Missouri Baptist Children's Home • MBCH

On this episode of the MBCH Podcast, hosts Nate Melton and Jasper Rains conclude their two-part conversation with Trina Cruz, Field Director for CarePortal. In Part 2, Trina explores how CarePortal serves youth aging out of foster care, supports kinship placements like grandparents on fixed incomes, and offers a flexible avenue for local churches, businesses, and individuals to meet real-time need...

On this episode of the MBCH Podcast, hosts Nate Melton and Jasper Rains sit down with Trina Cruz, Field Director for CarePortal across Missouri and the Great Lakes Region. With a rich background spanning retail management, business ownership, and international missions work in Latin America, Trina shares how God prepared her heart and skill set to step into full-time ministry advocating for vulner...

On this episode of the MBCH Podcast, hosts Nate Melton and Jasper Rains continue their conversation with Kathy Woods, Clinical Director at MBCH. On this episode, Kathy addresses the heavy and urgent topic of suicide, sharing sobering statistics and providing practical guidance on how to recognize warning signs and ask direct, life-saving questions. She highlights key mental health resources—includ...

On this episode of the MBCH Podcast, hosts Nate Melton and Jasper Rains sit down with Kathy Woods, Clinical Director at Missouri Baptist Children’s Home, to explore the vital role of mental health services in bringing hope, healing, and restoration. With 23 years of service at MBCH, Kathy shares impactful stories of how compassionate care and counseling help break generational cycles of trauma. Th...

On this episode of the MBCH Podcast, hosts Nate Melton and Jasper Rayns continue their conversation with Outreach Manager, Volunteer Coordinator, and Intern Coordinator Von Hulin. Drawing on her decades of experience in social work and church engagement, Von details how MBCH collaborates with local churches, social workers, and community organizations to meet the critical needs of children and fam...

On this episode of the MBCH Podcast, hosts Nate Melton and Jasper Raines visit with Von Hulin, Outreach Manager, Volunteer Coordinator, and Intern Coordinator for MBCH. Drawing on her 30-year career with the agency and 37 years in child welfare, Von reflects on the transformative impact MBCH employees and volunteers have on vulnerable youth and families. She details her wide-ranging responsibiliti...

On this episode of the MBCH Podcast, hosts Nate Melton and Jasper Rains conclude their two-part conversation with child advocate Patrice Mugg about child safety and abuse prevention. Patrice breaks down the critical takeaways from Darkness to Light's Stewards of Children® training, addressing the alarming statistics surrounding child sexual abuse and emphasizing that protecting children is solely...

On this episode of the MBCH Podcast, hosts Nate Melton and Jasper Rains sit down with Patrice Mugg, a passionate advocate for children’s emotional and physical safety with decades of experience serving families across Missouri. Patrice brings both professional expertise and deeply personal experience to her work as a mother of four, grandmother of seven, and adoptive parent through the foster care...

On this episode of the MBCH Podcast, hosts Nate Melton and Jasper Rains conclude their conversation with Dawn Hensley, Program Director for the Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Ministry at the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home. In this part, Dawn highlights the crucial role local churches play in welcoming adults with IDD into full, active participation within the...

On this episode of the MBCBH Podcast, hosts Nate Melton and Jasper Rains highlight the vital work of the individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Ministry at the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home. Joining the conversation is Dawn Hensley, Program Director in Peculiar, Missouri, who shares how MBCH serves adults ages 18 and older living with conditions such as autism, cereb...

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 1...

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 spec...

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...

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 p...

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...

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 Cit...

In this second part of their conversation, the Church Engagement team explores the vital tools and training resources available to churches through MBCH. Lawrence spotlights "Stewards of Children," an eye-opening, evidence-informed program designed to equip adults with practical steps to prevent, recognize, and respond to child sexual abuse, building safer environments within congregations and hom...

In this episode, hosts Nate and Jasper shift the focus from history to contemporary ministry as they introduce the full-time MBCH Church Engagement team, welcoming specialists Lawrence Baker from St. Louis and Drew Nola from Kansas City. Lawrence, a longtime local pastor with 25 years of ministry experience, and Drew, a dedicated veteran and local sergeant in the Missouri Army National Guard, shar...

In this second part of their conversation, hosts Nate and Jasper continue their discussion with Lisa Lowrance and Ben Umble about MBCH’s newly awarded Chafee contract, which provides critical transition services for older youth leaving state custody. Ben shines a light on the Missouri State Youth Advisory Board—a unique, youth-led initiative that empowers young people to advocate for themselves an...

In this episode, hosts Nate and Jasper welcome Lisa Lowrance, Program Director, and Ben Umble, Chafee Supervisor, to discuss the newly awarded Chafee contract for the Southwest and Northwest regions of Missouri. Ben explains that the Chafee program is a federal initiative designed to help youth ages 14 through 22 transition successfully out of the foster care system by building independent living...

Part 2 of this premiere episode of the MBCH Podcast, hosts Nate Melton and Jasper Raines sit down with Britton Carter, the pastor of Fee Fee Baptist Church in Bridgeton, Missouri. Known as the oldest Protestant church still operating west of the Mississippi, Fee Fee Baptist has a rich history dating back to 1807. Britton shares how the church has maintained a 200-year legacy of "love in action" th...

In this premiere episode of the MBCH Podcast, hosts Nate Melton and Jasper Raines sit down with Britton Carter, the pastor of Fee Fee Baptist Church in Bridgeton, Missouri. Known as the oldest Protestant church still operating west of the Mississippi, Fee Fee Baptist has a rich history dating back to 1807. Britton shares how the church has maintained a 200-year legacy of "love in action" through c...