‘A win for the Kingdom’: Southern Baptist children's home to help houseparents attend seminary
A Southern Baptist children’s home has approved a program to help pay for seminary training for houseparents involved in its ministry work.
New Mexico Baptist Children’s Home, based in Portales, New Mexico, adopted the program earlier this month and is interviewing potential candidates among its houseparents — adults who oversee group residences.
As part of the program, NMBCH will offer full-time tuition for one spouse and part-time tuition for the other spouse at any of the six seminaries affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention or an associated college. The children’s home will also provide up to $300 each semester for books.
“This is in addition to our generous compensation package, which includes a salary of $83,000 per couple; housing and utilities, including internet, fully paid,” NMBCH Vice President Lon Graham told The Christian Post.
“[It also includes] 100% paid health, dental, long-term disability and life insurance premiums for employees and dependents; employer contributions to a 403(b) retirement plan; scholarship opportunities for dependent children; and relocation assistance.”
The decision to adopt the seminary tuition program “came after months of prayer and thought, driven by two convictions that beautifully reinforce one another," Graham said.
“First, we believe that children’s homes like NMBCH thrive when they’re staffed by houseparents who are genuinely passionate, truly called, and deeply committed to Jesus Christ. That kind of person doesn’t just fill a role. They change lives,” Graham said.
“Second, we wanted to invest in the broader Baptist community by removing one of the biggest barriers to ministry: debt. We saw an opportunity to say to people who feel the pull toward seminary, ‘Come serve with us, gain meaningful, real-world ministry experience, and pursue your education without financial fear.’”
Graham considers the tuition assistance program “a win for the children, a win for our houseparents, and a win for the Kingdom."
“[The program will] enable us to continue our mission to make visible the invisible love of God to people who desperately need to experience it.”
Candidates for the program must pass a background check and have “a genuine call to care for children from hard places, who are committed followers of Jesus, and who bring an active, energetic spirit to daily life,” Graham said.
“Most of all, we are looking for people who are hungry for a meaningful place to serve the most vulnerable and precious people in our society: children,” he added.
Graham said the new program benefits the children because it is important for houseparents to be "steeped in Scripture."
“Children who come from hard places need more than a warm bed and three meals a day,” he said. “They need houseparents who have been steeped in Scripture, who have wrestled with the deep things of the Gospel, and who can bring that wisdom to bear in the beautifully messy and unpredictable moments of healing and growth that take place in everyday life.”
“Theological training equips houseparents to ask and answer the question: ‘How does the Gospel speak into this moment for this child?’ That’s a profound gift to give a kid who may have never experienced that kind of intentional, grace-filled care.”
