eventually relinquished their rights with the Kennedys' request for adoption, which was finalized 18 months after responding to the call from police.

“It was all worth it and we would do it again and again if we needed to,” Amanda said.

Dayna Nichols of Bryan also received a call in the night from a CPS worker seeking to place two brothers in foster care.

“How can we say, 'No?' Just say, 'Yes,' and we'll figure out the rest as we go along,” answered her husband Matt Nichols, who was away on a trip to Haiti.

“There are so many families that are qualified to be foster parents or even adoptive parents. Try to imagine what would happen if our churches became places where people who were having trouble would come for help with kids? There would be no need for depending on the government to take care of our orphans,” Matt said.

While Dayna describes herself as a list-maker who first considers her options, there was no time for planning in this situation, she said. “We simply were willing and we stepped out in faith.”

The 3- and 8-year-old brothers have since returned to live with their mother, but the Nichols remain involved in a ministry with which Central Baptist Church of Bryan began partnering last year. At least a half-dozen families who attended an informational luncheon on adoption last fall will have the opportunity to complete training this spring offered by Arrow Child & Family Services of Spring.

Other churches affiliated with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention are partnering with Arrow to assist families interested in adoption, including Bannockburn Baptist Church in Austin, Church at the Cross in Grapevine, Hallmark Baptist Church in Fort Worth and Walnut Ridge Baptist Church in Mansfield.

“As a congregation that has placed a high priority on family ministry, we believe we have a special calling to assist those children in our culture who lack the benefits of home life,” stated Bannockburn's senior pastor, Ryan Rush.

Central's mission pastor, Mark Strazincky, visited with leaders from Arrow last summer and was impressed by their desire to help local churches “stand up and meet the needs of the orphans in our own communities.”

Messengers to the 2010 annual meeting of SBTC called on families to consider whether God may be calling them to provide foster care or adopt, and asked pastors and church leaders to continue efforts to preach and teach on God's concern for orphans and commend ministries that provide financial resources to families desiring to adopt.

“The why is obvious,” said Dayna Nichols. “You just need to ask yourself how, when, who, and then be obedient.”

In addition to ministries such as Arrow, the SBTC has two affiliated ministries that assist families seeking to foster or adopt children—Texas Baptist Home for Children in Waxahachie (tbhc.org) and East Texas Baptist Family Ministry (etbfm.org) in Timpson.

– Emily Crutcher, TEXAN correspondent, contributed to this article.