From Time to Time Part 3​

By JASON CURRY
​President, TBHC

​For 115 years, this ministry has been shaped by faith, faithfulness and moments both ordinary and extraordinary. In the months ahead, I’ll be sharing stories from across that journey in a series called From Time to Time—stories that may surprise you. We may not be the ministry you think we are, we are so much more.
 
How Foster Care Training Has Changed
There are moments in our ministry’s history when you can almost feel the ground shift beneath your feet. Not because the mission changed, but because our understanding deepened. Foster care training is one of those places. For 115 years, TBHC has equipped people to step into the lives of vulnerable children, but how we prepare them has changed dramatically. And for children who carry wounded stories, those changes matter more than we sometimes realize.

Foster and adoptive parents training

Then: Willing Hearts, Minimal Preparation
In the early days of orphan care, long before state regulation or modern research—training was simple. Adults often received little more than a pamphlet, a handshake and the assurance that “love will be enough.” And the truth is, many people and families did love deeply. They opened their homes with sincerity and sacrifice. But the tools they were given reflected the understanding of the time. Trauma wasn’t widely studied. “Attachment” wasn’t a household word. Few recognized the long-term effects of early adversity on a child’s brain, behaviors and sense of safety. It wasn’t negligence, it was simply the best that was known then.
 
Now: Trauma Informed, Research Grounded and Centered on Healing
Today, foster care training looks entirely different. Modern training is trauma informed because children deserve caregivers who are equipped to understand the “why” beneath a child's behavior. Research from the CDC and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network shows that early trauma and chronic stress can reshape brain development, emotional regulation and relational trust (NCTSN, 2023; CDC ACEs Study, ongoing since 1995).
Because of that, state and child welfare expect training that helps foster parents:

• understand trauma’s impact on the developing brain
• recognize triggers and survival-driven behaviors
• respond with connection before correction
• build attachment and emotional safety
• practice regulation skills children can mirror

 
This is why programs like Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®), developed at TCU’s Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development, have become widely adopted across the U.S. Their research demonstrates measurable improvements in behavior, attachment and long-term outcomes when children experience connected, trauma-informed care.
 
In other words, today’s training isn’t just different. It’s better for kids.
 
I remember sitting in a training with the late Karyn Purvis. She challenged us with a truth that has stayed with me ever since: a child who can play is a child who can heal — and we must be instigators of that play. It changed my parenting forever. My wife and I waited in line to speak with her afterward, and she spoke such kindness over us, encouraging us not to give up. I look forward to seeing her again in heaven, grateful for the impact she made on our family and on so many people doing the work of caring for children.
 
Honoring 115 Years: Wisdom for the Work
Scripture reminds us that good intentions alone are not enough.
 
Proverbs 4:7 says, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom.”
 
When God entrusts us with children who have walked through fire, He calls us not only to love them, but to understand them. To seek wisdom. To grow in the knowledge that leads to healing. That is why modern training takes seriously the responsibility of equipping families for the holy work of restoration.
 
One of the things I love most about TBHC is that we have never stopped learning. As the understanding of child welfare has grown, so have we. From the orphanage years, to early foster care, to the trauma informed practices we use today, our heartbeat remains steady: to glorify God by caring for children.
 
But the tools we use to live out that calling continue to deepen, sharpen and strengthen. And that is something to celebrate.
 
A Call to Prayer and Partnership
Would you pray with us—for families in training, for children entering care and for wisdom as our ministry continues to equip those answering the call? Would you also consider giving or sharing this message so more families understand the importance of trauma informed care? If you know someone sensing a call to care, invite them to a First Step meeting. There’s no commitment, just an opportunity to learn, listen and walk away with something to pray over. Children thrive when the adults around them are equipped, supported and anchored in Christ.
 
Next month I will share another installment in my From Time to Time series, running through September to celebrate 115 years of ministry. We may not be the ministry you think we are; we are so much more!

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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 TBHC. Texas Baptist Hope for Children, in turn, notifies the appropriate person. Listed in bold letters are those honored or remembered from Feb. 1, 2026 to Feb. 28, 2026.
 
ENDOWMENTS
Myra Stokes: Bill Stokes, Georgetown
 
HONORARIUMS
Jayden Arthur: Scott Arthur
Jean McCool’s 100th Birthday: Dale & Trena Tillery
Wanda Reynolds: Weldon & Lana Sparks
Tammy Swanner’s Birthday: Charles & Charlotte Johnson
 
MEMORIALS
Holly & Jason Bonner: Ricky Thompson
Robert Butchee: Greg & Judith Holladay
Bocca Cagle: Leon & Priscilla McCauley
Michael Chevalier: Charles & Charlotte Johnson
Leslie Cook: Temple Baptist Church, Mexia
Cecil Downey: Carlie Downey
Charlene Chamberlain Frankum: Leon & Priscilla McCauley, Charles & Charlotte Johnson
Charles Frankum: Leon & Priscilla McCauley
Joyce Ann Guice: Judy Goebel
Paul Hackler: Patty Street, Christine Miller, Shauna Maynard
Jett & Sophia: Tiphany Hood
Dorothy Keck: Leon & Priscilla McCauley
Billy W. & Ida Keeling: Billy O. Keeling
Flo Barton Elms Klotz: Charles & Charlotte Johnson
Brenda Ray: Leon & Priscilla McCauley
Linda Seabolt: Charles & Charlotte Johnson
Tommy Thomas: Charles & Charlotte Johnson, Temple Baptist Church of Mexia
Tommy Todd: Charles & Charlotte Johnson

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