Our Mission
Sharing Jesus, Healing Hearts, Transforming Lives.
These six words express the heart of Texas Girls & Boys Ranch.
Our mission guides the way we care for children, support families, build relationships and respond to the needs of our community. Whether a child comes to the Ranch in need of a safe place to live, a foster family needs support during a crisis, an adoptive family is navigating new challenges, or a former resident simply needs someone to call, our purpose remains the same.
We seek to share the love of Christ, create opportunities for healing, and help children and families build lives filled with hope and possibility. The People Behind Our Mission Make the Difference.
Our Vision
Christ-centered hope for every child, family, and future.
Our vision looks beyond any one program, service or moment in time.
It is a vision for children to know safety and belonging. For families to find support instead of facing challenges alone. And for young people to move into adulthood knowing that their story is still being written. Our Vision Is Guided by Those Who Believe in What’s Possible.
In January 2026, the Texas Girls & Boys Ranch Board of Directors unanimously adopted this vision as the organization looked toward the next chapter of its ministry—one that continues its longstanding commitment to children while expanding the ways it can strengthen families and create lasting hope.
Our Core Values
TXGBR CARES
Our values shape not only what we do, but how we do it.
Christ Centered
Our faith is at the heart of our mission. We seek to reflect the love, grace and hope of Christ in the way we serve children, families, one another and our community.
Advocacy Driven
Every child and family deserves to be heard, supported and valued. We advocate for their needs, their opportunities and their future.
Relationship Focused
Lasting transformation happens through meaningful relationships. We build connections rooted in trust, consistency, accountability and genuine care.
Empathy Led
Every person who comes to Texas Girls & Boys Ranch has a story. We approach children and families with compassion, seek to understand their experiences, and respond with patience, dignity and respect.
Where It All Began
What started as a vision to provide a home for children in need has grown into a comprehensive, Christ-centered ministry serving children and families through residential care, foster care and adoption, counseling, crisis stabilization, family support and programs that continue long after a young person leaves the Ranch.
Through every season of growth, one thing has remained constant: a commitment to meeting children and families where they are, surrounding them with meaningful relationships, and helping them move toward healthier, more hopeful futures. Our Story Continues Because of People Like You!
The story of Texas Girls & Boys Ranch began in 1972, when a community committee was formed to explore the need for a boys’ ranch in Lubbock. Texas Boys Ranch was incorporated, with Johnny Moffitt credited with the original vision. Five Decades of Caring, Made Possible by Our Community.
Three years later, in 1975, the Ranch opened its first cottage and welcomed its first child on July 26. At the time, the Ranch had the capacity to serve just 10 children.
Over the years, the ministry steadily grew. A second cottage was completed in 1976, the Brucker Chapel followed in 1986, and a third cottage opened in 1988, expanding the Ranch’s ability to serve children between the ages of 6 and 18.
A Legacy of Hope. A Future of Possibility.
The Texas Girls & Boys Ranch of today looks very different from the Ranch that welcomed the first 10 children back in 1975.
The mission, however, remains deeply rooted in the same calling.
For over 50 years, children have found safety here. Families have found support. Young people have discovered that difficult beginnings do not have to determine their futures. And generations of staff members, volunteers, churches, foster families, donors and community partners have helped make that work possible.
As Texas Girls & Boys Ranch looks toward the years ahead, the goal is not simply to grow. It is to continue becoming the kind of organization children and families can turn to in moments of uncertainty and to offer the relationships, resources and Christ-centered hope that can help transform what comes next.
The Founding
Community committee formed to explore need for a boys’ ranch in Lubbock. Texas Boys Ranch (TBR) incorporated. Johnny Moffitt credited with the original vision.
A Home Takes Shape
Texas Boys Ranch opened the doors to Cottage 1 with space to provide a safe, supportive home for 10 children. On July 26, 1975, the Ranch welcomed its first youth, marking the beginning of a mission that would grow to serve generations of children and families.
Growing to Serve More
As the need for care continued to grow, Cottage 2 was completed, expanding the Ranch’s capacity and creating space to welcome and serve more children.
A Place for Faith
The Brucker Chapel was constructed, creating a dedicated place for worship, reflection, and spiritual growth as faith became an enduring part of the care and community at TXGBR.
Expanding Our Reach
With the completion of Cottage 3, the Ranch expanded its license and capacity to serve 26 boys, ages 6–18, allowing more young people to find care, stability, and support.
A New Chapter of Leadership
The Children’s Home of Lubbock assumed oversight of the Ranch, marking an important new chapter in its development. Lynn Harms was appointed President, providing leadership as the organization continued to grow and strengthen its mission.
A Renewed Mission
John Sigle became Executive Director, leading an important shift in the Ranch’s mission to focus on serving children who had been removed from their homes due to abuse and neglect.
Strengthening Therapeutic Care
The Ranch hired Licensed Professional Counselors, establishing consistent, professional counseling services to better support the emotional well-being and healing of the boys in its care.
Expanding Care & Support
The Herbert Steige Family Support Center was funded and built, providing a dedicated home for the Ranch’s growing counseling program. Cottage 4 was also added, expanding capacity to serve even more children in need.
Keeping Families Together
The Ranch began serving girls as well as boys, allowing more siblings to remain together in care and helping reduce the additional trauma that can come from separating brothers and sisters.
Investing in the Future
The Ranch launched a $2.2 million capital campaign to strengthen and expand its campus, supporting a new Equestrian Center, Social Services project, Education/Recreation Center, and improvements to the Chapel.
New Ways to Heal
The Equestrian Center and Chapel improvements were completed, opening the door for the Ranch to begin EAGALA equine-assisted therapy. The Stettheimer Administration & Social Services Center was also dedicated, strengthening the campus and the services available to children in care.
Expanding the Continuum of Care
The Ranch added two licensed programs—a Child Placing Agency for foster care and adoption and an Emergency Shelter—broadening the ways it could support children and families. The new Rec Center also opened, providing dedicated space for learning, activities, and connection.
A Standard of Excellence
The Ranch achieved COA Accreditation, demonstrating its commitment to meeting rigorous standards of quality, accountability, and best practices in the care and services provided to children and families.
A Name That Reflects Our Mission
The organization officially changed its name to Texas Girls & Boys Ranch (TxGBR), reflecting its expanded mission and commitment to serving both girls and boys in need of care.
Care Beyond the Ranch
The Aftercare Program was launched to provide continued support and guidance for young people as they transitioned from the Ranch and took their next steps toward greater independence.
Strengthening Our Continuum of Care
Texas Girls & Boys Ranch achieved COA Re-accreditation and expanded its services with the addition of the Spirit of Hope Foster Care & Adoption Center. During this period, the Emergency Children’s Shelter transitioned to Turning Point, marking another evolution in how the organization served children and families.
Building Forever Families
The Forever Families Program was launched to help children find lasting, permanent connections and provide families with the support needed to build strong, stable homes.
Advancing Child-Centered Care
Texas Girls & Boys Ranch implemented Texas Child-Centered Care (T3C), further strengthening its approach to providing individualized services centered on the unique needs, strengths, and goals of each child.
Looking Ahead to a Future of Possibility
The Next Chapter Is Still Being Written
Growing to Meet Changing Needs
The history of Texas Girls & Boys Ranch has never simply been about adding buildings or programs. It has been about recognizing new needs and finding better ways to serve children and families.
In 2006, the Ranch began employing licensed professional counselors to provide consistent therapeutic support. The Herbert Steige Family Support Center followed in 2007, and the counseling program continued to grow into what is now one of the organization’s largest areas of service.
In 2010, the Ranch began serving girls, allowing siblings to remain together and helping reduce the additional trauma that can come from family separation.
The years that followed brought continued expansion, including equine-assisted psychotherapy, the Child Placing Agency, foster and adoption services, an emergency shelter, expanded educational and recreational facilities, aftercare services and programs designed to strengthen adoptive families.
In 2021, the organization officially became Texas Girls and Boys Ranch, a name that more accurately reflected the children and families it had grown to serve.
From One Program to a Continuum of Care
The Ranch opened in 1975 with a single residential program. Today, Texas Girls & Boys Ranch provides a growing continuum of services designed to support children and families through many different stages of life.
Those services include residential care, foster care and adoption, counseling, the Turning Point crisis stabilization program, the Forever Families program, and the S.I.G.L.E. Program, which provides continuing support to former Ranch residents as they move into adulthood.
That growth reflects a simple belief: meaningful care should address more than an immediate need. It should create relationships, stability and resources that can continue to make a difference over time.
In fiscal year 2025 alone, we have served 355 unduplicated clients, the highest number in its 50-year history.