There’s a famous quote from Max Lucado that reads “No one can do everything, but everyone can do something”. When it comes to caring for children in foster care, nothing could be truer.

More than anything, children in foster care need a safe, loving home.  But they also need support services, opportunities to experience the joys of childhood and a caring community to help advocate for them and provide resources. The church can play a vital role in supporting orphaned children in accordance with God’s Word by creating an Orphan Care Ministry within their family of faith.

How You Can Create an Orphan Care Ministry at Your Church

The Salvation Army can provide guidance, materials and connect you with families and organizations to help you create an orphan care ministry that fits your congregation. Some examples of ministries include:

• Full Church Partner: Engage the congregation to foster and adopt children, provide finances and ministry work for children in our program, host training and events at your facility, promote our events through your network
• Financial/Resource Church Partner: Provides finances for ministry work and or foster children within our agency; host training and events at your church facility
• Spiritual Church Partner: Establish regular time of prayer for the Orphan Care Ministry and all children
• Special Events Partner: Provide a platform for our speakers for adoption events; National Adoption Awareness month (Nov); National Foster Care Month (May) informational sessions, etc.
• Good Neighbor Partner: Provide support for adoptive or foster families in the congregation or community by providing babysitting, transportation, sending cards of encouragement, etc.

What does it mean to be a Foster Friendly Church?

The Salvation Army has a program for local churches that help them to obtain a “Foster Friendly Church” designation.

A Foster Friendly Church is a church where… 

• There is ongoing commitment to raise awareness of the need for safe, loving and nurturing homes for all children.

• Foster, adoptive and kinship families find encouragement and practical support.

• Training on the special circumstances/needs of children from hard places is offered and encouraged.

• There is agreement among members that everyone can do something to support foster children.

• Children who come from hard places can grow into the people that God intended them to be.

Learn more about becoming Foster Friendly

If your church is interested in obtaining a Foster Friendly designation, our Orphan Care Ministry Directors would love to connect with you and talk about ways that your church can become more involved with foster care and adoption. 

If you live in the Southeast Region, please contact Atiya Waters at jacqueline.waters@use.salvationarmy.org; if you live in the Lehigh Valley, please contact Heidi Kester at heidi.kester@use.salvationarmy.org.