Tim Noel, Director of Church Partnership & Mission Advancement
Arkansas Baptist Children & Family Ministries
On multiple occasions, I have shared that I love history, especially the lives of men and women who have gone before us in the Christian faith. One story that has stayed with me for years is that of John Hyde, later known as “Praying Hyde.”
Hyde was so effective in reaching men for Christ in Punjab that local leaders once sent a man to live with him in hopes of uncovering something evil that could discredit his ministry. The man stayed with Hyde, sleeping where he slept, eating where he ate, watching how he lived. After several days, the man ran from the house shouting, “The man is without fault, the man is without fault. He is not a man, he is a God!”
Hyde was known for long hours of prayer and fasting. He lived with an unshakable awareness of his dependence on God, captured in his prayer, “Give me souls, lest I die.” His life reminds us of a truth we often forget: the work of God’s Kingdom is never sustained by our strength, our programs, or our plans. It is sustained by faithful dependence on God.
Scripture echoes this truth again and again. David writes, “When You said, ‘Seek My face,’ my heart said to You, ‘Your face, Lord, I will seek.’” Jesus reminds us that apart from Him, our efforts are empty. James tells us plainly, “You do not have because you do not ask.”
Prayer is not a supplement to the work. Prayer is the work.
As I reflected on Hyde’s life, I found myself asking hard questions of my own heart. What if I had just one ounce of his fervor for prayer? What if my daily prayer, moment by moment, became, “God, give us one more family. One more marriage. One more church.” What if Arkansas Baptists joined our hearts together in sincere, even gut-wrenching prayer for the children, families, and churches of our state?
I am convinced that without prayer, our efforts, however well-intentioned, will fall short. Programs matter. Processes matter. But they are never the source of our strength. Our power lies in the One to whom we pray.
This conviction is at the heart of Arkansas Baptist Children & Family Ministries.
From the beginning, Arkansas Baptists recognized that faith is not only spoken, but lived. When children and families faced seasons where care and support mattered most, concern alone was not enough. The Gospel called for presence, responsibility, and faithful action. ABCFM was created as a way for Arkansas Baptists to live out that shared conviction together.
Over time, the needs facing children and families have changed, and the ways this ministry responds have grown. What once looked like a single expression now takes many forms. This growth is not a departure from the mission. It is faithfulness to it.
Today, through foster care, counseling, family strengthening, and other supports, Arkansas Baptists continue to show up for children and families across our state. These services are not the identity of ABCFM. They are the ways Arkansas Baptists live out the Gospel together with children and families.
For more than a century, this ministry has belonged to the churches of Arkansas. It exists because churches believed then, and believe now, that caring for children and strengthening families is not optional, but essential to faithful Gospel living.
As we look ahead, my prayer is simple. That we would be a people who seek the face of God, depend fully on Him, and commit ourselves again to faithful presence. That we would pray boldly for children, for families, and for churches across Arkansas. And that through our shared faithfulness, God would move in ways that can only be explained by His power, mercy, and grace.
May we continue to live out the Gospel together, faithfully, for children and families, now and for generations to come.