Did you know that a child enters the foster care system every 2 minutes? With over 400,000 children in care across the US and nearly 6,000 in Alabama alone, foster care is an epidemic! Unfortunately, there is no quick fix. There has been a big push for kinship care lately that seems to be bearing fruit. But for many foster children that is not an option. Adoption numbers have risen drastically over the last 10 years too. Yet it is also not an option for many foster children. Foster children are averaging nearly 18 months in foster care with 32% of foster children being in care for 24 months or longer. When we say there is a great need for more foster families, we mean it!
Scripture Calls Believers to Care for the Fatherless
We believe the Bible is clear in its calling for the Church to care for the fatherless. We see God’s heart for the orphan in the Old Testament when He establishes commands for His people to care, protect, advocate, and love the fatherless. It should be no surprise that the Pslamist calls Him “Father of the fatherless” in Psalm 68:5.
When God took on flesh, He continued to care for the fatherless. Look how Jesus treated children in Matthew 25:31-46 & Luke 14:12-24. When James is writing his letter to the early church, he did not have to give a long reason for why they should care for the orphan; it was clearly understood. The Church can redeem foster care in many ways today. We see Christians doing great things to love and serve foster children all over the world and pray that the passion will never fan out.
By the time you have made it to this sentence, another child has entered foster care. Will you prayerfully consider serving the Lord by becoming a foster parent? If that is not something you can do, will you prayerfully consider finding ways to support foster families in your area? We would love to share some practical ways to do so with you. Message us for more info.