Our vision is to bring hope and healing to the orphans by inspiring the church to mobilize and wrap around foster families with love and support.
Foster care is a Church problem, not a state child welfare problem. It is a Gospel issue first, not a government issue. The Church has both the duty and privilege to speak on behalf of and stand for the sake of those who cannot speak and stand for themselves because that is exactly what God has done for us through Jesus. That’s the Gospel.
All through scripture we are charged to care for the orphans. These precious children are close to God’s Heart.
He even states that its better for someone to jump into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck then to harm a child.
The Book of James says “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” James 1:27 (NLT)
EVERYONE IS NOT CALLED TO BE A FOSTER PARENT BUT EVERYONE CAN DO SOMETHING. Jason Johnson sums it up the best in this following quote from his blog.
Kids in foster care are not the government’s kids, they are God’s kids and therefore the Church’s responsibility. In response, many families choose to submit to the laborious and often painstaking process of becoming licensed foster homes so that abused, neglected and marginalized kids can have a safe, nurturing and Jesus-centered place to find refuge and be loved. The work these families do is full of unbelievable difficulties and unspeakable joys. On a daily basis they carry both the weight of brokenness and the hope of redemption on their shoulders and in their hearts. They live, breath, cry and walk out the Gospel in the vulnerable lives of these young kids while exposing their marriages, their children and their community of friends to a warfare unlike any other. It is a calling – a hard, beautiful, worthwhile calling.
But not everyone is called to be a foster parent. As a matter of fact, most people in the Church won’t ever bring a child into their home for any extended period of time. But this does not mean they, and the Church as a whole, don’t have an essential and necessary role to play in the lives of these foster families and the children they are giving themselves over to.
While we are all not called to do the same thing, we are all certainly created to do something. That’s how the Body of Christ works – ears, eyes, hand feet, etc. – the collective diversity of different parts all coming together for the common good. Perhaps it could be said this way: You’re either called to bring children into your home or you’re capable of serving and supporting those who do. These kids, after all, are God’s kids and therefore all of our responsibilities within the Church. So while this list is certainly not exhaustive, here’s ten simple, unique and diverse ways that a church can practically serve foster families within their body – and in so doing participate in their calling and responsibility to care for God’s kids by serving and supporting the families who have brought them into their homes.