“I love being a dad,” said Jason Curry, father of four, and President of Texas Baptist Home for Children (TBHC) Foster Care and Adoption. “And I love being God’s son.” A Texas native, Jason grew up in church and was called to ministry at an early age. He earned his Master of Arts in Christian Education, and served as pastor of children and young families at a church in Irving, Texas, before joining TBHC in 2017. His ministry has been focused on reaching children and youth with the gospel of Jesus, and disciplining their parents towards spiritual maturity. He is the host of the Bringing Kids Home podcast, featuring people who are champions for children and families, and offering resources for people who are fostering and adopting.
“I give all the praise to the Lord for who I am and where I am. I had a family that invested in me and made important decisions to help me become the man God wanted me to be,” Jason said. “My mother made a lot of sacrifices for my sisters and me. In the era I grew up, divorce was prevalent. To have a mom and dad that remain faithful to each other to this day is a big blessing for me. It was a love for God that did that, not the love they had for each other or the human commitment level they were able to maintain. It was a supernatural commitment.”
Jason met a woman who shared his beliefs and was also willing to make a supernatural lifetime commitment, to make necessary sacrifices, and to open her home to strangers in need. When they were dating, Jason said, “‘The woman I marry will want to foster and adopt.’ She concurred that a husband would want to do the same thing. It was something very special to us, independently. God laid on our hearts to do that,” Jason said. Tonya and Jason married 18 years ago, got a house and a dog, and began their fostering journey, searching for agencies that fit their values and needs. “We felt right at home with TBHC. We walked through the process, and our first placement of three little girls moved in. That was a huge journey for us; they were all under five years old at the time. We jumped into that. That was beautiful.”
Their next assignment was a baby boy they picked up at the hospital, but he didn’t stay for very long. Then the girls went back to their parents. Next came a boy they adopted, and three kids moved in with him. They moved to a bigger house. The three girls that were with them previously called to ask if they could come stay with them. ”Of course we said yes!” Jason said. “And they brought a little brother with them.” That brought the total to 9 kids in their care. “Our house was full. We had three bedrooms with three kids in each room. The oldest was 8 years old; there were two school-aged kids, and the rest were in preschool. My wife was the hero of that story. I went to work every day as a pastor. I worked late every evening, on top of Wednesday night services and committee meetings, and I often wasn’t there for dinner. With wailing and gnashing of gums, they waited for me to get home to put them to bed every night.”
“Every child deserves a daddy,” Jason said. “Every child deserves a heavenly father. However, when we have little girls come into care, and there has been a daddy that did them wrong or a [bad] man in the house, sometimes the most valuable thing is a single mother. My sister is a single parent and adoptive mom. She has had more foster kids in her home than my wife and I have. She has brought value to these girls and a healing process that would not have been available to them if a dad was in the home. To go to bed and know that there won’t be someone who comes sneaking into your room… I just want to say, single parenting in foster care is so important. When I say ‘every child deserves a daddy’, I mean God gave a need in every child’s life for a mom and father. There are some very special exceptions, and exceptional people that meet that need too.”
When they adopted two boys, Jason said, “It was a beautiful experience for us. Two families walked into court, and one walked out. You can’t ask for better. Holding our biological kids later, those experiences were equal in the way my heart beat for them. I love what that did for us, to teach us what Jesus did for us when He brought us into His family.”
“Our fostering journey has definitely shaped where I am today,” Jason said. One day he got a call inviting him to apply for the position as head of TBHC. “I said no, because I really wanted to work with kids [at the church],” Jason recalled. But he felt the Lord asking him, “‘How many kids can you care for if you say no?’ We could only have six total according to state law, and we had three already, so only three more. ‘How many kids could you care for if you took this job?’ When I applied it was a smooth process, and God opened every door.” Now, in addition to his four children, Jason helps care for approximately 100 children who currently live on campus, and the many more who have been there or who are yet to come. “It is an honor to be at TBHC,” Jason said.
Having fostered and adopted children gives Jason unique insights to help families determine the best course for opening their hearts and homes to children in crisis. TBHC offers First Step classes that address their fears and concerns. “The two things [I hear most are], ‘This is my lifestyle and I’m comfortable in my space’ and ‘I would love them too much’. To them I say, ‘Hospitality is not going out to have coffee with someone; it’s opening your home and inviting strangers in. Hebrews 13 doesn’t give us much option to do otherwise. You might be saying, ‘I’m going to open my big heart to these kids and they’re just going to break it.’ I would say to you, ‘If not you, then who?’ Our hearts have to be big enough to love people. When we love people, their presence is not required. There are people I love that are no longer on this earth, they’re in heaven. There are people who geographically are out of reach, and I love them. Our hearts have to be big enough for that. Brokenness is scary for us. Accepting your weaknesses doesn’t make you a strong person, but it does make you a courageous person. We need people of courage.”
TBHC is also looking for people who are good at administration, fundraising, event planning, teaching, training, creating awareness, and giving. Givers can donate money online through secure channels, or purchase items from a regularly updated Amazon wish list and have the items delivered to the Home. Volunteers can help build relationships and lead parenting classes for pregnant teens, coach current and prospective fostering and adoptive families, and help plan, promote and participate in fundraisers and other social events. Recent events include Dancing with the Ellis County Stars, an event that helped raise awareness and over $100,000 in donations; and the BRAVE Recruitment Event, in partnership with Hope Local of Fort Worth, Texas, that helps people discover ways they can bravely serve, support and advocate for foster children. brave.hopelocal.com TBHC is also in the process of launching a second campus in Odessa. “There’s a lot of opportunity out there as well,” Jason said.
This summer, TBHC will host a homecoming and adoption event that promises to be a meaningful time for anyone associated with TBHC. “When you adopt through TBHC, we do a ceremony with you to recount the journey. We light candles and we thank God for the birth family, the adoptive family, all the staff that made it possible–the adoption workers, case managers, and anyone along their journey. We have a bell tower that was built many years ago in honor of one of our former presidents. They used to ring that bell to call in kids from the fields to eat dinner. Now we ring that bell to share with our neighbors that we have a new family that’s been formed,” Jason said. “Former adoptees who were called in by that bell, some as long as 80 years ago, come back and share their stories in a way that really grabs your heart,” Jason said.
“We adopted two kids through TBHC, and have two younger biological kids [age range 5-16]. We home school. We have a multi-generational house right now–my parents live with [us]–so there are a lot of us, and God has really blessed us and made it possible for us to do that. It’s an honor to do that. I love every bit of it. It’s not easy, but we are definitely getting the most out of life,” Jason said. “Our whole organization exists to care for kids. Our purpose statement is to glorify God by caring for children. I can’t think of a better purpose in life. Our mission stems from that, we exist for the sanctity of human life. We want to preserve the family and help every single member of that family be served to God’s glory.”