Ministry in Spite of Obstacles

I want to tell you about a fantastic person, Matthew Creath, and a ministering church, Parkway Baptist. Matthew is the minister of Administration and Education at Parkway Baptist Church. Here at the Children’s Home we have been acquainted with Matthew since 2015 when he and his wife became licensed foster parents and our agency managed their license from our Springfield, Missouri office, and then at our Lowe-Frillman Campus in St. Louis when they made a move to St. Louis. They eventually ended up adopting a little boy and so decided to close their foster care license, but that did not end the relationship we had with Matthew. Matthew invited us to come to Parkway’s event for Orphan Sunday last November to speak about the services and ministry we provide for children who have experienced trauma due to abuse/neglect. The church provided a luncheon afterwards and invited anyone that was interested in learning more about foster care and adoption.  We had a great time together that Sunday. That renewed connection with Matthew set in to place several opportunities:

• We asked Matthew to come and do a devotional for our Treatment Foster Parents at their monthly support group.
• Parkway was going to host our foster parent training – a ten-week training for those who want to become licensed foster parents.
• Parkway was going to host Show Hope’s Empowered to Connect Conference in March (a live simulcast that offers practical teaching to equip families, churches, and professionals to better serve children impacted by adoption and foster care) and had invited our staff and foster parents to attend.

We all know what happened – COVID-19. It prevented us from being able to partner together with Matthew and Parkway on the events listed above.  But – that did not stop Matthew. He contacted the Children’s Home shortly after the stay-at-home order was in place for St. Louis County and asked how Parkway could help. For “cooped-up” kids, getting to have fast-food take-out was a bright spot in their week.  So, Matthew asked his church for donations and every week like clock-work during the stay-at-home order he dropped off food for the residents and staff at our campus in St. Louis. Once the stay-at-home order was lifted and it was no longer necessary to bring food, there was still money left over from the donations that Parkway members had given. The church decided to donate the remainder of the money (which was a sizeable check) to the ministry of the Children’s Home. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you Matthew and Parkway Baptist for your generosity, for your desire to partner together in ministry, and for not letting COVID-19 stop you from continuing to minister! You are appreciated so much and we look forward to continued ministry partnership opportunities in the future!