Three Decades of Devotion: Rod Marshall's Journey with Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries (feat. Rod Marshall):

When I was three years old, my parents began serving as house parents at the Alabama Baptist Children's Home Decatur campus. This experience significantly impacted my life for the better. I could go on and on about ABCH (Alabama Baptist Children's Home)—I'll be using this abbreviation frequently. For fourteen years, God blessed me with wonderful relationships, many of which are still strong today. He also enriched my life with valuable lessons and experiences. ABCH holds a special place in my heart; I truly believe in the ministry they perform, having witnessed it firsthand. I am confident that God will continue to work through this incredible ministry.

Today, I've called upon an old friend from ABCH to share some insights. Rod Marshall, President and CEO of the Children's Home, will share some of his story and highlight some of the remarkable work happening at the Alabama Baptist Children's Home. Now, I'll let Rod take it away!

"My name is Rod Marshall and for the past 29 years, I have had the privilege of serving at Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries (ABCH).  On January 1, 2025, I will celebrate my 30th year of service to this ministry. On November 6, 2024, I will have served at this ministry for half of my life! In 2012, I was selected by our Board of Trustees to serve as the president of this wonderful ministry. It is a great place to work.

ABCH is the state’s largest private foster care provider. We have a rapidly growing network of foster families (currently about 280) that on any given day provide care for 250 to 300 children who, through no fault of their own, cannot live with their parents. We celebrate when these kids (nearly 90% of them) get to go back home to a family member. When that is not possible, we assist in any way we can in finding a healthy permanent  home in which these kids can be adopted (oftentimes by their foster family). We also provide Family Care homes (currently in 3 locations) where homeless mothers and their dependent children can live for up to 12 months. In addition, we help young adults who grew up in our care in their transition to adulthood by assisting them with college, professional school or military service. Finally, we have 25 professional counseling centers all across the state. Our ministry is in a state of rapid growth!

As a ministry, we seek to be faithful over small things so that God can amaze us by performing significant miracles! We see kids defying the odds on a daily basis and going on the become engineers, teachers, pharmacists, business owners, physical therapists, moms, dads, church members, and sometimes even foster parents! Nationally, fewer than 10% of children in foster care will graduate from college, but children who complete high school while in our care have a 90% chance of graduating from college with no student-loan debt and no consumer debt! The purpose of our ministry is to protect, nurture and restore children and families through Christ-centered services. We strive to be good stewards of the resources entrusted to us (we spend about 5% of donated money on management and overhead and another 15% on fundraising, but for every dollar we spend on fundraising, we see a return of almost $4.00), so for every dollar invested in our ministry, 80% of those gifts go to care for children.

We have an excellent team of administrators, social workers, counselors, volunteer foster parents, volunteer Board Members and great supporters who work tirelessly to provide the best possible service to children in our state. Our current strategic plan, which culminates in 2031, our ministry’s 140th anniversary, is to serve at least 1,000 children every year. I am excited to serve this wonderful ministry at this challenging and rewarding time! To learn more about ABCH, you might enjoy visiting our website:  www.alabamachild.org."

~Rod Marshall, President & CEO, Alabama Baptist Children's Homes

I thank God for people like Rod! His leadership at the Children's Home is truly appreciated, and I know many others feel the same. Let's commit to praying for Rod as he leads, and for the Alabama Baptist Children's Homes as they continue their mission to protect, nurture, and restore children and families through the love of Christ.