The Forgotten Podcast

Can you imagine being the oldest of 5 biological children and having over 50 therapeutic foster siblings throughout your childhood? Rophe Mason tells her story of growing up in a fostering family; listen in as she vulnerably shares how they navigated these waters, established boundaries and shared God’s love with children who needed it the most.

Nicole Argo spent her childhood in the foster care system starting at the age of seven. She shares her story of neglect and despair in a life that was saved by God’s loving pursuit of her—even before she knew who He was. His still, small voice gave her hope to go on and led to a series of events that now gives her the opportunity to bring Him glory through her story.

Join us for this Encore Episode with Angie Grant as she shares the story of one of their children's reunification after two and a half years in their home. She will challenge you to want to make an indelible difference in the lives of vulnerable children! Angie Grant and her husband, Stan, have been foster parents for five years. Their third placement, a little girl, stayed in their home for two a...

Jamie Finn started fostering because she wanted to “rescue kids who had terrible parents.” She was immediately humbled with her first placement when she realized that she wasn’t all that different than the biological parents of the child she was caring for—it was only the grace of God that separated her decisions from their decisions. God began to change her heart and her mission regarding foster...

Peter Greer and his family have opened their home to foster care for several years and have experienced the highs and lows of all foster care entails. After several hard situations, Peter admits to being reticent, even outright against, getting back into the foster care world. A greater sense of purpose and the support and encouragement of his children has ensured that, in spite of the pain, unpre...

Angel Ambrose shared her story  of a turbulent childhood that resulted in her playing a key role as a teen in testifying against her mother for the safety of herself and her siblings. Throughout her life, art has played a key role in helping her process her feelings. Angel shares more about how art and the healing power of a creative God has made a difference in her life.

The statistics for youth who age out of foster care receiving a college degree are extremely disheartening—fewer than 5% finish a secondary education. Royce Markley beat the odds—as a child, he was in and out of foster care, eventually aging out of the system. His childhood was a roller coaster of emotions and situations, including times when his mom was doing what she needed to do to keep her kid...

Saty Cornelius grew up in a fostering family—her parents have fostered more than 50 children. She is one of seven children, including three sisters through adoption. Knowing, hearing and living the stories of some of her foster siblings gave her incredible insight into the trauma, struggles and sometimes unexpected emotions kids in care often experience. The combination of her dream to write a boo...

Anna Kathryn Ellzey knew that as a foster parent she could not share pictures, names or details of the child in her care. But that didn’t stop her from sharing a photo of him and her biological daughter as they sat together—a cute picture of only their legs. She simply wanted to share her joy at having him be part of their family. But she realized that on the other side of their happiness was his...

Foster parenting can be challenging even with a spouse, but that doesn’t mean a single person can’t or shouldn’t follow a call from God to foster. This panel discussion includes four single foster moms who have figured out how to make fostering work in their lives. If you have been waiting for a spouse to foster, their stories might give you the encouragement you need to take that step of faith to...

Catie Lumpkin and her husband Jamie began fostering about nine years ago. At the time, they had three young sons (age 4, 2 and 1) and had been considering adoption. They had the opportunity to love on a mother in crisis for a period of time and soon after, Jamie mentioned the option of becoming foster parents. Catie said no at first, but her heart was changed as they became more involved in seekin...

Kelsie Barnhart first heard about TFI and the mentoring program through a friend in the summer of 2014. She had just graduated college and was working full time, but knew she wanted to carve out time to serve her community. Becoming a foster parent wasn’t a practical way for her to minister to the many foster children in her area, but mentoring was. She began mentoring in January 2015 and has been...

Holly Miller was born into foster care and was adopted at the age of seven by the family with whom she had been in a long-term placement. The adoption conversation was always open, but she as she grew, she found she had more questions than answers because she simply didn’t know much about her life before her adoption. Her journey of working through the “who am I” questions led her down an interest...

Angie Grant and her husband, Stan, have been foster parents for five years. Their third placement, a little girl, stayed in their home for two and a half years and then returned home. Although it was difficult to let their daughter go, Angie’s family cherishes the memories they made with her and believe that the time they had with her will make an indelible mark on her life for the good, because t...

Angel Ambrose’s home life became so unsafe when she was a teen that she testified against her mother in order to protect herself and her younger siblings from neglect and abuse. Angel shares her story and how God has redeemed her past and brought her healing, even to the point of having her own child—something she never thought she wanted.  

Father’s Day is just a few weeks away, and we wanted to highlight this great opportunity available to foster and adoptive dads! This encore of Andrew Schneidler’s interview will encourage dads and help them know they are not alone in the struggles they may face. Andrew understands…and he wants other dads to know there are other dads out there who also understand! Foster and adoptive fathers have v...

Join us for this Encore Episode to hear Jason Johnson share highlights from his new book, Reframing Foster Care: Filtering Your Foster Parenting Journey Through the Lens of the Gospel.   Designed to encourage, whether we are in the trenches of foster parenting, considering becoming foster parents or trying to better support foster families, this episode is full of hope and will remind you that you...

Nicole Argo, a pastor’s wife and mother of two, went into foster care at the age of 7, giving her a unique perspective about how it feels to be a child in care. Jenn Hook, a clinical psychologist and TBRI certified therapist, works with children who have experienced trauma—a large number of whom have been in foster care. Listen in as they discuss the exciting new Who Loves book series from The For...

David LaFrance is an elementary school principal who readily shares his story of growing up in a broken and dysfunctional family. His story helps him relate to kids from hard places on a daily basis, as well as drives him to use as many resources as possible to establish relationships with all the people in his life, including his family, his staff, his students and even their families. Listen to...

Drawing on his experiences with taking an intentional sabbatical, Jedd Medefind shares how our inner life and our outpouring into the lives of others are intricately interwoven—especially in in the sense that we must be filled up so that we can, in turn, pour out. The fact is, it’s extremely difficult, if not impossible in the long term, to pour into others’ lives if we don’t take the time to be r...

Ashleigh Chapman is a preacher’s kid who found her life’s calling at the age of 11. Her parents worked at a homeless mission when a woman and her three children arrived, begging for safety from an abuser. Her parents quickly realized the woman was also an abuser and worked diligently to keep the three children safe. She became devoted to the cause of protecting the vulnerable. She focuses full-tim...

Beth Guckenberger and her husband Todd have been married more than 25 years and, between biological, foster, and adopted children, they have raised ten children. In addition, they also work together as Co-Executive Directors of Back2Back Ministries, an organization that is dedicated to being a voice for orphans. They have found some unique strategies to keep their marriage strong and vibrant, enab...

Jason Johnson shares highlights from his new book, Reframing Foster Care: Filtering Your Foster Parenting Journey Through the Lens of the Gospel , to encourage us, whether we are in the trenches of foster parenting, considering becoming foster parents or trying to better support foster families. This is an episode full of hope and will remind you that you are not alone!

Dr. Sharen Ford of Focus on the Family and her daughter, Jennifer Rice, both have experience in the “trenches” of agency work in the foster care system. They share what it’s really like, what the challenges are and even how the job can affect your personal life. This peek into “the other side” is eye-opening…and it’s encouraging to note that agency workers truly do want the best for each child on...

Rob Parker grew up in an abusive home and was headed for a life of ongoing generational dysfunction and abuse. Through the unconditional love of his two great aunts and the Spirit of God working through relationships and community, his life has instead become a message of hope, experiencing reconciliation in relationships, restoration in his heart and transformation in his life!