EDITOR’S NOTE: Juston Gates serves as president of the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home.
One of the questions that I am asked frequently goes something along the lines of, “What is it exactly that MBCH actually does?” Although this is not the article space in which to list out the varied ministries that MBCH provides, I would like to point out a specific aspect of ministry that occurs due to our efforts in Foster Care Case Management (FCCM), and the other ministry areas associated with FCCM.
According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), “children living with their married, biological parents consistently have better physical, emotional, and academic well-being” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4240051). With this conclusion being reached after decades of research that has evaluated the impact of family structure on the health and development of children and youth, then it is easy to conclude that resources need to be poured into the preservation of healthy marriages, especially when children are in the home.
Yet, the reality is that many homes are not healthy and safe, and as a result in the state of Missouri, nearly 12,500 children and youth find themselves in the foster care system. Being displaced from their biological homes has, according to the research mentioned in the above article from NIH, which primarily focuses on the negative impacts of divorce, produced the following:
• Diminished future competencies in all life areas: family relationships, education, emotional well-being, earning power, etc.
• Score significantly lower on measures of academic achievement, conduct, psychological adjustment, self-concept, and social relations
• Loss of economic security and the potential for upward financial mobility
• Loss of family traditions, celebrations, and daily routine
• Earlier sexual activity debut
• Less likely to be religious compared to peers raised by two biological parents
• 12% of children in nuclear families experience poor health, while 22% of those in non-nuclear families experience poor health.
• Children in nuclear families were less likely than children in other family types to have learning disabilities or attention deficit disorders.
To be clear, the children coming into the FCCM and associated ministries of MBCH may not be coming from a household that has experienced divorce; however, the separation and removal from that biological parental setting in many instances yields the same results as those just mentioned. With that thought in mind, MBCH, and specifically our Children and Family Ministries (CFM) affiliate, makes every effort to reunify the foster children in our care with their biological families. This effort is in agreement with the approach espoused by the Children’s Division of the State of Missouri, as well.
Yet, as all biblically centered Christians would concede, due to the fallen, sinful nature of man, some of those biological familial settings are not safe, and thus not healthy, for those within our care to be returned, and thus, the reason for the continual development of our Christ-following foster care families. Yes, MBCH seeks to provide “healing,” as clarified through the lens of Scripture and also through the lens of scientific research and data, via reunification of children and youth to their biological families. With this being the goal, then it is clear that we need foster families that will not only minister to the child or youth in their care, but that will also view the biological parents as the client as well, seeking to minister to the family as a whole unit. When that is not possible, as is sometimes the case, then healing is provided through our Christian foster care families who then stand in the gap for the absentee biological family unit.
So, continue to pray for the children and youth in our care, and specifically for the health of their biological families and relative caregivers. Additionally, continue to pray that potential foster care families will continue to step forward from the approximately 1,700 MBC churches across our state. The healing process is going to require both.