September 18, 2000

IN THIS ARCHIVAL PHOTO, "Mom" Cora Thompson, one of the first houseparents to serve at Texas Baptist Children's Home, reads a bedtime story from the Bible.

Round Rock children's home celebrates 50 years of love
___By Cindy Davis
___Texas Baptist Children's Home
___ROUND ROCK--Fifty years ago, businesses in Round Rock closed their doors for the afternoon and the entire town gathered for what the local newspaper called "one of the most important events in the entire 100-year history of Round Rock."
___That event was the Sept. 5, 1950, dedication of Texas Baptist Children's Home, which opened its doors that year to help children and families in need.
___The town of Round Rock, with its current population of more 60,000, has grown far too large to close down for the day, but that did not prevent more than 200 people from

IN 1950, Louis and Billie Sue Henna (seated) presented the deed to the children's home to the BGCT, represented by Executive Director J. Howard Williams (standing at left).

once again gathering to celebrate the ministry of the children's home Sept. 5.
___Speakers representing the ministry and those it has served, the city of Round Rock, local churches and Texas Baptists gathered in Hankamer-Fleming Chapel to offer words of praise for the 50-year ministry.
___Executive Director Jerry Bradley presided over the event, welcoming guests and reminding them of the early days of the children's home and the fulfilled vision of those who launched it.
___Bradley recalled a 1950 newspaper quote from a member of the agency's first board of trustees, who said, "I predict this institution will be a shining star in the Baptist constellation of institutions."
___These were powerful and prophetic words for a ministry that began as the inspired vision of one young Baptist couple. The seeds for the ministry were planted in the late 1940s, when a Round Rock boy began inviting children from a nearby Lutheran Home into his front yard to play.
___The boy's parents, Louis and Billie Sue Henna, soon became attached to their son's friends. When the Lutheran Home began phasing out childcare in favor of retirement services, the Hennas sought to carry on this important ministry.
___The couple's vision included building a real home, not just an institution, but one where children resided in cottages with houseparents, attended public schools and lived like other children.
___The Hennas owned a large tract of farmland that would be the perfect site for their plans. On April 1, 1950, construction began on the first three cottages, an administrator's home and a small office building.
___After completion of the first buildings, the Hennas donated the land and facilities to the Baptist General Convention of Texas for permanent operation, knowing such an endeavor would require tremendous ongoing resources, as well as a strong ministry commitment.
___The Hennas believed their gift was simply a natural response to God's call.
___To others, it represented much more. N.G. "Bunky" Whitlow, a longtime Round Rock resident, praised the Hennas' selfless commitment to others during the recent rededication

THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY of the home's founding was celebrated this month (left) as Madeline Wells, the first employee hired by the home's first administrator, lit a candle along with current resident Micah Matlock.

ceremony.
___"Louis Henna didn't start the children's home because he sought the limelight, or because he wanted praise," Whitlow said. "He did it for three reasons. First, Louis and Billie Sue were devout Christians. Second, they had the ability to earn the money to do what they did. And the third reason was because they saw a need, and they filled it. That's the kind of people they were."
___Whitlow also praised all who have carried the ministry through the years, saying, "So many others have come along and picked up that ball that Louis and Billie Sue laid down at the 50-yard line. They moved it and moved it, and you can see what a beautiful institution this has turned out to be."
___One couple's vision now has evolved into a multi-faceted ministry offering six programs in dozens of buildings located on three campuses. In 1999 alone, the children's home ministered to 3,358 people through its various programs.
___The most familiar program remains long-term residential group care for children. The Round Rock campus added foster care in the mid-1950s, emergency shelter care in the early 1970s, single-parent family care in 1979, and Services to At-Risk and Runaway Youth, a non-residential community outreach program, in 1991.
___In 1988, Texas Baptist Children's Home also added the Miracle Farm campus in Brenham, a 265-acre working ranch program for pre-teen and teenage boys. In 2000, a new residential facility was purchased in Houston that will extend the single-parent family program to that area later this year.
___Charles Wright, a beloved administrator who served the agency from 1964 to 1990, oversaw many of these changes during his tenure. Wright offered emotional testimony during the rededication ceremony of what the children's home has meant to him and others.
___He likened his call to serve there to the Apostle Paul's words about his own call in the first chapter of Romans, saying, "Although I don't ... We were called. We felt it."
___Wright related several stories about former residents to illustrate the impact of the children's home. In one, he remembered finding a scrawled note from a little boy on the flyleaf of a chapel hymnbook that simply said, "I love me."
___To Wright, those three words spoke volumes.

ON HAND for the anniversary celebration were former administrator Charles Wright and his wife, Mary; BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade and his wife, Rosemary; current administrator Jerry Bradley and his wife, Linda; and Ruthie Henna Herber, daughter of the home's founders, and her husband, Bob._

___"Our hope was that every child that came across us and our staff, that out of this experience, they felt better about themselves," he explained. The boy's handwritten message indicated that, with at least one child, they had succeeded.
___Wright also expressed gratitude to the BGCT.
___When J. Howard Williams, executive director of the BGCT at the time, received the deed to the facility from the Hennas in 1950, the entire BGCT Executive Board was present.
___Although the deed was returned to the agency's own board in 1980, the BGCT has continued to provide support for the children's home through the Texas Cooperative Program, funding at least a quarter of its multi-million dollar budget each year. Other donations from Baptists statewide helped fund the original buildings and furnishings and continue to provide vital support to the agency's programs today.
___At the rededication service, BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade was on hand to offer words of gratitude on behalf of Texas Baptists.
___Wade described the continuing need for Christians to support agencies like Texas Baptist Children's Home, saying: "We live in a time of economic boom and spiritual longing. Money helps, but we know that money does not satisfy.
___"It is a crucial act of wisdom and grace and Christian love to care for people in need. The gospel of God that pushes Christian people out into the world with healing and grace in our hands and hearts is the gospel that converts hearts, shames hate into silence, disciples believers, puts courage in our backbone and attracts thoughtful people."
___Wade concluded by reminding listeners of the welcome Jesus gave to children, saying, "God takes children seriously. He delights in them. He puts a warning sign around them to say to all who live, 'Of my little ones, don't hurt them, don't embarrass them, don't neglect them, don't abuse them. Take care of the children, and let them come to me.'"
___A former resident and a current resident testified that they hold a profound sense of God's protection that came during their time at the children's home.
___Texas Baptist Children's Home is the place where Shirley Hall Zirkle found love and comfort and stability, along with a relationship with Christ to which she fiercely clings, she said. Today, she is giving back by serving as the first alumnus on the board of trustees.
___Amie Johnson, a 15-year-old resident who arrived at the home two years ago, said the Baptist village is not just a place to live, it's a place where she has reclaimed her life.
___"Before I came here, my life was crazy," she said. "My mom and dad divorced when I was 2. My mom was involved in drugs. My dad vanished when I was 5. My life was slowly falling apart at the age of 12 because I was out of control. I began to feel depressed and lonely and empty inside.
___"The Lord knew I needed rules and guidelines in my life," she explained. "But more importantly, the Lord knew I needed someone to love me.
___"Coming here was like a whole new world for me. I finally had a father, a father who taught me how to change my heart and to follow the Lord. I can get off the bus and not worry whether or not Mom and Pop Toner (her house parents) have split up, or if they've had a fight. I think the important things for me are to have a structured environment, consistent rules and constant love. Even my mom can see a change in me."

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