“My kids don’t get along…They are always competing…They are so mean to each another.” These statements could describe many brothers and sisters. It’s true that siblings are often hardest on one another while getting along much better with others. Although this is a reality, it’s also true that sibling connection runs deep. In the face of adversity, siblings can be a source of comfort and security. In normative lifespan development, siblings are our longest-lasting relationships.
When brothers and sisters come into foster care, the importance of keeping them together cannot be understated. The separation of siblings is a preventable loss in a world full of difficult losses.
Unfortunately, most foster homes are not equipped to care for large sibling groups. Thankfully, the campus care program of Arkansas Baptist Children & Family Ministries is perfectly suited to meet this need. The place where the mission of this ministry began is meeting a most pressing need today by keeping brothers and sisters together in the same foster home.
Through the years, thousands of children have lived in the homes on the Arkansas Baptist Homes for Children campus in Monticello. This ministry has been a perpetual testimony of the faithfulness of Arkansas Baptists. Much has been sacrificed to preserve the campus and the life-changing opportunities that take place on those grounds. Over the last three years, several improvements were made to each building, and a beautiful pool and pavilion were added to the campus, providing families with the best experience possible.
If you have been a part of Arkansas Baptist life for very long, this ministry is probably familiar to you, but it is far from common. The opportunity to keep large sibling groups together in one home on a campus where activities and support are regularly available is extremely unique and vital. Would you pray for the families taking care of the children on that campus? They are your in-state missionaries. Would you pray for more families to accept the calling to provide care for a sibling group in foster care?
2 Responses
Excellent article. Points to the need to support your campus through giving. The wonderful thing is that at least one graduate is now on the board of oversight. God Bless the work provised there and satellite minsistries
I couldn’t agree more with the comments in this article. My wife and I adopted four siblings who were able to live on the same campus and be kept together because of the efforts of the Arkansas Baptist Children’s Home and Family Ministries. God bless you and your efforts to love and protect children for the glory of God.