Orphan & Stand Sunday

This is how the story begins for many foster children. They enter the foster care system later in life when their birth parents are unable to care for them at the present time. They need someone to care for them for a week, a month, a year, or permanently. Some have been abused or neglected, but others have birth parents who simply need time to get back on their feet. These are families in need. 

Our ultimate goal as The Church should be to care for people in a way that leads them to know the One who can save their souls, the One who gives comfort and provision as they have never known. What better way to show the love of Christ than to care for those that are in need, like foster families? 

Foster families have struggles and hardships like any family but have additional struggles within their daily dynamics to overcome. Some kids come in with physical limitations, mental limitations, and trauma. Parents within these families need extra support, care, and encouragement. 

As Christians, we have a God who cares for the orphan and for those who cannot help themselves (Ps. 68:5; James 1:27). Foster children are essentially orphans, some only temporarily, but the results can be tragic if they’re left to grow up in the system without a family. It’s estimated that 30 percent of homeless people were once in the U.S. foster care system. Having never learned how to attach to people or places, they struggle to find healthy relationships, stay in school, and hold down a job later in life. It has also been documented that 70 percent of foster youth dream of going to college, but only 3 percent actually make it despite the fact many states offer them free college tuition.

The need is enormous, but when you consider that there are roughly 348,067 evangelical churches in America, the 430,000 children-in-foster-care number doesn’t seem quite so daunting. Unfortunately, it’s not a problem that can be solved by simply doing the math and distributing children among churches. Many factors complicate the issue, but the numbers are still fascinating to consider.

The Calling on The Church

The church really can do something to help. While not all may be called to open a home to foster children, there are numerous ways to get involved and be part of the solution. Many are simply blessed by a meal from a friend on a busy week, an offer to babysit for the parents to go on a date, an offering to clean a foster/adoptive parent’s home, or just stopping by to help and be there as a friend. Larger group homes may be in financial need to care for the children, or they may have a child needing a tutor or a counselor. The needs are many and ongoing at every level of the foster care system. Who better to meet those needs than The Church?

Orphan & Stand

Orphan and Stand Sunday is right around the corner and we are so excited to support and be a part of this great work and how The Church can play such a huge part.

Orphan and Stand Sunday has been a powerful tool to invite churches to join the movement and is used by many to raise awareness of the needs of vulnerable children and families in their communities.

THIS Sunday, November 13th is Orphan & Stand Sunday, but you can use any Sunday for an Orphan or Stand Sunday. We have lots of resources to help you organize and would love to come alongside you and your church! Email your OCA Regional Ministry Leader or bryan.proctor@orphancarealliance.org to find out more.