Missouri Baptist Children's Home • MBCH

Missouri Baptist Children's Home • MBCH

Connecting Children, Youth and Families to HOPE, HEALING and RESTORATION

  1. Aug 9

    Ep. 14 | Standing in the Gap: What is Treatment Family Care?

    On this episode of the MBCH Podcast, hosts Nate Melton and Jasper Rains continue their conversation with TFC recruiters Kimberly Cooper and Mary Schneider to unpack practical ways churches can wrap around and support foster families. Kimberly and Mary detail the core mission of Finding 15—a strategic initiative seeking 15 new TFC foster homes in the short term, with a long-term vision of opening 15 new foster homes across every Missouri county over the next five years. They discuss the critical need for families willing to open their hearts to teenagers and larger sibling groups, addressing common fears like the emotional weight of working toward family reunification. The conversation highlights the unique role local churches play in providing wrap-around care. From offering short-term respite care and providing freezer meals to delivering pizza or assisting with home maintenance, Kimberly and Mary emphasize that every congregation has a role to play. They also explain how MBCH equips churches with free trauma-informed training (such as TBRI, verbal de-escalation, and Stewards of Children®) to ensure volunteers feel prepared to serve foster children with grace and understanding.

  2. Aug 9

    Ep. 13 | Standing in the Gap: What is Treatment Family Care?

    On this episode of the MBCH Podcast, hosts Nate Melton and Jasper Rains sit down with TFC recruiters Kimberly Cooper and Mary Schneider from Western Missouri to discuss Treatment Family Care (TFC). They break down what TFC is, the unique needs of children in this program, and how church communities can surround and support TFC foster families. Kimberly and Mary share about the higher level of specialized training TFC parents receive to care for children stepping down from residential treatment or managing elevated emotional, behavioral, or medical needs. They highlight the intensive, 24/7 support TFC specialists provide to families, including weekly home visits, customized treatment plans, and crisis intervention. The conversation also introduces Finding 15, a new initiative aimed at recruiting 15 new foster homes in every Missouri county over the next five years while equipping local churches to become supportive, trauma-informed communities. Whether through opening a home for TFC, offering weekend respite care, or building care teams within a congregation, listeners will learn practical ways to wrap around foster families and help children experience stability, safety, and love.

  3. Jul 30

    Ep. 12 | Step by Step: Becoming a Foster Family

    On this episode of the MBCBH Podcast, hosts Nate Melton and Jasper Rains continue their look into the Family Resource Development program at the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home. They are joined once again by Jasmine Hamilton Baldwin, Assistant Program Director for Family Resource Development, and Angie Gentry, Family Resource Development Supervisor from the Joplin office. Together, they share the raw data and look at the actual realities surrounding youth in foster care, helping to dismantle common misconceptions along the way. Listeners will discover that the standard face of foster care is older than most people realize. While many prospective foster parents hope to take in babies, the reality is that the average age of a child entering care in Missouri is around 8 years old, and a staggering 35% of youth in care are 13 or older. Jasmine and Angie clarify the common misunderstandings about who can step into this role, explaining that licensed foster parents don't need to be married, but do require a reliable community network and a supportive faith background. They also map out the licensing process, detailing the timeline of around 120 days from a family's initial class to completion, and explore alternative avenues of support, such as short-term emergency fostering or weekend respite care. Finally, Jasper highlights an exciting new cinematic resource, Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot, a faith-based film that demonstrates the explosive impact a local church can have when it chooses to wrap around vulnerable kids. Whether you can take a child for a night or a year, this conversation reminds us that there is a critical space for everyone to participate in healing the foster care crisis.

  4. Jul 30

    Ep. 11 | Step by Step: Becoming a Foster Family

    On this episode of the MBCBH Podcast, hosts Nate Melton and Jasper Rains introduce listeners to the Family Resource Development program at the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home. They sit down with Jasmine Hamilton Baldwin, Assistant Program Director for Family Resource Development, and Angie Gentry, Family Resource Development Supervisor from the Joplin office. Together, they discuss the critical purpose and function of the program in recruiting, training, and supporting foster parents to care for youth across Missouri. The conversation highlights the sobering math and significant need for specialized foster homes in the state—where over 12,000 children are currently in care with only about 5,000 licensed foster homes available. Jasmine and Angie break down the realities of this deficit, sharing that many current homes are already at full capacity, and explaining the urgent bottleneck causing older youth to occasionally sleep in offices or hotels with staff while waiting for a permanent family placement. Listeners will learn about the exact steps and requirements to become a foster parent, from background checks and home visits to the 11-week pre-service training process, which at MBCH uniquely integrates an extra week focused on spiritual development. The guests also touch on the flexibility of age preferences and clear up common misconceptions about marital status, emphasizing that healthy, loving environments can successfully come from single-parent homes just as they do from married couples. Finally, the episode highlights additional ways for churches to wrap around local foster families, pointing out that everyone can step into love-in-motion—whether by opening their home to foster or by supporting the foster families already within their own faith communities.

  5. Jul 16

    Ep. 10 | Compassion in Action at Rooftop Church

    On this episode of the MBCBH Podcast, hosts Nate Melton and Jasper Rayns sit down for part 2 of their conversation with Heather Gain, the Director of Communications and Outreach at Rooftop Church in Affton, Missouri. In this episode, the team dives into the practical reality of living out a culture of service. For Rooftop, Care Portal is just one piece of the puzzle. Heather walks us through their multi-faceted local ministries, including their 18-year partnership with the Affton Christian Food Pantry and their dedicated "Street Team" homeless outreach. Lead by veteran coordinator Justin Stone, the street team goes beyond distributing essential supplies; they focus on looking people in the eye, listening to their stories, and bringing their specific prayer requests back to the church body. Heather also discusses their Fostering Faithful Families ministry, which hosts essential "Parent Night Out" events to give foster and adoptive parents a much-needed break. Additionally, she explains how Rooftop balances global missions—allocating 12% of their budget to global work—with localized cross-cultural engagement right in South County, St. Louis. Whether you are looking to get your own hands dirty in local ministry or seeking inspiration on how to build transformational community, this episode highlights how the simple, obedient act of serving shapes both the server and the served.

  6. Jul 16

    Ep. 09 | Compassion in Action at Rooftop Church

    On this episode of the MBCBH Podcast, hosts Nate Melton and Jasper Rayns sit down with Heather Gain, the Director of Communications and Outreach at Rooftop Church in Affton, Missouri. Heather shares her unique journey from working as a crime reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to transitioning into vocational ministry. She opens up about the heart and personality of Rooftop Church—a community that famously "takes Jesus seriously, but doesn't take themselves seriously" (yes, this includes throwing Easter candy off the church roof!). The conversation dives deep into what it truly means to be an imperfect family following Jesus by putting love into motion. Heather explains how the church stays connected in a digital world and highlights their hands-on approach to serving through local food pantries, homeless ministries, and their long-standing partnership with Care Portal. Tune in to hear an inspiring real-life story of how stable, gospel-centered community support helped open doors for a family in crisis, and learn how one small "yes" can change everything.

  7. Jun 29

    Ep. 08 | Introducing Stronger Families Services pt. 2

    In this second part of their conversation, hosts Nate and Jasper delve deeper into the Stronger Families Services program with guests Yolanda Johnson and Ruby Latoya Harris. Ruby share insights into the program's operations and its critical expansion following a devastating tornado in St. Louis City. They share that the program uses an assessment tool tailored to identify the unique needs of each family and connects them with necessary support services, including individual therapy, case management, housing resources, food pantries, and financial empowerment. Ruby also highlights the Missouri State Youth Advisory Board, a unique, youth-led initiative that empowers young people to advocate for themselves and propose meaningful policy and legislative reforms directly to lawmakers at the state capital. Finally, the team introduces the CarePortal network, which connects local churches with child welfare professionals to fulfill the tangible, immediate needs of families in their own communities—with the ultimate goal of keeping families together.

  8. Jun 29

    Ep. 07 | Introducing Stronger Families Services

    In part 1 of this segment, hosts Nate and Jasper focus on the Stronger Families Services program, designed to stabilize, strengthen, and preserve vulnerable families in the St. Louis area. They are joined by Program Director Yolanda Johnson and Supervisor Ruby Latoya Harris, who share insights into the program's operations and its critical expansion following a devastating tornado in St. Louis City. Yolanda highlights how the program, entirely funded by MBCH, was launched in July 2025 and quickly scaled to serve 67 families in its first six months alone—many of whom were displaced and facing acute crises like roofless homes, lack of clothing, and immediate housing shortages. The team shares the moving realities of providing direct, boots-on-the-ground support to help families navigate complex resources and maintain stability during their most challenging moments.

See All (14)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Connecting Children, Youth and Families to HOPE, HEALING and RESTORATION

Information

  • Creator
    Missouri Baptist Children's Home • MBCH
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Missouri Baptist Children's Home • MBCH
  • Show Website
    Missouri Baptist Children's Home • MBCH