MBCH looks to acquire home

By Brian Koonce

Staff Writer

BRIDGETON – The Missouri Baptist Children’s Home (MBCH) is branching out. At their recent meeting Jan. 22, the MBCH board voted to begin the process of merging a home for mentally challenged adults into the MBCH family of ministries.

In a deal that has been in the works for a year and half, the MBCH will take over the Special Cares Home that has been independently operated on property leased from the MBCH’s campus in Peculiar, just outside Kansas City. The home houses and cares for eight mentally challenged young adults. Although it has been operated independently, it has been cooperating with the MBCH for years, offering loans and management help. Short on funds, they approached the MBCH a year and half ago with a proposal that the MBCH absorb the home.

“They had continually gone in the hole these past few years,” said Ron Robinson, chairman of the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home Children and Family Ministries (CFM) board and pastor of First Baptist Church, Van Buren. “We were able to help in some ways, but our hands were tied in others. We feel like the merger is the right thing. We see this as a new piece of ministry that the MBCH is taking on.”

The merger is contingent on the approval of the Special Cares Home board on March 4 and final approval at the next MBCH board meeting on April 22.

The board also heard a recommendation to purchase property in Springfield it is currently leasing. The facility, owned by the Pregnancy Care Center, was at one time an abortion clinic. Now in the hands of the MBCH, it offers a variety of community-based services including recruiting and developing Christian foster and adoptive parents, therapeutic foster care, traditional “family” foster care, family reunification services and a transitional living service for older teens. In total, they work with about 120 children at a time.

The Children’s Home is leasing the property for approximately $3,000 a month, but they hope to buy the $315,000 property.

For the year 2007, the MBCH served 2,788 children and families. That includes 707 families who received therapeutic crisis care and 689 children placed in adoptive or foster care homes.