Child of God Bed Ministry: A Story of Love and Community at Woodland Church

by Laura Gomez Reyes, CBF Texas communications intern
December 2025

Child of God Bed Ministry: A Story of Love and Community

At Woodland Church in San Antonio, a simple but profound ministry is transforming lives — one bed at a time. The Child of God Bed Ministry was born out of a desire to meet a very practical need: ensuring that every child has a safe place to sleep. For many families served by Child Protective Services (CPS), something as basic as a bed can determine whether children can remain in their homes.

How It All Began

The ministry’s roots trace back to April 5, 2021, the night Baylor University won the men’s basketball national championship. Tim Son, a Baylor alumnus, was watching the game with other Baylor fans including Lance Mayes, Pastor of Community Engagement at Woodland, Tim’s wife, Mary, and his brother, Rick, who had recently started a bed ministry at his own church. Rick suggested that Tim consider doing something similar in Bexar County. That conversation planted the seed for what would become Woodland’s Child of God Bed Ministry.

But the true spark came from Tim’s wife, Mary. When Rick first shared the idea, Mary immediately responded: “We should do this, since I am adopted, and I know the emotional trauma children go through being separated from their parents.” Her personal story gave the ministry its heart and focus. Mary helped Tim launch the project and works alongside him as does Deborah Wilson, a skilled grant writer, who took the lead in securing funding and managing resources.

“I couldn’t be happier or more excited about the success of this ministry,” Mary reflects. 

Building a Family of Support

At first, a few volunteers literally built beds by hand. They learned how to construct the beds by working with the craftsmen at Hill Country Christian Church located in Spring Branch, where Tim’s brother, Rick, is pastor. But as requests poured in, the ministry rapidly expanded. Within months, their congregation was giving away dozens of beds each year.

“Without [Deborah] writing the grants, we could not have gone as far as we’ve gone,” Mary says. “She keeps all the demographics of where the beds go.” Thanks to her work, the team obtained grants and donations from Home Depot and local suppliers, allowing them to move from primarily building to buying beds and bedding in bulk.

The entire congregation rallied behind the cause. Church members donated funds and volunteered their time. In the past year, the Women In Action group began sewing stuffed teddy bears for each child. This inspired the gifting of the children's book, My Love, God Is Everywhere, co-written by Woodland member Cameron Mason Vickrey, along with the beds. Older kids receive Bible storybooks, ensuring that every delivery carries not only comfort but also a message of love. “The church is wrapped around us,” Tim says proudly. “We started off making beds, and now many members have found a way to be part of this ministry.”

Building More Than Beds

From the beginning, the ministry has worked closely with Child Protective Services and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, which require that each child in a home have their own bed to remain together as a family. Referrals come through CarePortal and the Alliance Prevention Network, ensuring that every family is vetted through trusted agencies. The ministry also partners with groups supporting grandparents raising grandchildren, domestic violence survivors, and other at-risk families.

What began with a few beds has grown into a ministry that as of October 24, 2025, has provided 453 children with beds in less than four years. Children served range from infants to teenagers. 

Stories of Hope

The stories behind the beds are often poignant. Mary describes one of her early experiences delivering a bed to Damien, who was living with his siblings and their grandmother after their mother’s tragic death. “He was wearing a little picture of his mother pinned to his shirt,” Mary recalls. “He said, ‘This is my mommy… she lives in heaven because Daddy choked her.’” The children’s father was in jail, and the grandmother was fighting for custody. After praying together and giving the grandmother a hug, Mary turned to leave, and little Damien ran to catch up. “I said, ‘Are you okay, Damien?’ He said, ‘Yes, I want a hug too.’ So I gave him a hug as well… That story just broke my heart.” Damien’s innocent smile and hug left a deep mark on Mary’s soul.

In another case, Tim delivered four beds to a widowed grandfather raising four grandchildren. “He didn’t have any beds for them,” Tim says. They installed each bed with sheets and blankets. When they finished three of the beds and dressed them, the teenage granddaughter ran into her room and asked if she could prepare her own bed. “This is now my bed,” she said before crawling in to pat the mattress with delight. Tim grins recalling her joy: “She was so excited and happy to be able to make her own bed.” Even the grandfather, overcome with gratitude, wanted to come speak at the church about what the beds meant for his family.

And there are lighter, joyful moments too. Last summer Tim and Mary delivered a bed to a little boy whose parents were both incarcerated. The boy loves dinosaurs, so Mary snuck in special touches: dinosaur-patterned sheets, a matching chest of drawers, and a few stuffed dinosaur toys tucked in the drawer. “He was so excited to get his chest of drawers with the dinosaurs, and Grandma was so grateful,” Mary laughed. These stories show the ministry’s heart: a safe bed — and even a stuffed toy and storybook — can bring hope and healing to a child’s life.

A Community Effort

Deborah, who manages and submits grant applications and tracks demographics, emphasizes the importance of data. “When you write grants, funders want to know where the beds are going, what zip codes are most affected, and how many children are being served,” she said. “That information has been key to our growth.”

The ministry is sustained by Woodland Church’s missions' budget, individual donations, and grants from organizations like Home Depot, Walmart, Sam’s Club, HEB, San Antonio Area Foundation and many others.

Overcoming Challenges

Running a rapidly growing ministry has meant tackling unexpected hurdles. Many families live in apartments, so delivery can be tough. Tim explains, “Some of these families live on second and third floors of apartments… That’s where the struggle comes in: carrying the beds up there to assemble.” Volunteers have learned to get gate codes in advance and coordinate carefully, because “when we get there, we can’t get in the gate.” Even choosing beds involves trade-offs. The ministry found a beautiful wood twin bed at Walmart – but “it’s extremely heavy,” Tim admits. 

Finance also presents challenges. Many beds are imported, and recent tariffs have driven prices up. As Debarah notes, “With the tariffs beds are getting more expensive… We recently bought a bed from Brazil we could afford which likely will be unaffordable with a 50% tariff. We must be real stewards of those funds.” In practice, this means she must be constantly scouting for new sources, bulk discounts, and local suppliers. Meanwhile, they must ensure safety: for older children they check weights before using an upper bunk. “Some of these children are heavy,” Debarah says, “and the bunk bed we use… is rated for 165 pounds. We must make sure the bed isn’t overloaded.” Despite the hurdles, the ministry has adapted creatively so no child is turned away.

A Vision to Replicate

Tim describes Woodland Church as a moderately sized congregation of about 250 in worship, yet they’ve accomplished something far greater than their size would suggest. They know other churches could do the same. “We get grants from Sam’s Club, Walmart, Home Depots – these are all things that could be done in other cities,” Tim says. He dreams of partnering with other CBF churches in Dallas, Houston and beyond: “I’d love to partner with a CBF church, show them what we’re doing, give them all the information. The vision is clear – training others how to launch a bed ministry. This isn’t just Woodland’s ministry. Tim hopes it will spread, stitched into the fabric of communities statewide. 

In the end, it all comes down to children’s smiles. The delivery teams get to experience the best image of a kid jumping on a new bed, exclaiming, “That’s my bed!”  By giving a child their own bed, the ministry isn’t just furnishing a room – it’s offering dignity, stability, and hope. With the Lord’s help, the ministry team hopes to carry this mission beyond Woodland, ensuring every child in need has a bed to call their own and a community that cares.

A Ministry of Faith and Gratitude

For Tim, the ministry is a testimony to God’s power to multiply small beginnings: “We started with no idea if we’d do five beds or ten. But God had a bigger vision. He’s allowed us to impact hundreds of families.”

The ministry’s name — Child of God Bed Ministry — reflects its deepest truth: every child deserves dignity, safety, and the reminder that they are loved by God.

 A granddaughter asked her grandmother why she made her bed everyday when she was the only one who would see it.  The grandmother replied, “The act of making my bed each morning is a gift to myself. I realize not everyone has a bed.”

For the children served by Woodland Church, receiving a bed is more than a gift — it is a foundation for hope, healing, and a brighter future.

To contact Tim Son about beginning a bed ministry in your congregation, email bedministry@woodlandbc.org.