Bethany Christian Services Requires Staff to Sign Anti-LGBTQ+ Statement
Grand Rapids’ largest faith-based foster agency now mandates a belief statement opposing abortion and same-sex marriage, affecting staff and foster parents.
Bethany Christian Services has introduced a new Statement of Faith that employees and foster parents must sign. The document explicitly opposes abortion, same-sex marriage, and non-traditional gender identities. The policy could reshape who works with the agency and which families are welcomed as foster homes.
Bethany Christian Services is requiring all employees and foster parents to sign a new Statement of Faith. The Grand Rapids-based nonprofit’s document explicitly opposes abortion, same-sex marriage, and gender identities beyond a male-female binary. Staff learned of the policy in recent weeks, though the agency hasn’t shared details on implementation.
The requirement carries real weight locally. Bethany contracts with the state as one of Kent County’s largest foster care agencies. Anyone who cannot sign—either a prospective foster parent or a current employee—will be ineligible. At a moment when child welfare advocates are pushing to expand the pool of foster homes, this narrows it.
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The move formalizes a theological line that some say was always implied but now demands a signature. It comes as the organization navigates its identity as a faith-based agency serving a diverse public, and it will likely test relationships with local government and families. For a city that prides itself on welcoming all, the shift invites hard questions about who belongs.
