Michigan-based Bethany Christian Services announced Monday it will begin placing children in LGBTQ families nationwide.
Bethany, one of the country’s largest adoption and foster care agencies, started offering services to gay couples in 2019 after a legal settlement.
The company has assisted with 3,406 foster placements and 1,123 adoptions in 2019 and provides services in 32 states.
The new policy approved by the organization’s board does not include the phrase “LGBTQ,” but says it will “implement a nationwide policy of inclusivity in order to serve all families across Bethany’s core service lines.”
The international agency will begin training all its employees, including those at locations that have not worked with gay couples.
CBN News received the following emailed statement from Bethany:
“For the past 75 years, Bethany Christian Services has never wavered from our mission of demonstrating the love and compassion of Jesus to children and families. We help families stay together, we reunify families who are separated, and we help vulnerable children find safe, stable homes when they cannot remain in their own.”
“Faith in Jesus is at the core of our mission. But we are not claiming a position on the various doctrinal issues about which Christians of mutual good faith may disagree. We acknowledge that discussions about doctrine are important, but our sole job is to determine if a family can provide a safe, stable environment for children. Unlike many other child and family welfare organizations, Bethany is committed to partnering with churches to find as many families for vulnerable children as possible, and we seek to place children with families that share our mission.”
“For us to carry out our mission, we are building a broad coalition of Christians – finding families and resources for children in the greatest need. The people we serve deserve to know they are worthy of being safe, loved, and connected. The need is great, so we are taking an ‘all hands on deck’ approach.”
“We believe that Christians with diverse beliefs can unify around our mission of demonstrating the love and compassion of Jesus. It’s an ambitious mission, and we can only accomplish it together.”