From time to time, I am asked about the spiritual impact Sunrise Children’s Services is making in the lives of the children we serve.
Every day, our team works to meet very real needs. We provide warm meals, a safe place to sleep, counseling, and compassionate care. We celebrate adoptions and help young people prepare for independent adulthood. All of those things matter deeply.
But as a Christ-centered ministry, we also have the privilege of seeing something even deeper take place in the hearts of children.
One recent Sunday gave us an extraordinary glimpse of that spiritual impact.
Two boys at Sunrise, whom we will call John and Travis to protect their privacy, made the decision to put their faith in Jesus Christ.
Marcus Rogers, who serves in mission outreach at Southeast Christian Church’s Bullitt County Campus, spends time each week mentoring the boys. Through that relationship and the faithful presence of the church, both boys chose to publicly declare their faith through baptism.
The day became even more meaningful when Sunrise was able to invite their families to be part of the moment. John’s parents attended the service, while Travis’s grandparents traveled to be there as well.
They were able to witness the baptisms and hear the gospel alongside the boys they love.
One of the remarkable things we see at Sunrise is that when God begins working in the life of a child, the impact often reaches far beyond that individual child. Sometimes an entire family's trajectory can begin to change.
That same Sunday, another special moment was unfolding with girls from Sunrise’s Glen Dale Campus in Elizabethtown.
The girls attended worship at Severns Valley Baptist Church, where they heard a message from Pastor Matt Beasley and experienced the church community together.
“I really like this church.”
One of the girls shared those words after the service. Another was especially excited by the worship music and the experience of being there.
“What! This is their music band? I really like it.”
But this story is about much more than one Sunday morning.
Every week, children in Sunrise foster homes have opportunities to attend church with their foster families. Churches and volunteers regularly come onto Sunrise campuses to share devotionals, build relationships, mentor young people, and faithfully plant seeds.
Sunrise is a different kind of agency. We care deeply about meeting the physical and emotional needs of children who have experienced difficult circumstances, but our mission does not stop there.
We believe some of the greatest healing takes place when a child encounters the love of Christ.
Sundays like this one allow us to see just a glimpse of the eternal impact God is making through this ministry, our staff, churches, volunteers, foster families, and faithful supporters.
It was truly a Sunday to remember.