David Melber, new CEO of the Baptist Children’s Homes (BCH) of North Carolina, addresses members of the N.C. Baptist board of directors during a meeting held Jan. 27-28 at Caraway Conference Center near Asheboro. Melber’s remarks were his first to the N.C. Baptist board since being elected to lead the ministry of BCH.
This past Christmas was truly memorable as my wife Tera and I welcomed our children, their spouses and our five grandchildren into our home in Georgia, with the last of them leaving on Christmas Day. The following morning, we continued packing, and I spent my first night at the Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina’s (BCH) Mills Home campus on Dec. 26. Tera joined me the next day.
Since those first 24 hours in our new home state, complete with new North Carolina cell numbers, it has been a season to remember.
Time with family has reminded us of the tremendous blessing of having a “Baptist family” wherever we go. Jan. 2 marked my official start with BCH. Upon arrival, I was touched to find a packet full of notes, prayers and encouragement that had been sent to me weeks earlier.
Since arriving in North Carolina, Tera and I have traveled across the state, meeting many new acquaintances who have offered incredible support through their prayers and celebrations for the Baptist Children’s Homes.
We have often shared that the Lord has prepared us for a ministry assignment like this for over 20 years. It is with great humility and gratitude that we have taken on this role. We deeply recognize that this ministry is, and has always been, fully sustained by the grace of the Lord.
Just a few weeks into the new year, we celebrated the fact that this past fiscal year has been the largest in BCH history. Only the Lord could sustain this organization through its 140 years of ministry, and it will undoubtedly be His grace that sustains us into the future.
A powerful and consistent takeaway from the first few months has been the overwhelming support from countless staff members, supporters and the entire N.C. Baptist family, who continually desire to pray for the BCH family, Tera and me.
BCH encompasses numerous ministry areas, many of which address challenging life stories impacted by the brokenness of this world. Each of us has experienced moments when we felt unseen and forgotten. In those times, our only source of peace comes from grounding ourselves in our identity as children of God, believing that He sees us and walks with us throughout life.
Right now, at this very moment, our staff is caring for individuals who feel forgotten, some of whom may not even know the peace that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I ask anyone who thinks of BCH to pray for those we serve, for our staff and that God would raise up laborers at all levels within this ministry. Truly, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
The core of our purpose at BCH is to be gospel-centered in all we do. I pray daily that everyone on our staff grows more in love with our Lord Jesus Christ. As our love for the Lord deepens, I pray that we would increasingly serve children and adults through the local church. Lastly, I pray that our organization demonstrates a strong commitment to live on mission alongside our Baptist state convention, our ministry partners and our sister N.C. Baptist agencies as we work together to make Christ known across our state and throughout the world.
(EDITOR’S NOTE — David Melber was elected CEO of the Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina in October 2024 and began serving on Jan. 2 of this year. This article originally appeared in the March/April 2025 issue of the Biblical Recorder magazine.)
