Looking back on 2024, though you may not have seen burning bushes or descending doves, we can celebrate the clear commitment of God's people — the local church, Baptist Children's Homes (BCH) staff, volunteers, donors, ministry partners — to the work God called BCH to do. In His kindness, the Lord lifts the curtain so we can see the evidence of His ongoing faithfulness.
From the Ciufo family (see inside sidebar), the BCH foster/adopt family whose oldest foster son professed Christ (see inside sidebar), to the numerous children who were baptized at Mills Home Church and NC Baptist churches attended by BCH children and their cottage parents, we saw new beginnings proclaimed in the lives of those we serve.
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. — Romans 6:3-4
We can enter 2025 with the confident expectation that God will not only lead us into the new but will do abundantly more than all that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). Less than a month into the new year and four baptisms are already being planned at Mills Home Church!
We start the new year with our recently-named CEO, David Melber, who has been in fervent prayer with us regarding his new beginning as BCH's executive leader. We can celebrate what is to come for the ministry of BCH because we serve the One who was before any beginning:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (Genesis 1:1).
He is the same God who assures us, as penned in the last pages of His Word, that He already has the end in mind: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."
How reassuring to know that at every end and with every beginning Jesus is already there.
Fellow co-laborers — It is to Him that all credit is due from our founding to our finishing of 2024. It is the same Christ, who is to be central in all we do, who commissions and calls us forward now. With all due glory and honor to God, we can say the work of Baptist Children's Homes has only begun!
Rev. David Powell
CHAIR, TRANSITION AND SEARCH COMMITTEE TRUSTEE, BAPTIST CHILDREN'S HOMES OF NC
A Foster/Adoption Story that Highlights the Strength of Being On Mission Together with NC Baptists
As members of Cowee Baptist Church in Franklin, where Chris Ciufo is Associate Pastor, he and his wife, Lindsay, knew about Baptist Children's Homes (BCH) and its many ministries including foster care and adoption. They also see the ministry first hand because boys and their cottage parents living at BCH's Drake Cottage attend Cowee's services.
When Chris and Lindsay decided to add to their family, they turned to BCH and its EVERY CHILD Foster & Adopt partnership with NC Baptists. BCH staff trained and licensed the Ciufos, and other couples at their church, to be foster families.
In the weeks ahead, Chris and Lindsay began fostering three-month-old Liam and eventually his teenage brother Tyler -- two of the more than 10,000 children in the NC foster care system.
During a service, Chris and Cowee Senior Pastor Jason Smith were standing at the front of the room for the closing invitation. Tyler rose from his seat and came to Chris. Not only did Chris lead Tyler to the Lord, but they immediately entered the baptismal where the foster father baptized his foster son.
Today, Chris and Lindsay have completed their family by adopting Tyler and Liam making them a family of eight.
David Melber, a 25-year leader who has dedicated himself to non-profit ministry within Southern Baptist life, has been named as the next Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Baptist Children's Homes of North Carolina (BCH). Melber, who served as Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board (GBMB), accepted the position after a vote by the BCH board of trustees on October 11, 2024.
Melber is a native of Paducah, KY. After surrendering to a call to ministry, he attended The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY where he received his Master of Divinity. Melber has been married to his wife, Tera, for 33 years.
"Tera and I have always prayed that God would open up a role with an organization like BCH," Melber says. "Looking back at the journey with Send Relief, Georgia Baptist Mission Board, and the adoption of our three children, it's amazing to see how the Lord has worked through all of our circumstances to bring us to this point. I cannot think of anything greater to give my life to."
Nearly 600 dignitaries, supporters, and friends gathered for the dedication and ribbon cutting of River Hill Refuge (RHR), a growing part of BCH's foster care efforts. Located near Shelby, NC, the five acres for the new ministry and the lead gift for the first of its three family foster homes was provided by Jay and Wes Westmoreland in memory of their father Ted. In addition to the Westmoreland Family Home, the lead gift for Starlite Home was made by Marsha and Tom Huskey of Whittier in memory of Marsha's sister Starr Edwards. The lead gift for Tucker Home, the last of the three homes, was provided by Carolyn Tucker and her late husband Bob Tucker of Concord through the Tucker Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength Foundation.
Each home has a BCH-recruited and state-licensed set of foster parents who care for as many as five children at one time, providing a safe home to vulnerable children in Cleveland County and the surrounding area. The RHR foster parents care for the children the same way as other foster parents, except they live in the BCH-owned homes.
Efforts are a part of the EVERY CHILD partnership between BCH and NC Baptists to see the more than 10,000 children in NC foster care connected with foster and adoptive families in Christ-centered homes.
In 2024, the North Carolina Baptist Aging Ministry (NCBAM) observed its 15th anniversary by celebrating its 14 innovative outreaches, the 83,000 older adults that have been impacted, the lives potentially saved through the distribution of 8,500 smoke alarms, and the 137,000 connections made through the NCBAM Call Center.
NCBAM highlights for 2024 include:
Meeting the needs of 1,082 clients through its call center.
Church volunteers building 385 wheelchair ramps through its "Rampin' Up!" initiative.
Growing its "Care Village" communities for aging adults at BCH's Kennedy Home in Kinston, Baptist State Convention of NC in Cary, and continuing plans to start a new community at BCH's Mills Home in Thomasville.
Continuing to bring the hope of Christ to socially isolated and lonely adults through its "Hope Line" available to callers at 866-578-4673.
Throughout BCH's many ministries — including outreaches to children, birth mothers, aging adults, special needs adults and others — those being served have responded to the Gospel message.
At Mills Home in Thomasville, where boys and girls attend the campus church, Pastor Luis Quintanar baptized a number of children who professed Christ through the Gospel being shared both at church and modeled by their cottage parents. At other BCH locations, children attend Baptist churches in the community with their cottage parents. For example, the boys cottage at Broyhill Home in Clyde go to Dellwood Baptist Church in Waynesville where several of them were baptized after placing their trust in Jesus.
The Good News of the Gospel is not only shared with the children BCH serves but also adults. At the 2024 Christian Adoption Services Birth Mothers Retreat, 17 of the ladies made decisions for Christ. The annual retreat is an opportunity to celebrate the courageous women who chose adoption for their children when they were faced with a choice.
Throughout BCH's three-dozen locations across NC, SC, Guatemala, South Africa and the Philippines, 322 decisions for Christ were made in 2024.
These numbers only tell part of the story. Behind each statistic is a changed life, a restored family, or a child who found hope and love in his or her darkest hour. Your support has created ripples of transformation throughout our communities across North Carolina and beyond. Most of all, we rejoice for every life that has proclaimed Jesus Christ as Lord!
Thank you for being part of Baptist Children's Homes' (BCH) mission of sharing hope...changing lives. We look forward to continuing this journey together in 2025.
