The largest Christian adoption agency in the United States officially recognizes gay people

In the United States, gays and lesbians can now officially go to one of the largest Christian adoption organizations in the country. At Bethany Christian Services, we immediately welcome LGBTI as foster or adoptive parents. This was happening in a number of countries under pressure from governments, but now the national policy has officially changed.

Bethany Christian Services is the largest Protestant agency for adoptive and adoptive children in the United States. In 2019, the organization took care of more than 1,100 adoptions and 3,406 children were placed in foster care.

Previously, the agency referred adoptive and adoptive gay parents to other institutions in most states.

a man and a woman

The new Bethany Christian Services policy was quietly approved by the Board of Directors in January and announced early this week. An email to the contributors said: “We will now, with the love and mercy of Jesus, offer our services to the various types of families in the world today.”

Since 2007, the national organization has officially taken the position that God conceived of marriage for the sake of “one man and one woman,” something that many Christians support.

“We realize that not everyone is happy with this and we might lose income,” board member Susan Jordan told the newspaper. New York times. “But helping children should not be controversial.”

String dance

In the United States, states and local governments are increasingly requiring these organizations to accept same-sex couples. Therefore, the local branches of Bethany City obtained permission from the national government a few years ago to comply with the contract requirements set by the local authorities. Concretely, this has meant that there has indeed been collaboration with gay couples on a small scale, although this has not been explicitly announced.

Bethany’s new approach is more or less tightrope, writes The New York Times. “It is an attempt to pursue a clear inclusion policy that does not violate most constituencies, such as churches, where most parents are recruited.” Meanwhile, the newspaper writes, the revised policy does not approve of same-sex relationships.