The Fall of each year serves as a reminder that the year is coming to an end, and we are headed into the busy holiday season. Thanksgiving and Christmas are times when families gather to share stories while making new memories. For my family, whether the elders pray or the children pray. Prayers are coveted …
Adoption
How do you determine if someone is an expert in a given field? I’ve always thought that an expert has personal or professional experiential knowledge of a subject and has successfully navigated through it, grown beyond it, or found some way to grow from it. (“It” being whatever I happen to be researching at the …
For the past 25-years, I have either advocated for children as a Marketplace leader or worked with Marketplace leaders to positively impact the lives of children, families, and communities. From my corporate career in banking and finance to my philanthropic engagement through community-based organizations, there has been one question that has always surfaced, “What should …
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Traditional parenting techniques don’t always work for a child who has experienced trauma — and most adopted children have experienced trauma. An adopted child and their parents often need more support than they can get from only talk therapy. That’s where therapeutic parenting comes in: techniques that …
Ben & Jessica are a married couple who attend Crossroads Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2012, they heard their church was hosting a Foster Care Information Session. The church partnered with Coalition of Care, a nonprofit ministry serving as a bridge between local churches and vulnerable children in southwestern Ohio. Coalition of Care Collaboration When …
“Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding.”
I hear it at least weekly— “If it weren’t for my church… ” This is the chorus of an ever-growing choir. What follows varies from a simple statement to tragic stories met with timely redemption. You might expect stories of individuals trusting in Jesus because a local church pointed them to Him. You’d be right. …
They blazed a pathway to connect prospective families with the child welfare agency.
Pure and undefiled religion, as defined by James 1:27, is to look after vulnerable children and widows while maintaining our gospel message. If our churches will embrace care for vulnerable children through US foster care, we must do more than supply new foster homes. We need churches committed to mentor broken families, children with special …
Tricia Goyer, joined by her husband, John, recounts her experiences as a teenager who both had an abortion and gave birth to a baby, describing how God’s grace helped her through that tough season, eventually turning her to Jesus Christ and leading her to find a godly husband. The Goyers offer hope to those faced …
As an adoptive parent, have you ever had the fleeting thought that perhaps you didn’t hear God right? When you believed He called you to adopt, or that He made a mistake in calling you? Maybe you’ve expressed to God, a close friend, or even a therapist (your child’s or your own) about how hard …
The trajectory of my life changed forever when my 18-year-old, unwed birth mother came to know Jesus Christ as her savior. She didn’t have the resources or family support to raise me. Knowing this, her pastor helped her make the loving choice to terminate her parental rights and put me into foster care. After a …
How To Start A Foster/Adoptive Family Ministry Equipping the Church for Lasting Impact in Child Welfare Eight of ten children were off to school, covering four campuses, three cities, and five grades. She stared with disbelief at the city official. It was mid-morning. The house was almost quiet except for the pair of three-year-olds in …
God is calling His church to enter this battle right now. Somewhere on your watch, there’s a child that needs you.
“Where does she live?” We ask this so we know which church to call to get the mom connected.
I can imagine how his day started. At eight years old, I suspect Noah woke up, fed his dog, and left for school. He walked solemnly to the bus stop, feeling a small ache with every step. He thought about the night before, his mom’s cries colliding with screams from his three-year-old sister. And Gary, …
When it comes to post-adoption support, churches are an often-overlooked solution. In these unique times of racial injustices and a global pandemic, families search for new ways to respond to the world. A research company, the Barna Group, shows that practicing Christians are more than twice as likely to adopt. Many adoptive parents identify their faith as …
It’s a common misconception that those who choose adoption don’t “want” their babies. For most birth mothers, this is far from true.
Foster care is a silent epidemic that is overtaking so many lives. Over 440,000 children and youth have been removed from their homes and experienced immense trauma. Children being born into a survival situation. Youth who are susceptible to moving schools more than seven times before they graduate. I have wept for the souls of …
As Jacob handed his apartment keys over to me, I beamed. On this sunny May morning, Jacob was completing Olive Crest’s program for Transitional Age Youth, or former foster youth aging out of foster care. After spending four years studying and working after high school, he was ready to launch onto his own, having secured …