4 of My Passions: Faith, Family, Foster Care, and Football!

It is such an honor to be a part of the Kids Central team. In addition to being a foster and adoptive parent myself, I work to assist with the recruitment of quality foster and adoptive parents to join us in caring for children and families in our community. I am thankful for the opportunity to share my thoughts with you from time to time regarding Faith and Foster Care. It would be great to be able to sit down together over a nice cup of coffee to share my story and get to know one another better. While that may not be possible, I thought the next best thing would be to take some time to introduce myself and give you some insight into what motivates me.

My wife, Alicia, and I have been married for almost 21 years, and we have three biological children. We began fostering a little over six years ago and have welcomed around 30 children into our home. Since 2011, we have adopted seven children out of the foster care system, so we currently have ten kids of our own – ages 21, 20, 19, 19, 18, 18, 17, 12, 8, and 5 – and we are fostering a six-month-old. We are truly blessed to be called by God to this wonderful life, and we are grateful for the wonderful opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. In addition to my work with Kids Central, I get to serve a wonderful group of people in Clermont, as the Lead Pastor of Liberty Baptist Church.

People often ask me why I do what I do. I am a pretty driven individual, and I keep a schedule that many would consider overwhelming. There are many things that drive me and a few things about which I am extremely passionate:

1. Faith

The most important thing in my life is my faith. My personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus, means everything to me. My faith is what drives me to be the man that God wants me to be. My faith and my understanding of Scripture are what motivates me to invest in and care for others, especially those who are not in position to help themselves. In spite of my struggles and failures, God has been so gracious to me, and I am blessed to get to follow and serve Him.

2. Family

I love my family! God has been so good to me by giving me an amazing wife and ten terrific kids! I strive daily to be the best husband and father that I can possibly be. Almost every decision I make will directly affect these precious lives trusted to my care, so I must be diligent, wise, and loving.

3. Foster Care

God used James 1:27 to open my eyes to the importance of caring for abandoned, abused, and neglected children. These children are in desperate situations at no fault of their own, and they need stable, consistent, and gracious love and care to help them through their time of difficulty. What an honor it is to be a part of bringing healing to these broken lives.

4. Football

As a young man, I had the opportunity to begin participating in a game that I have grown to love. As a player, a coach, and now just a fan, this sport has taught me the importance of teamwork, hard work, and determination.

While this certainly is not an exhaustive list, hopefully, this helps you know a bit more about who I am. I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you in the future. I pray that God will use me to encourage and inspire you to continue to give of yourself for others, for in doing so, you will find that you will certainly receive the greater blessing in return!

I would love to hear from you. What drives you? What are you passionate about? Feel free to contact me at Chris.Johnson@kidscentralinc.org, and let’s get to know one another better.

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