In 2026, choose to give your life to something eternal

Written by David Melber, Chief Executive Officer

I have always been fascinated by people who willingly pursue and accomplish incredibly hard things—individuals who embrace difficulty rather than avoid it. As you read this, think back to the New Year's resolutions you may have made just weeks ago. Many of them probably felt urgent and life-shaping when you wrote them down. Yet today, several may no longer hold a place in your daily routine. Why is that? What separates noble intentions from intentions that truly reshape behavior?

Recently, I read Into Thin Air, the gripping account of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster. The book describes in vivid detail what it takes to climb the world's tallest peak—the physical punishment, the emotional strain, the mental battles, and the high cost of pushing beyond limits. But as I read it, I kept returning to a single question: What compels someone to endure so much suffering simply to reach a summit? For some, the answer may be spiritual—a longing for transcendence, purpose, or identity. For others, the motivation may have nothing to do with God at all. Yet in either case the pattern is the same, people give their whole selves to the pursuit of something they believe matters.

As I reflect on 2025, my first full year with Baptist Children's Homes, I have seen firsthand many people who have displayed remarkable resolve through pain, exhaustion, and difficulty. But unlike the climber driven by personal accomplishment, the men and women I've watched have been driven by something far greater: the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Week after week, pastors across our state preach the Word with passion and conviction, longing to see people respond in faith—either by turning to Christ for salvation or by stepping into lives of mission. Believers become small-group leaders, volunteering sacrificially in their churches, and even leave behind long-standing careers to serve as missionaries around the world. And right here at BCH, I see countless volunteers, prayer partners, supporters, and fellow believers stepping into the complex work of serving vulnerable children and families. Their resolve is not rooted in personal glory but in a deep desire to see God redeem broken lives.

This work is messy. It demands stamina, emotional strength, patience, and deep reservoirs of grace. The stories are often heavy. The needs are overwhelming. The setbacks are real. But the joy of watching God transform a life—of seeing Him work miracles in the hardest places—is beyond words.

Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 9:37–38 that "the laborers are few." That truth remains unchanged. At BCH, we need men and women who will pursue Christ wholeheartedly and trust Him enough to step into ministry situations that are gut-wrenching, complicated, and emotionally taxing. We need laborers who are resolved not merely to attempt hard things, but to attempt eternally significant things.

As we look ahead to 2026, our mandate is unmistakably clear. We exist to know Christ and to make Him known in every effort we undertake. That means caring for the vulnerable. It also means serving and equipping the church. It means to live on mission to understand trauma, to recognize the behaviors of those who carry deep wounds, and to build relationships that naturally lead to Gospel conversations. The work is spiritual, emotional, practical, and deeply relational all at once.

This is why we are so excited about launching the Every Child|Every Church initiative. "Every child" reflects our commitment to raising awareness about the thousands of children across our state who desperately need Jesus and desperately need safe, loving care. "Every church" reflects our conviction that every congregation in North Carolina can be on mission within its own community, stepping into the needs of vulnerable children and families. Brokenness is not out there somewhere—it is in every county, every town, every neighborhood.

As we seek to impact more than ten thousand children in the foster care system, we are praying for God to raise up families willing to foster, churches ready to provide wraparound support, and congregations prepared to send out couples as cottage parents and foster parents as missionaries. Yes, missionaries. We often reserve that word for those who travel overseas, but I believe with all my heart that a couple who fosters or those who step into a cottage with eight or so children who have come from traumatic, unstable, and often unchurched environments is entering a real mission field. They are living daily in the trenches of spiritual battle.

And as churches cultivate a culture of compassion for the vulnerable, we pray that many will continue opening their homes to adoption. Adoption is one of the most vivid pictures of the Gospel we have, and the church should be at the forefront of providing Christ-centered families for children who need permanent homes.

The opportunities to serve at BCH extend far beyond foster care alone. Needs among aging adults continue to grow. Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities require Christlike love, stability, and support. There is no shortage of ministry work to be done but the laborers remain few.

I deeply admire, and yes, even envy the resolve of those who climb Mount Everest. Their discipline is extraordinary, and their accomplishments are impressive. But as noteworthy as that summit may be, it is not of eternal consequence. My prayer is that each of us would seek God for a resolve far stronger than the resolve of the mountaineer—a resolve that compels us into spiritual battle for the sake of the broken, a resolve that leads us to pursue families in crisis, children longing to be loved, and communities aching for reconciliation.

So, the question remains for all of us: What will you give your life to this year? Something temporal or something eternal? There is only one answer that truly matters. May we follow Christ with unwavering devotion as He seeks and saves the lost across our state and beyond.