In November 1957, we sent an offering to the Tennessee Baptist Orphanage. The president of the home there sent me a thank you letter. He mentioned in the letter that they had cut down support from the co-operative program (which I had dropped a couple of years before). This put a great burden upon my heart because Jesus said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for such is the kingdom of God.” Also, James 1:27 says, “ Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
So I began to pray much and in December of 1957, God laid it upon my heart to build a Children’s Home. For almost a year, I looked for a place to build it. We had bought a house next to the church in Bristol, Tennessee. Our house though was only large enough for five people, so here we are stuck again. One day while making a radio broadcast for my daily radio program, which was only 15 minutes, I was preaching on “Forsaking all for Jesus”. I had mention things like houses and land. When I said that, God spoke to me and asked me, “Are you doing what you are preaching?” This was going on while I was still trying to preach. I was saying to myself, “I’m trying.”
The Lord then said to me, “Do it!” So I stopped my tape recorder and got on my knees. The Lord said, “I want you to give me your house and all your land! Don’t ask me where you are going to live!” So I told him, “OK”. The deal was signed, and I came out of the room shouting because it was more blessed to give than to receive. My wife stopped me to find out what was wrong. I told her I gave our house away. She said, “Who to?” I told her the Lord. She asked me, “Where are we going to live?” I said, “Abraham and Sarah lived in a tent while they looked for the same city we are looking for.”
While I was in the room sharing this with her, the Lord showed me the house to trade for. So, I got in contact with a Mr. Woodrow Gifford and I told him what the Lord had laid on my heart. After he prayed much, he came back and proposed that we trade houses. He was building for himself the house in which the boys home now live. So, I moved out of my house into the house that the church had bought, in which we intended to start the Children’s Home. This house was about half the size of the house I gave away. So my family lived there about 10 years. This really has not been a sacrifice, it has truly been a blessing. Last year alone, it took over $300 thousand dollars to run the Tri-State Children’s Home here in Bristol, Tennessee. Remember this does not include all other areas of the Charity Baptist Mission, Inc. It has been amazing to see how the Lord works in so many different ways. All of this money has been received in faith. We are not supported by the County, Welfare, State, or Government. Most of the money comes from churches, clubs, individuals, or businesses. We are very grateful to each of you that support the home. Most of our support comes from churches but we could not make it without each of you. At the present we have four buildings with a total of 24,000 square feet. We have built these building without borrowing a dime. So we praise the Lord for this. We paid for them as we went. Again we must say the Lord is so good. Without Him this would not be possible. The Children’s Home has now been going strong for over 52 years.
