Jimmie and Martha: Award-Winning House Parents
Over the course of 35+ years, Jimmie and Martha Harris estimate they’ve been able to serve and care for around 300 children through Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes (ABCH), in Gardendale for a season and then largely on our Decatur campus as they care for school-aged girls.
“We think around 300 kids have passed through our home; it could be more.” Not thinking they would be with ABCH long-term, “We didn’t initially keep count,” says Martha.
Jimmie and Martha Harris met in high school and married not long after, in 1971. A life of serving children from hard places was never in their career plans—but it was exactly what the Lord saw and purposed, from day one. Including one year of volunteer service as relief house parents, Jimmie and Martha will celebrate 36 years of service through ABCH this December!
“WE’LL GIVE IT SIX WEEKS”
When they first came on board as relief house parents in our former Gardendale boys’ home, they were leading active and successful lives at their church and in their careers. They weren’t exactly looking for a life change, but after a need opened up for full-time parents on our Decatur campus, they agreed to pray about it.
Jimmie says, “We had an eighteen-month-old . . . We were scared and turned it down the first time. Then we prayed. We agreed to put all work aside for six weeks and try it. We really just fell in love with it.”
Both being a part of larger families themselves, they couldn’t help but feel God had been preparing them for years, to serve in this way. “ . . . I had reservations,” says Martha, “I almost said yes to going back to my old job . . . but I knew this was it.”
WHAT KEEPS THEM GOING
According to the House Parent Network, six months is the average tenure for house parents. Knowing this, the obvious question is, what keeps the Harrises not just here, but thriving and making an impact on their girls?
ABCH President/CEO Rod Marshall says, “Many would describe house parenting as one of the most difficult jobs there is. I would not disagree. Jimmie and Martha Harris do not see house parenting as a job. This is their ministry, and their fuel that has kept them going for well over three decades is the knowledge that children in their care have experienced unconditional love from them and have, therefore, become open to be introduced to the One whose steadfast love endures forever. ”
Though every child’s story doesn’t end the way we would hope it would, there are many children in care who come to know Christ while with us, are able to break those cycles of addiction or dysfunction within their family, and go on to lead successful lives.
Martha shares, “We have one who graduated on the Dean’s List and has three degrees now. She’s a nurse, and is married and has kids of her own. She keeps us updated a lot.” Martha also says that many of the girls send Christmas cards with all their family pictures, and some still make the Harris’ cottage on the Decatur campus their home for Thanksgiving dinner, each year!
Beaming like the proud mom she is, Martha says, “Every Thanksgiving, the girls we had the longest, and some of them, short-term too, call me and ask to come for Thanksgiving. We have a wonderful time. To me, it’s the closest you can get to heaven . . . it’s wonderful to hear the stories they remember and then hear about their lives too; how they’re doing now. I’m so used to cooking (big meals). If/when I retire, I will not know how to cook! I’ll be cooking for the neighborhood.”
CHANGE AND CONSISTENCY
It’s easy to imagine the amount of change the Harris’ have experienced in their 35 years of service; from family dynamics, to changes in childcare laws, to reasons why kids most often come into care. A lot has changed, but one thing remains the same—their dedication to being Christ-honoring parents and a consistent source of love and teaching for their kids.
At times, Jimmie and Martha feel the pressure of time to make an impact, and they pray that in the short period of time these girls are in their care, about 15–18 months on average, that something will click. Martha is quick to say, and Jimmie agrees, “One thing we cannot rush is pushing them into salvation. They know we have devotions every morning, and they know we go to church on Sunday and Wednesday. This is what we pray for, that something will stick with them.”
Jimmie adds, “The kids we take care of have never seen consistency in a good way; they’ve never seen consistency as far as their meals, let alone in life itself. And the greatest privilege we have, is we get a chance to share Jesus with them.”
“So many kids need a family, and that’s our main concern, trying to make it a family. They don’t see (in their homes) that a husband and wife can argue and disagree (healthily)—you don’t have to fight and shoot,” says Martha. She continues, “We try to have a lot of fun . . . and (as they come into our care) I always tell my girls, I’m not here to replace your mom, and he’s not here to replace your dad, (but) we’re the closest things you have right now. And we want you to know we love you; we want you here.”
For each girl’s room, Martha takes a good deal of time to make sure they all have pictures hanging on the walls and matching bed spreads—that everything looks nice and welcoming as a child comes into their care. Jimmie says, “I try my best to have something funny to say or do; something that will help break the ice.”
ANOTHER LEVEL OF SAFETY
Jimmie is also very intentional in helping children get over their fear of the water. On our Decatur campus is a swimming pool, and as a certified Lifeguard with decades of experience, each child on our Decatur campus, as well as children in our foster homes, has the opportunity to learn from him how to swim and how to be safe in and around the water.
Jimmie says, “It was a goal of mine when we came here, for each child to learn water safety and how to swim. I get calls now from kids who have saved others, or have taught kids how to swim because of their training.”
Of one boy in particular, Jimmie shares, “One of my first students passed all seven levels in one year. At first, he wouldn’t put his face in the water, but by the end of summer, he was a lifeguard and then was on the swim team at his school.” Jimmie says this young man went on to become a Director of Aquatics at a nearby conference center and has saved the lives of several kids.
GRATEFUL HEARTS
Their influence is seen and felt in many ways, and while we are certainly thankful for all the ways Jimmie and Martha serve, we are not the only ones. This October, they are being honored at an awards banquet in conjunction with the 2018 National Conference of the Coalition of Residential Excellence (CORE), as Houseparents of the Year! CORE is a national voice for residential excellence, advocating for children and youth in need, and we join them in celebrating the dedication and heart in all that Jimmie and Martha do.
The Harris’ supervisor, Chief Operations Officer for North Alabama Michael Smith says, “It has been my privilege to serve with Jim and Martha for the past 12 years. They are a wonderful example of putting Christ’s love into action. Jim and Martha create lasting bonds with the girls in their care. The deep roots often extend years after girls have left their cottage. I’m always encouraged to see these girls return to visit after they’ve become young, independent women.”
Rod adds, “It is a privilege to serve alongside Jimmie and Martha and to see the incredible impact their ministry has had on children from hard places.”
Thinking back over the years, Martha says, “I know this was God’s plan. I had never heard of the Children’s Homes. When we came on full-time, I thought, I don’t know if I can do this. But He has always provided.”
Jimmie adds with a smile, “I don’t know if I can quit now. We’ve always prayed that the Lord could put us anywhere but on a shelf. We don’t want to be on a shelf.”
For the Harrises, whether it is in the standard day-to-day interactions of school work or chores, the special activities or vacations, summer days at Camp of Champions, or times of meaningful conversations and prayers with the girls, they love what they get to do and know that all glory belongs to the Lord.