Adoption and Suffering

I never thought about the correlation between adoption and suffering. This is an interesting perspective in this article.

Waiting Well

Here's a great post from T4A on our waiting for our spiritual adoption and waiting well for adoption of kids.

T4A and Ethiopia

Sarah, I thought of you on this - it's a trip Together for Adoption is doing in Ethiopia.

The Center for Adoption Medicine

I came across this website, and it looks to be a great resource on the medical side for adoption. They are doctors in Seattle, and there is a wealth of information on attachment, fetal alcohol, transitions, and so much more.

Ex-Orphans Unleashed

Here's a video from Russell Moore that is a great summary of the gospel of adoption.

Ex-Orphans Unleashed from Russell Moore on Vimeo.

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10 Ways Every Christian Can Care for the Orphan and Waiting Child

Here's a Family Life poster on 10 ways every Christian can care for the orphan and waiting child.

Facts about Children in Foster Care in Washington

There were 10,323 children in the foster care system in Washington on July 31, 2008. Here is a link to that and more facts about children in foster care in Washington.

Together for Adoption

Together for Adoption (T4A) is amazing! Here's an excerpt on who they are:

WHAT IS TOGETHER FOR ADOPTION?

Together for Adoption (T4A) sponsors adoption conferences that focus primarily on vertical adoption (i.e., God adopting us in Christ), with a secondary focus on its implications for orphan care and horizontal adoption (i.e., couples adopting children).  In fulfillment of our objectives, we desire to see conference attendees walk away from a T4A event:

• understanding why it is that vertical adoption is the highest blessing of the gospel
• rejoicing afresh in the gospel
• moved to act on James 1:27 both locally and globally

This would be a great website to look at more before we meet together.

Here is a list of articles found on another page:

The Forgotten Part of James 1:27 (Part One / Part Two) by Dan Cruver
True Religion: A Gospel-Centered Look at James 1:27 by Dan Cruver
“Abba! Father!” and Hearing the Orphan’s Cry by Dan Cruver
Planting Gospel Seeds: Why You Should Support Together for Adoption by Dan Cruver
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Our Tragedy and God’s Gift of Adoption: A Tribute in Honor of Maria Sue Chapman and My Son Daniel by Dan Cruver
“Abba! Father!” and Transethnic Adoption by Dan Cruver
Adoption and Our Triune God by Dan Cruver 
Adoption’s Assurance by Dan Cruver
Counseling the Adopted Child by Julie Smith Lowe
Glorifying the Father of the Fatherless by Jason Kovacs
Our Goal at Together for Adoption by Dan Cruver
The Christian Doctrine of Adoption by Kevin Twit
The First Title of the Spirit by Dr. Howard Griffith
The Necessity of Adoption by Dan Cruver
The Prayers of Joint-heirs by Jay T. Collier
What God has done in Adoption by Dan Cruver

Kingdom Kids

Here is the website for Kingdom Kids.

Adoption and the vision/mission of the church

Here is a list from LifeSong's on adoption funds and the vision/mission of the church. We could take this list and adapt in for our vision/mission and justification to Craig.

• Evangelize the lost: Adoption is evangelism at its core…Bringing the mission field home, where children are loved, cared for, and discipled to know Jesus Christ as their Savior.
• Edify the saved: Adoption Fund challenges, encourages, and enables Believers to put their faith in action, by stepping out in faith to adopt (fulfilling God’s commands in scripture). The process also provides an opportunity for couples to develop relationships with other Christians as they seek prayer and financial support.
• Minister to those in need: There are millions of children waiting for forever families who would like to adopt them, but just can’t because of the financial barrier. By helping to reduce that barrier we are helping to rescue those children who are trapped in the cycle of orphan life.
• Be a Conscience in the community: As the Church becomes obedient to God’s commands concerning the fatherless, the community will see Jesus Christ is alive and working in the lives of His people to care for those children who can't care for themselves.
  

Source

Foster Care Activities

Here is a list of foster care activities that are and aren't allowed. This provides some answers to some of the questions we have discussed.

Establishing an Orphan Ministry - Family Life Today

Here is an outline from Family Life today on establishing an orphan ministry at your church. Sarah, is this based on the book your read?

Launch an Orphans Ministry in Your Church

If you are like so many others, you have a passion to help mobilize your local church on behalf of the orphan but may not be sure where to start.  If so, we want to help.

The following represents an overview of eight steps you can use to help your church get involved in caring for orphans.  This overview is adapted from a FamilyLife resource entitled Launching an Orphans Ministry in Your Church.

STEP 1: Approach a key leader with your vision

In order to start the process, someone in a key position of leadership needs to know your intentions and have the opportunity to guide your efforts.  You will need to find the right leader in your church and help them to understand both your desire to start an orphans ministry and your intentions to assemble a team of people and a plan of action.

The Big Ideas

• Identify the right church leader to approach
• Cast a vision for orphans ministry
• Ask this leader for ongoing insight as you proceed

STEP 2: Identify passionate families to join you in prayer

There are likely people in your church right now who would love to give their time and talents to the needs of the orphan.  Your job is to identify them and then lead them to earnestly seek God’s direction for their next steps.

The Big Ideas

• Consider likely candidates
• Invite them to come together
• Pray together for God’s invitation for your church in orphans ministry

STEP 3: Dream together about the possibilities

Through the process of seeking God’s will and talking with your team, there will be many ideas and dreams that come to mind.  Collect those ideas and prayerfully begin to determine what God has put on the heart of your team.

The Big Ideas

• Ask “What if?”
• Identify common themes
• Learn the God-given passions of your team

STEP 4: Determine your channels of orphans ministry

At this point, some ideas will have surfaced regarding the general direction your ministry will go.  You will find yourself moving toward at least one of the three channels of orphans ministry, if not all three: (1) orphan care, (2) adoption – international private domestic, and (3) foster care and foster-care adoption.

The Big Ideas

• Evaluate your church’s current situation as it relates to orphans ministry
• Investigate the three channels of orphans ministry
• Identify points of synergy with other outreaches in your church

STEP 5: Plan for the strategies of your ministry

Look at your current situation and your long term goals and determine the strategies that will best accomplish the objectives God has given you.  These strategies can be categorized into five modes: (1) prayer, (2) physical needs, (3) financial assistance, (4) education, awareness, and recruitment, and (5) support ministry.  Each of these modes can be executed in the context of the three channels discussed in step 4.

The Big Ideas

• Begin with the end in mind
• Set objectives and strategies for the next three years
• Don’t stop praying!

STEP 6: Establish a leadership structure

Now it is time to formalize the leadership structure of your proposed ministry and to assign specific leadership roles.

The Big Ideas

• Discover if your church has a prescribed leadership structure for new ministries
• Investigate other ministries in your church that are led effectively
• Build your structure and your team

STEP 7: Develop a formal proposal for church leadership

You have the basic building blocks to assemble a good plan for your church leaders to consider.  Now you need to merge everything you have developed into one cohesive and well-conceived plan that you will present to the key leaders in your church for their approval and blessing (pastoral staff, elders, deacons, board of trustees, etc.).

The Big Ideas

• Craft your proposal
• Carefully plan your presentation
• Ask for your leadership’s blessing

STEP 8: Implement first initiatives, engage the entire church and watch God work

The launch of your church’s orphans ministry is an exciting time.  Engaging the entire church at this stage is key to gaining momentum and building your ministry.  Once you have launched, it is time to implement your first initiatives, work in partnership with others, and celebrate what God does.

The Big Ideas

• Plan your “launch Sunday”
• Announce a church-wide orphans project
• Do the small things with excellence, keep praying and get ready to hang on!

A  full discussion of these eight steps and some tools that will help you implement them can be found in the bookLaunching an Orphans Ministry in Your Church produced by FamilyLife’s Hope for Orphans.  This book also includes a vision casting DVD that you can use to help others understand how God is working in churches across the country on behalf of orphans.  To order your book and the included DVD, order online now or call 1-800-FLTODAY.

 Source

And here is a great video from Family Life Today's orphan ministry that talks about churches making a difference in orphan care.

vision statement thoughts

Sarah,

I am chewing on your idea for the vision statement. My first question is: what is our focus for His Heart? Is it on churches? Empowering families to be the visible gospel? Kids in crisis? Or?

I have looked up vision/mission statements from other organizations to try to sort out some thoughts, and it seems that many of the vision statements have something to do with kids/families and who our heart is for, and the mission is more tactical and how we accomplish our vision (i.e. "being the visible gospel of Christ" or "through the body of Christ").

Let me know what you think. I'm sure there are a lot of other vision/mission statements, so feel free to add more if that is helpful, but here are some that I have found from other organizations:

• 4Kids of South Florida

  Vision: A Home for Every Child in Crisis

  Mission: Providing Hope...For Kids in Crisis ...One Child at a Time.  Protection    Provision    Permanent Solutions

• Hope for 100

  Mission: Hope for 100 exists to challenge and support local churches to obey God's Word by providing loving, Christian homes for 100 children through adoption or foster care.

• Project 1.27

  Vision: “No Waiting Children in Colorado foster care by 2014″

  Mission: Project 1.27 is “a Ministry from the Churches of Colorado to the Orphans of Colorado”. In fulfillment of a Godly calling, we serve children by producing successful adoptions between families in church communities and legally free children in the Colorado foster care system. We recruit, train, and support adoptive parents, support teams, churches, counties, and other partners to provide hope for all children and benefit our state and society.

• The Call

  Immediate Vision: No waiting children in Pulaski County by November 2009.

  Mission: To educate, equip and encourage the Christian community to provide a future and a hope for the children in foster care.

• Bethany Christian Services

  Mission: Bethany Christian Services manifests the love and compassion of Jesus Christ by protecting and enhancing the lives of children and families through quality social services.

• The Faith Connection

  Statement on Home Page: We are helping churches help children in foster care.

• Casey Family Programs

  Statement on home page: Casey Family Programs provides and improves - and ultimately prevents the need for - foster care.

• Antioch Adoptions

  Mission: To place infants and children regardless of ethnicity, age or special needs into loving Christian adoptive homes, and to remove barriers to adoption - financial, perceptual, and practical

• Embrace

  Tagline: A mission to reclaim the care of orphans by the church

  Welcome page: Embrace is a community of like minded families, individuals, and churches passionate about the needs and care of orphans in America.

• Christian Alliance for Orphans

  Vision: Every orphan experiencing God’s unfailing love and knowing Jesus as Savior

  Mission: Motivate and unify the body of Christ to live out God's mandate to care for the orphan

• iCare Foundation

  Tagline: Every Child in a Loving Home

• Tapestry

  About page intro: Tapestry is a community of families and individuals that are connected in some way or another by the common bonds of adoption and foster care.