The stories of the North Carolina children served at Baptist Children’s Homes (BCH) are difficult to share for numerous reasons.
First, it is always heartbreaking to hear the traumatic experiences boys and girls have endured.
Second, from a privacy perspective, many of the children BCH serves are in the custody of the state and have been referred into care by the Department of Social Services.
Telling the story of any of these children means BCH’s Communications Department must protect their identities by not using their actual names or photos.
“The privacy and protection of our children always comes first,” said Blake Ragsdale, BCH Director of Communications.
Ragsdale produces BCH’s Annual Offering materials and resources. It requires a method of sharing children’s stories in a way that does not identify them.
“It’s amazing how God, through BCH and the support of churches, brings their stories from a place of heartache and hurt to a place of hope and healing. I love to share these stories, but it takes a team effort,” said Ragsdale.
To tell this year’s feature story, the journey of two homeless brothers who were discovered sleeping in the woods, it took a team comprised of people both inside BCH as well as outside the organization.
The brothers in the new offering video are played by Mason and Davis Harrell whose mother, Eliza, works as a BCH foster care licenser and trainer. Youth from Dellwood Baptist Church in Waynesville filled the roles of other children. Dathan and Diana Arant, BCH cottage parents, played themselves.
A number of BCH staff members worked with Ragsdale to prepare logistics for each scene. Ragsdale wrote the script based on the brothers’ story. Credence Pictures’ crew from Raleigh, BCH’s longtime filming partner, shot the footage. Director Randy Durham and Ragsdale collaborate on the final edit to bring the story to life.
“God is good at bringing the right people together for this project,” Ragsdale said. “As always, we pray that the story gives churches and supporters an inside look at how their offering is changes lives.”
Download Annual Offering resources by visiting www.bchoffering.org. To order the DVD or to schedule a BCH speaker to share at your church, call BCH at 336-474-1209.