Brentwood Baptist campuses serve more than 2,600 kids
BRENTWOOD — The Church at Station Hill, a satellite campus of Brentwood Baptist, became the first church in Tennessee to serve 1,000 children through CarePortal, a digital platform that connects local churches with families in crisis.
The milestone did not stand alone for long. Brentwood Baptist’s main campus crossed the same threshold one week later. Together, the church’s campuses have collectively served 2,621 children, generated more than $1.85 million in economic impact, and engaged 947 church responders.
Station Hill and Brentwood Baptist have served 1,025 kids each as of March 30. The Church at West End has served 343 children and the Church at Avenue South served 228.
“Providing tangible items has opened doors for long-lasting relationships and opportunities to share the gospel,” said Julie Hogue, regional manager for CarePortal and Brentwood Baptist member. “We’re seeing a shift where families are now turning to the local church for support rather than relying solely on their social workers.”
CarePortal is a free online platform that partners with child-serving agencies like the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, enabling social workers to anonymously post specific needs for families they serve. The platform then notifies members of nearby participating churches who can donate money, provide items, or volunteer to deliver assistance.
It’s a system of efficiency, according to Hogue. The platform lets administrators track which churches received each request, what items churches provided, and who made deliveries — providing the ministry both accountability and scale.
“By partnering with the Department of Children’s Services and other small agencies, including Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home, our churches receive notification of vetted needs,” said Hogue. “Churches are the ministry and CarePortal is the technology.”
She explained the ministry now reaches a 70-mile radius, extending services to Davidson, Rutherford, and Murray counties in addition to Williamson.
Beds rank among the most common donations, helping families meet DCS requirements of one bed per child. Food donations follow closely with volunteers delivering groceries or meeting families at stores to purchase them.
“Whether they were delivering groceries or meeting families to purchase those groceries, I feel like our Brentwood campuses really went above and beyond to ensure that those children had food on the table,” said Hogue.
The Tennessee Baptist Mission Board joined as an implementing partner, bringing at least 50 Southern Baptist churches under a unified umbrella that tracks collective impact.
“With Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, really having a passion to help in the foster care space, this has become a very easy way for churches to do so,” said Hougue.
Elizabeth Cochran, Brentwood Campus Director for the Foster and Adoption Ministry, said the response reflects the church’s identity.
“This is the Church doing what it does best,” said Cochran. “It is not just meeting needs, it is showing up with presence, relationship, and consistency. It is small groups delivering meals, volunteers building furniture, and delivering groceries and other tangible items. That kind of generosity brings stability, dignity, and hope in moments where it is needed most.”
But behind the numbers are individual stories of families who found stability through the generosity of people they had never met. Hogue described a single dad of five boys, who received help with school clothing through Brentwood Baptist a year ago. For months he maintained contact with the church and his whole family came to know the Lord.
In another case, a Columbia-area woman, who opens her home to foster teen boys — often one of the most challenging demographics to foster — lost her roof to a tornado last year.
Her insurance would not cover the damage. Through CarePortal, several churches pooled resources to replace it, allowing her to remain debt free and keep her doors open to children who need a safe place to land.
“Most of us are not called into the full-time ministry of fostering. It is a full-time ministry,” said Hogue. “But as the Church, we can easily care and give, even if we’re not called to take in that child specifically. That continues to be an impactful story.”
That kind of response flows out of both calling and clarity.
“As people serve, something shifts in them,” said Cochran. “Their hearts grow, their compassion deepens. We often say that while we are meeting needs for families, God is also doing something in us. Once people experience that, they want to keep showing up.” B&R — Note: Churches can sign up online at www.careportal.org, where staff members assist with setup and implementation.
