In his report to IBSA Annual Meeting messengers, Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services Executive Director Kevin Carrothers introduced a new logo and mission statement while expounding on the ways the agency continues to build on its legacy.
Carrothers noted when he accepted his position in January 2023, BCHFS was “significantly” understaffed. As of November 2024, it is fully staffed. “That means we have house parents in all of our facilities, in all of our cottages, in our maternity center,” said Carrothers. “We have counselors, and we have administrative staff, we have administrative assistance and all those things. We’re excited about that, full development staff, and so we can fully focus on the mission and not continually be looking for staff.”
Carrothers said the BCHFS Board of Trustees recently honored the faithful legacies of former Executive Directors Leon Talley (1969-1994) and Doug Devore (1995-2016, interim 2022) by bestowing the title of Emeritus on them. “That is a faithful legacy that they’ve brought,” Carrothers said. “We’re so grateful for them and just want you to celebrate with them.”
New BCHFS logo introduced at the 2024 IBSA Annual Meeting.
He shared the agency’s newly adopted mission statement: “We strengthen families across Illinois by sharing hope in Christ.” Carrothers explained, “We wanted to state that clearly and significantly for Illinois Baptists, for our churches, for our donors, so that you know that we are about the gospel, and we want to see lives changed. But we want to do it across Illinois.”
BCHFS also adopted a fresh, new logo in blue a change from the previous red.
He stated that BCHFS carries out its mission through its five ministries: 1) Angels’ Cove Maternity Center, 2) Baptist Children’s Home, 3) Faith Adoptions, 4) GraceHaven Pregnancy Resource Clinic, and 5) Pathways Counseling Center.
And, BCHFS has four priorities. They are: 1) talking about defending the life of the unborn, 2) protecting the vulnerable, 3) healing the wounded, and 4) restoring the broken.
Carrothers reported that out of the 102 counties in Illinois, BCHFS served families in 55 (shown in yellow) of them.
“That’s over half the state,” he said pointing to a map projected on the screen. “You’ll notice that there’s counties in northeastern Illinois, up in this neck of the woods [Chicagoland], and there’s a lot in central Illinois and Southern Illinois. …But I want you to know our staff, especially our adoption staff, travels all over the state from north to south, as you can see, and east to west.”
Carrothers cited how Pathways counselors strive to serve people around the state “either in our various satellite offices” or through “Telehealth.”
“We are not just a Carmi or a Southern Illinois agency,” he said.
Stating that Jesus met people where they were—broken, traumatized, and hurt (Matt. 9:36)—Carrothers said, “In many ways, that describes those who have come to us, and they’re looking for somebody to listen to them. So, we meet them where they are, not how we want them to be or what we expect them to be, but where they are.”
In other business, messengers approved the 2025 BCHFS operating budget of $3,956,500, an increase of $19,500 over the previous year. BCHFS 2025 Board Officers are Eric Bramlet, Chair, Mt. Carmel First Baptist Church; Ron Daniels, Vice Chair, Belle Rive Baptist Church; and Cheryl Dorsey, Secretary, Beacon Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Chicago Heights.