Celebrating 70 Years of Ministry/Week of Hope – Sharing Hope Through Giving

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Celebrating 70 Years of Ministry

ON MAY 1, 2022, STCH Ministries celebrated 70 years of ministry impacting the lives of children and families. In 1952, with help from area churches, individuals and organizations, land and a dream provided by Laura Boothe Overby, Rev. Jess Lunsford opened South Texas Children’s Home on the Boothe Campus just outside Mineral, Texas. In the years that followed, the campus would grow with the building of new cottages and with it, the ability to care for more children. Little did Rev. Lunsford know how STCH Ministries would continue to grow.

In May of 1970, STCH Ministries opened another campus in Goliad which today is known as Marshall Campus. Originally used as an extension of the children’s home, Marshall Campus now serves as a Homes for Families campus impacting the lives of single mothers and their children. In 1973, Dr. Jack Green replaced Rev. Lunsford as the Executive Director, going on to serve in the role for twenty-five years. Under Dr. Green’s leadership, STCH Ministries would expand by opening new ministries, including Family Counseling. All of the ministries continued to flourish and countless lives were impacted by the work of STCH Ministries.

Fast forward to 2012, Eron Green became President/CEO and STCH Ministries continued to serve children and families through five ministries including International and Homes for Families. By 2016, under Eron Green’s leadership, four more ministries, Faith & Finances, Pastor Care, Family Support and Ministry Consulting, were added bringing the total number of ministries to nine across four major cities and two campuses with close to 100 staff members. Getting out into the community and reaching people where they are at, led to the Faith & Work and Faith & Finances ministries opening up more classes and recruiting volunteer facilitators. Today, virtual classes take place throughout Texas and internationally.

Since 2020, with many organizations having to downsize due to the Covid-19 pandemic, by the grace of God, STCH Ministries has continued to grow. In 2021 alone, STCH Ministries added Homes for Families on the Bluebonnet Campus, counseling expanded into the Rio Grande Valley and we broke ground for a new counseling center in Victoria and a children’s center on the Marshall Campus. This growth will allow for STCH Ministries to reach more children and families with God’s love and truth.

From the beginning, STCH Ministries adopted three founding principles that remain true today, 1. STCH Ministries will never incur any debt, 2. STCH Ministries is 100% privately funded and does not take any state or federal funding, 3. STCH Ministries provides their services regardless of an individual’s ability to pay. With no signs of slowing down, STCH Ministries continues to pray for God’s guidance as we look to the future and find new and innovative ways to impact more lives.

Week of Hope – Sharing Hope Through Giving

For a second year, STCH Ministries Week of Hope served as a time of sharing hope through giving while engaging supporters and partners through nine open house events. A team of STCH Ministries leadership traveled to eight locales where local staff coordinated the events to share what God is doing in and through STCH Ministries. The week started in the Rio Grande Valley, STCH Ministries newest ministry region. Church partners as well as ministry partners attended the open house to hear more about STCH Ministries vision for the area.

TUESDAY THE TEAM TRAVELED TO CORPUS CHRISTI for two events. The first, hosted at the Family Counseling and International office, allowed guests to learn more about these two ministries. During lunch time, Faith & Work and Faith & Finances staff in Corpus Christi hosted their open house. Shortly after the event started, a neighborhood wide power outage threatened to end the event. With light pouring in from open doors, STCH Ministries staff and President/CEO, Eron Green, stood to share with guests about the growth and future plans for STCH Ministries. Not even the heat of the day and darkness could stop this moment.

Later that afternoon, the team traveled to Victoria where the counseling staff hosted tours of the new Jack Green Counseling Center. Although the building is not open yet, much of the building is completed and the staff enjoyed getting to share their vision for the new space with individuals from the community. With smiles on their faces, they shared about the play therapy space, the offices and the hope of healing for individuals that come through the door.

The Houston counseling staff hosted Wednesday’s event at Crosspoint Church in Bellaire. During the presentation time, Eron Green asked if there were any questions, one man stood up and shared how his and his son’s lives were changed thanks to Family Counseling. Tears filled his eyes as he stated that he will never stop talking about the life change he experienced. Thursday, the San Antonio office hosted their event. Volunteers, partners and friends of STCH Ministries came to see the office and meet new staff. The halls of the office filled with conversations of healing and hope as people shared their stories and prayers for the future.

Friday morning started at Homes for Families’ Marshall Campus in Goliad where staff toured attendees through the new Petty Family Children’s Center while the moms gave tours through a cottage. Although the new building is not finished yet, the excitement for a wonderful space to better serve moms and their children filled the air.
STCH Ministries celebrated their 70th anniversary Friday evening on Boothe Campus in Pettus. The place where it all began filled with over 300 excited faces ready to celebrate. The On the Moove ice cream truck and Shark Shack snow cone truck served dessert first as children enjoyed bounce houses and adults enjoyed tours of Foster Cottage. Dinner was served by Fly By’s Smoke-N-Grill while the Singing Men of South Texas performed. Vice president of campus ministries, Greg Huskey, and Eron Green shared about the history of STCH Ministries as well as plans for continued growth.

STCH Ministries newest campus, Homes for Families on Bluebonnet Campus hosted the last event of the week. Phase 1 moms toured attendees through one of the houses and other areas of the campus. Long time supporters of Bluebonnet Youth Ranch attended to see the changes and show their support for STCH Ministries and the new ministry taking place on the campus.

Sharing hope through giving also played a large role during the week. With over 380 donors STCH Ministries raised close to $300,000 during Week of Hope. 70 years of ministry is a huge accomplishment and STCH Ministries wants to thank everyone who prayed over Week of Hope, attended an open house or gave during the week. The ministry would not be possible without supporters like you!