In September 2024, only one month after starting my new role as Director of Foster Care Ministries for Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children (OBHC), I attended the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) conference in Nashville with several of my colleagues.
The conference was truly inspiring, and the information gained helped shape the resource family ministry blueprint we are sharing with churches across the state who want to be known as a church that C.A.R.E.S.
A church that C.A.R.E.S. is a church who commits to welcoming kinship, foster and adoptive families, as well as grandparents, and meeting their needs, both spiritual and tangible. It is a church who shows appreciation for resource families and the child welfare and agency staff who serve them. It is a church who brings awareness of the need for foster family recruitment and the importance of retaining the ones already doing the work.
A church that C.A.R.E.S. equips their staff, teachers and volunteers, through trauma-informed training, to minister to the specific needs of children from hard places and families who have answered God’s call to foster and adopt. A church that C.A.R.E.S. encourages, prays for and supports resource families and the children they care for by showing and sharing the love of Christ through relief care and practical acts
of service.
Why should your church consider becoming a church that C.A.R.E.S.? At CAFO, I attended a breakout session specifically for adult adoptees. While I am not an adult adoptee, I wanted to hear directly from them about their foster care journey. One panel member shared that as a child, she had been in more than 20 foster homes and two adoptive homes before God placed her in her forever home. When asked what made the difference in that third adoptive placement, she said she was adopted by a Christian family whose church surrounded them and her with Christian love, kindness and every manner of support. She confirmed for me what God had already placed on my heart; the church can, should and has been called to make the difference.
Today in Oklahoma, there are just less than 6,000 children in care, many who need a foster home. We need foster families who are in it for the long haul, and those families need a church that is committed to walking hand-in-hand with them on that journey. Is God speaking to you about how you and your church can make the difference?
OBHC Foster Care Ministries seeks to engage and equip local churches as they minister to resource families in their congregation and community. We want to support the local church by partnering with local, state and national agencies as they come alongside those caring for vulnerable children and families.
If you would like to know more about becoming a church that C.A.R.E.S., reach out to us today at fostercare@obhc.org, and schedule an informational meeting. We would love to share our customizable ministry blueprint and pray with you as your church seeks God’s will and direction.
