Terry Meeuwsen

Terry Meeuwsen, founder of Orphan’s Promise, has been a familiar face on CBN’s The 700 Club since the early 1980s and has used that platform to bless vulnerable children around the globe.

A native of Wisconsin, she attended St. Norbert College. During that time she sang and traveled with a group called the New Christy Minstrels for two years. Then in 1973 Terry was crowned Miss America!

She began her broadcast career co-hosting a daily talk show in Milwaukee called A New Day at NBC affiliate WTMJ-TV, eventually moving to Virginia to work full-time for The 700 Club. She has also authored numerous books on topics ranging from adoption to Christian issues and inspiration.

Terry and her dearly departed husband, Andy Friedrich, had seven children— two biological and five adopted. The adoption of their three daughters from Ukraine opened Terry’s eyes to the plight of millions of children around the world who are alone and in desperate situations.

Thus Terry’s vision for Orphan’s Promise was birthed, and today the ministry is at work in over 65 countries around the world. The passion and purpose of Orphan’s Promise is to touch the lives of as many of these vulnerable children as possible, physically and spiritually, through programs including education, discipleship, mentorship, nutrition, and more.

In 2025 Orphan’s Promise was officially adopted into worldwide humanitarian organization Operation Blessing, which is also part of the CBN family of ministries. In a beautiful turn of events, Operation Blessing is currently run by Terry’s son Drew Friedrich, who grew up in her family that embraced adoption, worked many years for Orphan’s Promise, and now serves as president of Operation Blessing.