Church Adopts 76 Foster Children Out of Troubled Homes
A small Texas congregation has managed the not-so-small feat of adopting 76 foster children and offering them loving homes.
Located in Shelby County, Texas, Bennett Chapel Baptist is a small community church that describes its members as "common ordinary people." Located within Possum Trot, the church is led by Pastor W.C. Martin and his wife Donna.
The church also suggests that each member gets through life "one day at a time" with the mission of changing the world one heart at a time. But how can a small church that few have heard about, in a town that little have heard of, possibly manage to change the world? With a possible nudge from God himself, the church of "ordinary people" has managed to do an extraordinary thing.
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It all began from sad circumstances when Donna Martin was grieving the death of her mother. That is when, she told People magazine, that she heard a voice telling her to adopt.
Already having two biological children, the Martins went ahead anyway and adopted four new foster children.
"I never dreamed there were so many children in the system," Martin told People magazine. A number of those children had been abandoned or abused.
The first two children that the Martin's adopted were Mercedes, then 5, and Tyler, then 2. Martin remembers "they did everything but set the house on fire. Actually," she added, "Tyler lit up the garbage can."
But that didn't stop them from adopting two more children, Terri – a 9-year-old left behind when her foster family went on vacation – and 6-year-old Joshua.
Despite the difficulties, the Martin's growing family set off a chain reaction and 20 other parishioners decided that they, too, would adopt foster children. The result has become a church movement and message of inspiration to many.
"I don't know where I'd be [without them], probably the street," Joshua told People of his home with the Martins. "My parents are nice, loving and kind."
As of today, the congregation has managed to adopt 76 children out of the foster care program from across the state. The church considers themselves "richly blessed" by God.
