God gives life; all life is precious to Him.
Our purpose.
In October of 2025, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of Zoe’s House. Many of you received seed packets we gave as a simple invitation to step into faith, the substance of things not seen. We asked you to plant them, to pray, and to trust that God was at work, even in what we could not yet see. Over the last several months, we have been seeking Him, listening, and waiting for the seeds to bloom.
When God speaks, we lean in. Sometimes we hear the voice of the Lord like thunder, but more often it’s a still small voice that we follow even when the path ahead is not fully known.
In the early days of Zoe’s House, we discovered that He values the lives of all pregnant moms, birth moms, and adoptive families just as much as He does babies in the womb. For more than a decade, we have had the privilege of serving expectant parents, adoptive families, and children with dignity and the love of Christ. Jesus has written so many beautiful stories, and you can revisit many of them HERE.
As with any meaningful work, there have been challenges along the way. Our team has pressed through and found a way forward. But there are moments when you come to a roadblock, pause, and ask, “God, is this You?” He has always been faithful to guide us, and recently we have realized the roadblock was God, not as a full stop, but giving us a redirection.
In 2021, Zoe’s House launched our Another Way Home program to find forever families for the adoption-ready children in the foster care systems of Kansas and Missouri. I remember so vividly the rainy night when I sensed the Lord asking if Zoe’s House would step into the world of foster care. I said out loud, “Yes, Lord, but the zeal of Your hand will have to accomplish this, because I can’t do it alone.” He was faithful to provide exactly what was needed to pioneer this new work, and we are now seeing our first families in the match process today!
In 2024, with a heart warmed toward the foster care system, I visited a church in Nashville that built a ministry home to serve as a soft landing for foster children on the day of their removal. On this first day, the children are traumatized, some even having suffered physical abuse. Often, a child has to spend “removal day and night” on a chair in a caseworker’s office. This church changed that — they bought and established a literal house that would soon become the first space a child would enter. If they needed a hot meal, it was ready. Showers were stocked with fragrant soaps. Play equipment lined the backyard, offering respite from their trauma. And most importantly, church members from across the city showed up to offer their presence and ease the fear and pain of this terrible day. The children could stay overnight until their caseworker found a family placement, and then would be sent with a suitcase instead of a trash bag, filled with new clothes and other necessary items for their journey.
My heart leaped inside my chest. Tears stung my eyes. “Is this YOU, God?” I wondered.
Our team met with this ministry to hear more about their mission. Like explorers on a scouting mission, we visited their headquarters and one of the homes in operation.
Recently, we sensed God was asking us to take the it was time to take a next step, to begin a professional feasibility study for a home like this in the Kansas City area.
As we have felt the fresh wind to explore this new pathway, we have also sensed the Lord’s meticulous directive to wind down our current adoption services. We have not come to this decision lightly, and have prayed fervently over the last year, while seeking counsel from our board of directors and trusted leaders in the body of Christ.
Last year, Zoe’s House placed 10 babies and served even more mommas. As of 2026, there have already been 3 placements, and we are working with 4 more expectant mothers as they pursue an adoption plan. We will continue to serve these precious women, children, and families, but in the summer of 2026, Zoe’s House will no longer take on new birth mothers as clients. This is hard to say, and I am sure it is a shock to many, but we are walking in obedience and in the fear of the Lord.
The walk of faith is rarely easy. In this season, our faith is asking us to let go of our private, domestic adoption services, while possibly stepping into the building of a home to receive foster children.
When we started Another Way Home, we never imagined it might one day become the primary expression of our work at Zoe’s House. And yet, here we are. In the days and weeks to come, we trust that the “things not seen” will come into focus. By faith, we will watch as the seeds we planted begin to grow, bringing new life in ways only God can.
As we begin to step out of private, domestic adoption services, this will be a gentle and thoughtful transition. We will retain our Child Placing Agency licenses in both Kansas and Missouri and will continue to walk closely with the expectant mothers currently in our care, as well as serve our postpartum moms.
We will also continue supporting our precious adoptive families, those awaiting finalization, those pursuing state subsidies for children with special needs, and those relying on us for home studies. These commitments matter deeply to us, and they will be honored with care as we move forward through this transition.
At the same time, we will immediately begin a feasibility study to explore what it would look like to bring a home to serve foster children to the Kansas City area. We have engaged a professional, Christ-centered consultant who will guide us through this process and serve as a fractional CFO for Zoe’s House as we discern our next steps.
In alignment with this shift, our Board of Directors has also voted to change our name from “Zoe’s House Adoption Agency” to simply “Zoe’s House.” We have long known that the calling of Zoe’s House is about more than adoption, and we believe there are many rooms in this house still to be filled with expressions of our purpose: God gives life. You will begin to see this new name in the coming days.
And we would love for you to step into this next chapter with us. Please join us on either May 12 and June 10 for a virtual conversation with Zoe’s House leaders. We’ll be sharing more updates, taking your questions, and coming together for a time of prayer.
WHERE: CLICK HERE to join via Zoom
WHEN: Join either May 12th or June 10th (same information)
TIME: 6:30 p.m. CST
We value your friendship and look forward to an exciting future building together.
With hope and gratitude,
Kelsey Bohlender
Executive Director
Zoe’s House