Since 2013, Cultivating Families has been equipping communities of faith to care for families and children with interest or experience in foster care or adoption.
Our Mission
Our mission is to empower greater Houston's diverse faith communities through education to welcome families and children navigating the foster care and adoption journey.
Our Vision
We envision all diverse faith communities and families in greater Houston cultivating lives of love and faith together for a lifetime.
Our Values
Our values drive how we interact with each faith partner and foster/adoptive families and children.
Inclusive Collaboration & Training
Spiritual Nurturing
Grace-filled Accountability
Our Story
Adoption and foster care activities that Cultivating Families offers were developed by Amy Bezecny as part of her fellowship at the Hope and Healing Center & Institute (HHCI) from 2013 to 2017. During that time, Amy was supported by HHCI staff, seed money from local congregations, and significant funding from Houston Endowment.
What has now become Cultivating Families began in 2006 when Amy and her husband adopted their son and began to uncover facts about all the children in state care. Knowing that some communities were helping, she learned from them and began offering new programs at her church to make a positive difference for families with children from the foster care system, and to support families with adopted children. However, she quickly recognized the need for engaging more faith communities and searched for opportunities such as the Hope and Healing Center fellowship to design a community-wide program to help. Throughout planning and development of the organization, Amy has openly expressed her desire to engage multiple faith communities and all key foster care and adoption stakeholders.
Cultivating Families became a Texas non-profit corporation in October 2016, a few months prior to the end of the HHCI fellowship. They received their 501(c)(3) public charity status through the IRS in May 2017. First United Methodist Church, Missouri City, offered them office space at no charge and they moved in shortly after Hurricane Harvey in August 2017.
The evolution from the Hope and Healing Center to Cultivating Families was a challenge, especially considering Hurricane Harvey. They spent much of the first year building a solid foundation including building the Board of Directors and Advisory Council, establishing a good accounting system, and filing their first Form 990.
As they turned their focus to educating and equipping diverse faith communities to meet needs and share hope with families and children with interest or experience in foster care, they continue to pursue a real “win-win” situation where all faith communities will enrich their true mission while families will get the support critical to foster/adoption care success. Faith communities will surround foster and adoptive families with a support system of tangible love, education, resources and guidance. Long term, they envision all diverse faith communities and families in greater Houston cultivating lives of love and faith together for a lifetime.
Who do We Serve?
Directly they serve diverse communities of faith who have a heart to love foster and adoptive families and children. The purpose of the faith partner trainings is to support these communities, so they are prepared to navigate the challenges that foster care/adoptive families face. They have found that even one negative interaction can prevent a child from ever turning to a faith community again. They acknowledge the need for meeting their physical and mental needs, however, cultivating their spiritual growth allows them to have faith and hope in a better future, even though they can’t see it now.
However, the ultimate beneficiary of the trainings are children in need of a forever home. Through empowering communities of faith to serve these children and foster/adoptive families well, they believe more children will feel loved.
