Christian Ministry
We are a Christian ministry that seeks to reach children and families with Christ’s love and compassion while presenting a clear message of Christian values.
Serving Kentucky Since 1869
A Legacy of Hope. A Future of Purpose.
Sunrise Children’s Services provides care and hope for hurting families and children through Christ-centered ministries.
For more than 150 years, generations of Kentucky Baptists, foster families, staff, churches, donors, and communities have answered a shared call: care for children, strengthen families, and offer hope when it is needed most.
1869
Ministry founded
Statewide
Serving Kentucky
Christ-centered
Mission-driven care
Our Story
Generations of children. One enduring mission.
Our Mission
Care and hope for hurting families and children through Christ-centered ministries.
Who We Are Today
The mission has grown. The heart has not changed.
Sunrise Children’s Services is a historic 501(c)(3) nonprofit ministry that has continuously affiliated with Kentucky Baptists since 1869.
Today, Sunrise serves children and families through therapeutic foster care, residential treatment, family services, independent living, and other community-based programs across Kentucky. Professional care and Christian ministry work together in pursuit of safety, stability, healing, and lasting hope.
The needs have changed across generations. Our commitment to children and families has not.
What Guides Us
Values That Shape the Way We Serve
Our values are more than words on a page. They shape how we care for children, support families, work together, and partner with communities across Kentucky.
Quality Professional Care
We are committed to excellent, ethical, professional care that adapts to changing needs and pursues meaningful, measurable outcomes.
Respect for Those We Serve
We seek to protect the dignity of every person we serve through compassionate, respectful, and humane care.
Respect for Staff
We value partnership among staff and support professional, personal, and spiritual growth in an ethical workplace.
Partners in Ministry
Churches, foster families, donors, professionals, and communities all have a role in bringing hope and care to children and families.
Our History
More Than 150 Years of Answering the Call.
Sunrise’s story began in the aftermath of the Civil War, when Kentucky families were devastated by conflict, disease, and poverty. What began as a response to children who had nowhere else to turn grew into a statewide ministry serving children and families in increasingly comprehensive ways.
1866–1869
Where It Began
Compassion became a ministry.
In 1866, the Ladies’ Aid Society of Walnut Street Baptist Church in Louisville formed the Orphan’s Aid Society as Kentucky families struggled with the effects of war, cholera, and poverty.
In 1869, the Society of the Baptist Homes for Helpless Children was founded to oversee this work, and the Louisville Baptist Orphans’ Home opened with three children in care.
A second Kentucky Baptist children’s home opens.
Kentucky Baptist Children’s Home opened in Glendale, extending the ministry’s reach and creating another place of care for children in Kentucky.
Spring Meadows takes shape.
A new campus was developed near Louisville, and the ministries eventually came together under the Kentucky Baptist Board of Child Care — strengthening a shared statewide mission.
Care expands beyond the traditional children’s home.
Adoption, foster care, counseling, residential treatment, independent living, and community-based services expanded the ways the ministry could meet changing needs.
A new chapter — and a new name.
Sunrise received a foster-to-adopt license in 2006. In 2007, Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children officially became Sunrise Children’s Services — a name reflecting the hope offered to children and families.
150 years of ministry.
Sunrise marked its 150th anniversary and celebrated generations of people who helped carry the mission forward.
The story is still being written.
Sunrise continues serving children and families across Kentucky through professional care, faithful partnerships, and an enduring Christ-centered mission.
Professional Care
Faithful to the mission. Serious about quality.
Sunrise combines a Christ-centered identity with professional standards of care. Sunrise has received The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval, and applicable programs maintain the licenses and accreditations required for the services they provide.
Explore Sunrise
There Is a Place for You in This Mission.
01
Our Services
Learn how Sunrise serves children and families across Kentucky.
Explore Services → 02Foster Parenting
Discover what it means to open your home through Sunrise.
Learn About Fostering → 03Careers
Use your gifts and experience in service to children and families.
View Careers → 04Give
Help make care, healing, stability, and hope possible.
Support Sunrise →
The Mission Continues
Help Write the Next Chapter.
For generations, people have stepped forward to care for children and families. That opportunity is still before us.