GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Grand Rapids-based Bethany Christian Services unveiled a new statement of faith and belief this week that says the organization will no longer allow LGBTQ couples to foster or adopt.

Maegan Schwindling, Bethany Christian Services Board Chair, clarified the change in a statement. “As a Christian ministry, our faith is not simply one aspect of our work, it is the reason we exist,” she said. “While Bethany’s programs and services have grown and adapted over time, its historic Christian foundation has remained central to why the organization exists and how it serves.”

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She added, “In this season, Bethany’s board and Executive Leadership Team are taking steps to ensure our culture, policies, and practices clearly reflect the Biblical principles that have guided Bethany since our founding.”

Bethany, widely considered the country’s largest Protestant adoption and foster care agency, departed from its previous policy in 2021 by allowing LGBTQ couples to foster and adopt. At the time, Nate Bult, Bethany’s senior vice president of public and government affairs, called the policy change a matter of “doctrinal issues.”

In addition, the recent changes require staff and board members to “personally agree and adhere to” a belief statement that includes the Apostles’ Creed, recognizes the authority of the Christian Bible, and affirms the image of God in every person. The belief statement also defines God’s design for marriage as “a covenant between one man and one woman.”

Bethany, founded in 1944, served 48,768 people in 2025, according to the annual report on its website.