Before moving into my current role at MBCH Foundation I worked as a Regional Representative for northeast Missouri and the St. Louis metro area. I loved being on the road every day and meeting with Missouri Baptist Children’s Home (MBCH) supporters from all walks of life. During this time two things came to stand out to me: first, MBCH is blessed to have incredibly generous and genuinely Christ following supporters, and second, our local Missouri Baptist church leadership are unsung heroes for our denomination all across Missouri!
Many times when visiting with one of these MBCH supporters and/or Missouri Baptist leaders I would hear that there was a desire for the local church and local church membership to feel more connected to the ministry of Missouri Baptist Children’s Home. That is to say, that along with financial support, local Missouri Baptists wanted to spiritually and emotionally connect with MBCH ministry recipients. In response to this we began working on ways for the local church and local church membership to feel connected to our ministry recipients. Then we started sending our kids to camp.
Our annual camp is for kids placed in Therapeutic Group Homes and Treatment Family Homes of MBCH Children and Family Ministries. CaMp18five stands for Matthew 18:5, “And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me.” Up to 80 kids ages 8-18 will experience recreation, games, worship and Bible study in the great outdoors. For some, this will be their first camp experience.
Many of us who grew up in Missouri Baptist life remember going to camp in the summer. We have so many wonderful memories of these times. We discovered new Christian friends and grew existing friendships we had within our church’s children ministries and youth groups. We got to experience activities that grew our trust for one another. There was lots of fun swimming and competing in often messy competitions while our grown up sponsors cheered us on. Then somewhere in the midst of this summer fun, a committed Christ-following man or woman working with us introduced us to the love and grace of Jesus Christ. It snuck up on you and because you were in a unique environment, you had no choice but to interact with God and what He was doing in your heart. A well-done Christian camp can make the eternal difference in the life of a young person.
You can provide this same life changing experience for children that have been abused, neglected and abandoned. You can be a part of showing them that they have value and that this intrinsic value is fundamentally tied to the fact that God sent His Son in to the world so that they might find grace and eternal life. This can be your spiritual connection to one of our ministry recipients. The cost is $100 per camper. If you are interested in being a part of this amazing ministry you can send your check to Missouri Baptist Children’s Home 11300 St. Charles Rock Rd., Bridgeton, MO 63044 and write “camp sponsorship” in the memo line. As always, thank you so much for your faithful generosity, year-in and year-out, that makes an eternal difference in the lives of “the least of these”!
James Morrow serves as Vice President for the MBCH Foundation.