This week, after five long years in New Mexico’s foster care system, a little girl named “Wren” will finally walk into her forever home. Her parents never stopped showing up—through the many challenges of foster care. They prayed for her, fought for her, and loved her as if she were already theirs. Now, that prayer has been answered.
But Wren’s story is a bright light among many who were not so lucky.
Right now in New Mexico, there are more than 2,100 children in foster care. Of those around 70 are available for adoption into a permanent, loving family to call their own. Some have been in the system for years. Others are part of sibling groups that risk being split up simply because there aren’t enough families able—or willing—to take them in together.
The need before us is significant, but far from impossible.
Consider what happened years ago inPossum Trot, Texas: in a tiny rural community with no post office and few resources, Bennett Chapel Missionary Baptist Church did something extraordinary. It began when Donna Martin, grieving her mother’s death, felt God’s call to adopt. She and her husband, Bishop W.C. Martin, started by adopting four children themselves. That simple step sparked a chain reaction: 22 families from their congregation then adopted 77 of the hardest-to-place children in their county, effectively clearing the local adoption waiting list. Not one child was ever returned to state care.
What Bennett Chapel did isn’t an exception—it’s what faith looks like in action.
The Bible instructs christians to care for the orphans and the fatherless. That command wasn’t given to a few special people with a unique calling—it was given to the Church. And when the Church mobilizes, needs get met. When we step into the brokenness, hope has a way of breaking through.
Some of us are in a position to open our homes, whether for short-term foster placements or long-term adoption. Others can come alongside those families—bringing meals, offering babysitting, helping with transportation, donating clothing or school supplies, and most importantly, praying faithfully. You can even register to provide respite care, temporary care for children whose primary placement is with another foster family. Every role matters.
Imagine if churches across New Mexico embraced this mission together. Imagine walking into a CYFD office and finding that there are more approved families than children waiting for placement. Imagine hearing that every sibling set has a home where they can stay together.
This is not a dream too big for God. It’s a call too clear for us to ignore.
We still have work to do in making sure CYFD operates effectively. More Christians fostering and adopting won’t fix a broken system on its own, but it will give more children the safety, stability, and love they deserve, while easing the strain on caseworkers and preventing kids from slipping through the cracks. We must step up to protect these children—because their lives matter, and because God has called us to do it.
Wren’s adoption is worth celebrating. But until every child in New Mexico’s foster care system has a safe, loving, permanent home, we have work to do. Let’s be the Church that steps up—not just to meet the need, but to overwhelm it with love.
If you’ve ever thought about fostering or adopting, take the first step today. And if that’s not possible for you, commit to supporting the families who do. Together, we can ensure that Wren’s story isn’t the rare exception—it’s the norm in New Mexico.
Jodi Hendricks is the Executive Director of the New Mexico Family Action Movement.
