Special TBHC Series: From Time to Time​

​By JASON CURRY
​President, TBHC

Welcome to the first article in a special series, called “From Time to Time,” celebrating 115 years of TBHC’s ministry. Each month, we’ll look at how things have changed, and why those changes matter for children, families and the future.
 
From Time to Time: Two Courageous Choices
For 115 years, our ministry has stood for glorifying God by caring for children. In the area of private infant adoption, much has changed across the country. Our own private infant adoption program began in earnest in 2004. All the changes from the early 1900s to the present day have been good for children and for the two families whose choices shape a child’s story.
 
Then: Closed Adoption with Care and Privacy
For much of the 20th century, private infant adoption was typically closed. Records were sealed, identities were kept confidential and contact between birth and adoptive families were rare. This approach was not without purpose; it reflected the values and understanding of the time. Minnesota pioneered sealed records in 1917, and by the mid-century, closed adoption was the norm across the U.S. Many believed secrecy offered protection, privacy, and a “clean break” for everyone involved. For countless families, this was an act of love and courage within the framework they were given.

Birth mom with son

Birth mom and son with his adoptive parents & siblings

Now: Open Adoption Built on Relationship
Today, adoption looks very different. Most private infant adoptions are open or semi-open, meaning birth mothers often meet the adoptive family, exchange information and define what contact will look like going forward. Many states now recognize post-adoption contact agreements, allowing families to maintain communication in ways that serve the child’s best interests.
 
This shift matters because openness can help adoptees understand their identity, give birth mothers space to grieve and heal, and strengthen trust for adoptive parents. It reflects a new understanding: adoption is not about a child being “given up.” It’s about a child being given by love.
 
Sanctity of Life Month reminds us that every life is sacred, and so are the choices that protect and nurture life. A birth mother wrestles with a deep, personal decision, whether to raise her child herself or lovingly entrust that child to another family. The adoptive parents also choose to parent, welcoming a child as a gift, not as a loss. Both choices require courage, sacrifice and love.
 
Many still picture adoption as a private handoff with no names exchanged and no relationship. Historically, that image fits many closed adoptions. Today, it does not represent the norm. In TBHC’s private infant adoptions, expectant mothers often choose the adoptive parents, meet them and define what contact looks like, with support from our staff and counselors.
 
As we mark 115 years, we want you to truly see what our ministry is, not just what you romanticize. Choosing to be family is an incredible and wonderful gift. But it comes with equally courageous and heart-wrenching choices to choose love. We may not be the ministry you think we are, we are so much more!
 
We provide space for the birth mother’s grief, time, and voice; we equip adoptive parents to honor her ongoing role when appropriate; and we center the child’s identity, safety, and long-term flourishing. That is what hope looks like in private infant adoption, not given up, but given by love.
 
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
 
Does God’s hope for children, birth mothers and adoptive parents change how you view the courage to choose? Would you join us and pray for birth mothers and adoptive families making life-shaping decisions?

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Memorials & Honorariums

​An Expression of Everlasting Love 
Many of our friends choose to honor or remember a family member, a friend, or an associate with a gift for the children of the Baptist Home. Texas Baptist Home for Children, in turn, notifies the appropriate person. Listed in bold letters are those honored or remembered from Dec. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2025.
 
ENDOWMENTS
Bill Stokes: Myra Stokes
 
HONORARIUMS
Mary Ann Allen: Welch Watt
God Almighty: Karen Anglin
Hollin Anderson: James Anderson
Palmer Anderson: James Anderson
Eddie Booth: John W. Thiele II
Mary Dunavant: Cindy Dooly
Sue Efurd: Weldon Sparks
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Harrell: Mr. & Mrs. Leon Ross
Bill Hawks: Steve Hawks
Helen Hawks: Steve Hawks
Elaine Herring: Weldon Sparks
Charles & Charlotte Johnson: Bobby Trimble
Charlotte Johnson: Rosewood BC, FBI Class
Mr. & Mrs. James Jones: Mr. & Mrs. Leon Ross
Mr. & Mrs. J. T. Jones: Mr. & Mrs. Leon Ross
Graeson Keifer: Mr. & Mrs. Leon Ross
Libby Ross Keifer: Mr. & Mrs. Leon Ross
Kelly Laminack: Rosewood BC, FBI Class
Margaret McCown: Pat & Robin McCown
Jerry & Linda Richardson: Weldon Sparks
Rosewood Baptist Church: Larry & Pat Kearby
Mr. & Mrs. Carl Ross: Mr. & Mrs. Leon Ross
Jasper Weeden: Steve Hawks
Wilma Weeden: Steve Hawks
Pat & Pearl Williams: Nancy Edwards
 
MEMORIALS
Agnes Alexander: Arnold Alexander
Judy Chance: Charles & Charlotte Johnson
Mrs. Fammie Collins: Tom Tolar
Ora Crockett: Marilyn Simpson
Ina Mae Dawson: Temple Baptist Church, Mexia
Cecil Downey: Carlie Downey
Georgia Ann James Duke: Charles & Charlotte Johnson
Dorothy Elliott: Temple Baptist Church, Mexia
Juanita Whiteside Ellis: Ashley Whiteside Family
Patricia Emmert: Wallace Emmert
Valerie Gradney: Marilyn Simpson  
Rita & Chuck Hallonquist: L.O. Hallonquist
Frank Harris, Jr.: Clyde Herrington
David Junkin: Doyle Junkin
Billy W. Keeling: Billy O. Keeling
Ida Keeling: Billy O. Keeling
Carol Waggoner Kennedy: Harmony MBC, Nacogdoches
John King: Rosewood Baptist Church, Gilmer   
Mr. & Mrs. Willie Krauskopf: James & Micah Krauskopf                                      
Johnny Lesley: Harmony MBC, Nacogdoches, S. & S. Sutton   
Lois Lyon: Lawrence Lyon
Ann Maxwell: Marilyn Simpson
Rayburn McCown: Pat & Robin McCown
Mr. & Mrs. Malcolm McMillan: James & Micah Krauskopf
Mike Mills: Marilyn Mills
John J. Moore: Jane Moore
Sylvia Meyers: Harmony MBC, Nacogdoches
W.V. Ray: Brenda Ray
Ronnie Rhodes: Jeanette Morris
James Schoenrock: Charles & Charlotte Johnson
Weldon Senn: Georgia Senn 
Pauline Shirley: Charles Sebring
Archie “Bugg” Smith: Harmony BC, Nacogdoches
Diane Waggoner Teague: Harmony MBC, Nacogdoches
Brody Clay Wedgeworth: Galen & Joyce Ann Williams 

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