Rod Marshall said it doesn’t feel like he could’ve possibly been at Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries for 30 years, but one particular memory puts a time stamp on it for him.
It all started with a fax.
“It was 1994, so that’s how word got around,” Marshall joked. “It was a Monday morning, and I got a call from Buddy Nelson, the pastor at Riverchase Baptist where my wife and I attended.”
Nelson told him about a fax from ABCH that said they were looking to start a counseling ministry. He knew Marshall had just finished his studies and credentialing to become a licensed professional counselor.
“I interviewed and was hired to help start the counseling ministry and had no idea what an integral part of my life this ministry would become,” Marshall said. “At the time, I didn’t know a lot about the Children’s Homes; now I cannot imagine my life without it.”
On Jan. 1, 1995 he started working part-time, which grew to full time a couple of years later. A little further down the road, he was asked to lead the counseling ministry.
And then in 2011, as ABCH president and CEO Paul Miller prepared to retire, the search committee asked Marshall if he would submit a resume.
“One of the first questions asked in that process was, ‘Why do you want to be the CEO?’
I told them I don’t know that I do,” he said. “I never set out for that to be who I wanted to be when I grew up. But being chosen to serve in that role 13 years ago was a privilege.”
And now he’s celebrating the fact that ABCH has been a part of his life as long as anything else has. He marked 30 years there in January, then turned 60 on Feb. 25.
Not only that — he’s the longest-tenured ABCH employee currently serving.
“The more I’ve learned about the Children’s Homes over the years, the more impressed I’ve been,” Marshall said. “I encourage people all the time, ‘If you’re looking for a way to make Kingdom impact with children and families, this is the right place to look.’”
Changes
Over the years, a lot has changed. For one, the ministry has shifted its focus from utilizing group homes to expanding its foster care presence. Though ABCH still retains some homes, these are now more community-based foster-care settings where the parent-to-child ratio is smaller.
And Marshall said even those are slowly being phased out when it feels like the time is right.
“In places where former group homes are now campus foster homes, if we can’t find people who want to serve there, we can sell those homes and do more good for more foster families with those resources,” he said. “If one of those homes stops working well, we have the ability to pivot.”
Looking ahead
Marshall said ABCH’s goal is to be caring for 1,000 children in the state’s foster care system by the ministry’s 140th anniversary in 2031. In 2024 they served 460 children, a 13% increase over 2023.
“There are 5,000 to 6,000 children in Alabama’s foster system, and we feel like if we can care for 20% of the kids, that’s a worthwhile goal,” he said.
Even as ABCH has become more sophisticated in how they’ve approached caring for children over the years, Marshall said he’s most excited not about how much has changed but how much has stayed consistent.
“As the culture changes, the support we’ve received from Alabama Baptists has remained the same,” he said. “The willingness of people to be foster parents, the willingness of people to volunteer with us — that hasn’t changed. God is doing a great work, and the credit has to be broad.”
Marshall said in 1891, ABCH’s founder John Stewart said if you show Alabama Baptists what the need is, they will do the rest — and that’s still true today.
“The story is so compelling, and they are such a people of strong compassion,” he said. “It dovetails very nicely for Alabama Baptists to get involved in what the ABCH has done.”
Calm engagement
Rick Lance, executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, said Marshall is “a faithful ministry partner with Alabama Baptists.”
“His calm demeanor and engaging personality have been well received by our faith family. Personally, I consider Rod to be one of the wisest and most effective servants of the Lord I know,” Lance said. “I always enjoy hearing him speak and also conversing with him. I am grateful to the Lord for his leadership among us, and I wish him the best on this important birthday occasion.”
For more information about ABCH, visit alabamachild.org.
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