While foster care may be a topic unfamiliar or slightly uncomfortable to some, it is our duty as Christians to protect and care for God’s people. Foster care should be frequently talked about in the church in order to raise awareness and offer help to these kids, but also to let Christians know that caring for these children is their call as people of God.
The fact is, the numbers within the Christian church are more than enough to pride care for every single foster kid.
If .12% of families attending church weekly adopted a child out of foster care – there would be no children available for adoption in the system.
If .69% of families attending church weekly were certified for foster care – every foster child could be in a faith-based home and there would be a surplus of families waiting for a child to enter the system.
If 6% of families attending church weekly were certified to provide respite/babysitting care for foster kids, then every foster family would have a team of 8 families to love and support them in their efforts to care for children in their home.
So, here’s what the Bible has to say about caring for orphans and widows.
“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” (James 1:27)
“Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.”
(Psalm 68:5)
“He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing.” (Deuteronomy 10:18)
if we can make some progress in the areas above we, the church, can find the families needed to solve the foster care crisis. Stay tuned for more blogs on the needed culture shift in how we view foster care, online tools being developed to help churches mobilize their congregations and more.