Beth and her husband, Todd, live with their family in Cincinnati, Ohio where they serve as Co-Executive Directors of Back2Back Ministries. After graduating from Indiana University, the Guckenbergers moved to Monterrey, Mexico where they lived for 15 years. Between biological, foster, and adopted children, they have raised eleven children.

Beth is the author of fourteen books including adult and children’s titles. She travels and speaks regularly at conferences, youth gatherings and church services about reckless faith. Her style is based in story-telling and she draws from her vast field experience as a missionary, Bible teacher and parent for illustrations of biblical concepts.

What started as two strangers bonding over their love for Jesus, foster care, and teens from hard places has turned into a lifetime friendship that looks more like family. Combined they have over 17 years of foster care and adoption experience and 20 kiddos ranging from young adults to infants!

Ted and Angie are seasoned pastors, having dedicated 25 years to pastoral ministry, including a successful 15-year tenure as lead pastors at First Assembly of God in Palatka, Florida. In March 2019, their appointment to US Missions as Chaplains to the Foster and Adoption Community marked the beginning of a new chapter in their extensive ministry.

Angie has a passionate call to the children of Putnam County, Florida where she serves as the Regional Manager for CarePortal. (A technology platform used to bridge the gap between child welfare workers, local church congregations, and vulnerable children.)

Ted serves on the executive team of the PenFL Foster Care Network partnering with volunteer ambassadors to help churches become foster-friendly by raising awareness of the crises, recruiting foster families, and strengthening the families that they recruit.

Every month Chaplain Ted provides National Support and Training for foster and adoption families across the United States to increase stability and well-being for children who live in over 300 cities and counting.

During their first US Missions term, Ted and Angie were instrumental in launching over 60 foster care ministries through the local church, participated in over 6,000 opportunities to serve children, and facilitated over 2,700 hours of training for foster and adoption families, church volunteers, and state employees. 

Ted and Angie have committed their lives to ensuring that every child has access to a safe and secure family who cares for them. They view their work as a calling, fueled by their faith and compassion for children in need of healthy families.

Chris and Alicia Johnson are passionate about God’s call to care for vulnerable children and families. They met each other as students at Trinity Baptist College in Jacksonville, FL. They have been married for 29 years, are the parents of 10 children, 7 of whom were adopted out of the foster care system; grandparents of 3 children, 2 of whom were adopted out of foster care; and have served as foster parents to more than 40 children. The Johnsons have been featured speakers at churches; local, state, and national conferences; and community gatherings, sharing their family’s story and challenging others to answer the gospel call to care for the vulnerable. The #JohnsonDozen has been featured in videos and resources used to bring awareness and recruit quality foster and adoptive parents, and the Johnsons have been graciously honored with awards for their efforts, including the United States Congressional Angels in Adoption Award and the Florida Foster Family Hall of Fame Award. After serving in pastoral ministry for 24 years, Chris and Alicia had the opportunity to direct child welfare transformation efforts, Chris as Special Advisor to the Governor of Kentucky and Alicia as Special Advisor to the First Lady of Kentucky. In March 2020, they joined the team at Lifeline Children’s Services, where Chris currently serves as the Vice President of Church Partnerships and Government Affairs. The Johnsons remain passionate about engaging churches and Christ followers in ministry to those who have been abandoned, abused, and neglected; their families; and those who serve these populations. They also continue to devote time to supporting foster and adoptive families, providing counsel and pastoral care. Driven by the belief that the gospel is God’s solution to the orphan care crisis, they continue to strive to support and equip the body of Christ for these opportunities.

Ted and Angie are seasoned pastors, having dedicated 25 years to pastoral ministry, including a successful 15-year tenure as lead pastors at First Assembly of God in Palatka, Florida. In March 2019, their appointment to US Missions as Chaplains to the Foster and Adoption Community marked the beginning of a new chapter in their extensive ministry.

Angie has a passionate call to the children of Putnam County, Florida where she serves as the Regional Manager for CarePortal. (A technology platform used to bridge the gap between child welfare workers, local church congregations, and vulnerable children.)

Ted serves on the executive team of the PenFL Foster Care Network partnering with volunteer ambassadors to help churches become foster-friendly by raising awareness of the crises, recruiting foster families, and strengthening the families that they recruit.

Every month Chaplain Ted provides National Support and Training for foster and adoption families across the United States to increase stability and well-being for children who live in over 300 cities and counting.

During their first US Missions term, Ted and Angie were instrumental in launching over 60 foster care ministries through the local church, participated in over 6,000 opportunities to serve children, and facilitated over 2,700 hours of training for foster and adoption families, church volunteers, and state employees. 

Ted and Angie have committed their lives to ensuring that every child has access to a safe and secure family who cares for them. They view their work as a calling, fueled by their faith and compassion for children in need of healthy families.

Loryn Smith, M.S.W., is the Owner/CEO of Finally Home, a private social services agency in Hillsborough County. This role complements the thirty-five plus years’ experience Loryn has had in the child welfare system, working both professionally and personally to impact the lives of children in our area.  Loryn has worked as a marriage and family counselor, has been a director for both public and private foster care/adoption agencies, and directed the Training Program for an adoption support center.  Loryn has been certified through Rutger’s University and NACAC as an Adoption Competent Trainer and has been trained as a Trust Based Relational Intervention Practitioner.  Loryn brings to her position a personal passion as she and her husband fostered for thirty years, twenty-one of those in the Suncoast Region.  Loryn is the mother of twenty children, twelve of whom were adopted through the foster care system, one who was adopted privately, and two of whom were not formally adopted, but are considered permanent members of the family.  Loryn is a frequent trainer in her community, bringing practical application of parenting skills for children impacted by trauma.  She also provides Family Coaching Services, working directly with families to assist them in developing effective parenting strategies for challenging children; expert witness testimony regarding the impact of early trauma and the importance of attachments; and completes Bonding and Assessment Studies.

Stacey Mak is a Jacksonville-based Licensed Clinical Social Worker with extensive training in various therapeutic attachment modalities including Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy and Theraplay. Her work involves both the child and the parent, including evaluating attachment patterns and providing practical tools for managing challenges. In addition to her private practice, Stacey has served as an expert witness, consultant, trainer, and guest speaker.

Rebecca Harvin is the founder and Executive Director of Haven Retreats. Rebecca, and her husband Brad, began fostering in May of 2017. In July of 2022, she and her husband adopted a sibling set of four. Haven Retreats was born from a season of caregiver burnout and the assumption that if she needs a space for rest, therapy and Jesus… other people probably do too.

As an Enneagram 7, Rebecca loves adventure, traveling, spontaneity and engaging the world around her with humor and a positive outlook.

Dr. Doug Kowieski serves as the Director of The Cove Ministry at Fruit Cove Baptist Church. The Cove provides emotional and spiritual care through counseling and support groups. Dr. Kowieski earned his Doctor of Ministry in Pastoral Counseling and Master of Arts in Human Services from Liberty University.  

Doug has been married to his beautiful wife Melissa for 30 years. They have four children by birth and adoption, ranging from 24-16 years old. They also have four dogs and three cats. Doug and Melissa have developed a passion and heart to minister to foster and adoptive families and share their experiences to help them in their journey.

Karen Roy is the Women’s Ministry Director and Ministry Leader of Fostering Hope of Fruit Cove Baptist Church in St. Johns, Florida. She and her husband, Luke, and their three children enjoy watching baseball, spending time at the beach, and family game nights. Karen is a foster and adoptive mom that understands how critical support is to foster and adoptive families and is passionate about the church uniting to serve them. Fruit Cove Baptist has embraced the “Everyone Can Do Something” culture and has discovered unique ways to help meet the needs of foster and adoptive families through the gifts of volunteers and church resources already in place. Fostering Hope works with churches in their local community to help launch foster care and adoption ministries and partners with local child welfare agencies and like-minded organizations to serve vulnerable children and families.

Pastor Jay, along with his wife Sandra and their four children, Hope, Grace, Faith, and Luke, have been serving at Redland for over 20 years. They have watched God grow the ministries of Redland. Through mostly volunteers, Redland has become a leader in local and foreign missions.

Pastor Jay has a heart to lead the lost to Christ, to meet the needs of the less fortunate, and to mentor children in the ways of the Lord. He believes that we can make a difference in our community and world one family at a time.

Josh Glymph is the Lead Pastor of Refuge Church. In 2014 I moved our family to Jacksonville, Florida, from Georgia, to serve at Fruit Cove Baptist Church. In 2019 we began to pray about planting a Church in JAX. After months of preparing, praying, and seeking, the Lord led us to the Ortega community of Jacksonville to start Refuge Church with the assistance of our SENDing Church Fruit Cove Baptist. We opened the doors to Refuge Church in 2020 and love being a part of this community, in the best part of our city. My wife Beth and I have five kids. We are passionate about foster care/adoption, the Gospel, and a good cup of coffee!

Beth has been married to Josh for 21 years and they have 5 kids; 2 bio and 3 adopted. She and Josh have also been in ministry together for a really long time- and recently planted Refuge Church Jax.

Beth loves the beach, kitchen dance parties, and Taylor Swift. Walking is her love language, and she is a TBRI practitioner.