Serenity Richard has been named the new executive director of the New Mexico Baptist Children’s Home & Family Ministries, Portales. The NMBCH board of directors made the announcement July 7.
Steve Ballew, executive director of the Baptist Convention of New Mexico, expressed his support for Richard’s leadership, stating, “Serenity has served very capably for the last 18 months during an incredibly difficult season. She has earned the right to have the ‘interim’ tag removed. This action by the NMBCH board will allow the ministry to get out of a holding pattern and begin to move into a bright future.”
Richard expressed her gratitude for the trust and confidence placed in her.
“I am so thankful to our board of directors for their trust and confidence. For over a hundred years, New Mexico Baptists have been bringing the hope of Christ to hurting children and families through the ministry of NMBCH, and I’m very proud to be a part of this legacy. As we look towards the future, we believe the answer to the challenges facing the next generation is the gospel,” she said.
Richard has served at NMBCH for 10 years, taking on the position of interim executive director in January 2022. Richard served in children’s ministry roles for over 23 years. Before moving to New Mexico, Richard and her husband, Scott, served as foster parents in Louisiana. While there, she also served as children’s ministry director in her home church.
New campus opening
Richard said she looks forward to the opening of the Estancia campus in the coming months.
“We plan on being able to house between 6 and 12 children,” she said. “We hope to hire some staff soon to begin training to become parents there. We are looking for some full-time house parents for that location.”
Richard emphasized the organization’s commitment to providing the highest level of care and support for the children in their care.
“We are really focused on our staff receiving high levels of training for trauma-informed care. We truly want this to be a place where children come to heal,” she said. “There has been a lot of research into the brain for children who have had trauma at a very early age. It affects them for the rest of their lives. Having the proper training is going to benefit our children for the rest of their lives.”
‘A place where they will be valued’
Her vision for the organization revolves around creating a nurturing environment where every child feels valued and cared for.
“I want our staff to have the highest training that they can receive,” Richard said. “I want our campus to be a place that whenever a child arrives, they will be able to tell from the campus that this is a place where they will be valued. I want it to be a place that our New Mexico Baptists can be proud of because of the work that is going on here.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Kevin Parker and originally published by Baptist New Mexican.
