Bethany Christian Services, the largest Christian adoption and foster agency in the United States, has issued a press release reaffirming their Christian Statement of Faith and announcing that it would no longer permit homosexuals to adopt children, something they allowed in 2020.
In 2020, Bethany, which facilitates more than 5000 adoptions a year, announced it would be offering its adoption services to homosexual, lesbian, and transgender couples, under threat of losing government funding, after being sued by two gay couples.
In an email to 1,500 staff members, then-President and CEO Chris Palusky wrote:
We will now offer services with the love and compassion of Jesus to the many types of families who exist in our world today… We’re taking an ‘all hands on deck’ approach where all are welcome.
At the time, the organization’s Senior Vice President, Nathan Bult, explained that while faith in Jesus remains very important to them and is at the “core” of their mission, there is room for “disagreement.” Their new policy stated that “Christians of mutual good faith can reasonably disagree on various doctrinal issues, about which Bethany does not maintain an organizational position,” and emphasized that the board members had “diverse personal views on sexuality.”
Six months later, after explaining how they had all received training to become “anti-racists,” they released an annual report that warned White parents against adopting Black children
Things have appeared to change.
Chris Palusky left the organization in 2022, and Keith Cureton took over the role of CEO the next year. In the summer of 2023, he announced that going forward the organization would only hire Christians.
In a press release yesterday titled Bethany Christian Services Reinforces Its Christian Identity and Faith Commitments, they shared:
Bethany’s Board of Directors has voted to take intentional steps to clarify and reinforce the Christian faith commitments and beliefs that have shaped its mission, culture, and work for more than 80 years….
In this season, Bethany’s board and Executive Leadership Team are taking steps to ensure our culture, policies, and practices clearly reflect the Biblical principles that have guided Bethany since our founding.
Part of this includes efforts to rectify their previous unconscionable decision, with The Christian Post revealing:
Bethany, which drew scrutiny in 2021 before Cureton’s arrival for allowing LGBT couples to foster and adopt, will also “move forward with only licensing and re-licensing foster families whose beliefs and practices align with our organizational beliefs and Christian mission” beginning in June 2027, he said.
He added that families who determine they cannot align with that framework will be respectfully aided “through a transition process to another child placement agency, with a goal of minimizing disruptions for children, because that’s our number-one focus.
Furthermore, Bethany unveiled their new Statement of Faith that all employees were required to sign.
Bethany Christian Services is rooted in the historic Christian faith, as expressed in our statement of faith, the Apostles’ Creed. In addition to this foundational statement, we affirm the following biblical principles that guide our work, our relationships, and our mission to serve vulnerable children and families.
These principles include the authority of Scripture, the spiritual formation of staff, a biblical mandate to care for the vulnerable, God’s reflection in humanity, and the sanctity of human life.
It also includes a section on marriage, which states in part “We affirm the biblical design of marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman, established by God to reflect His love and
faithfulness.”
The statement concludes:
By signing this, Bethany board and staff members indicate their personal agreement and adherence to Bethany’s Statement of Faith and Belief. As we move forward together, we do so with a shared commitment to our Christian identity and the mission God has entrusted to us. We are united by our faith in Jesus and our biblical mandate to care for vulnerable children and families. May our work reflect His love, our excellence proclaim His name, and our service bring hope to those we serve.
