At Lifeline, we believe we already have the answer to the world’s orphan care crisis, and the answer isn’t wrapped up in a new program, or even an old one. The answer has been right in front of us since Jesus gave it to us. The answer is the Church.

 

 

Orphaned and vulnerable children are at the margins of our world, lacking not only a voice but also a hope and a future. The gospel of Jesus is the ultimate hope and future for all of humanity, and orphaned and vulnerable children need us (the Church) to come to them in their distress.

 

Orphaned and vulnerable children lack even the most basic support system and safety net to care for them and to lead them to know Christ. They need the community of the Church because the Church is both communion with God and each other. It’s Lifeline’s aim to resource and enable churches everywhere to bring the gospel to hurting children and families all over the world, in Jesus’ name.

 

Here are some of the ways that Lifeline can partner with local churches to make disciples and to care for orphaned and vulnerable children:

 

• Adoption Information Meeting – Lifeline serves Christian families for domestic and international adoption because we believe our goal is not merely to change a child’s present but to place them in a family where they can be influenced for eternity. Whether in-person or through a web conference, our team can meet with prospective adoptive families in your congregation who are interested in learning about the next steps towards domestic or international adoption. For more information, email [email protected].
• Resources for Discipleship – Lifeline has prepared resources to meet the unique challenges of churches engaging in fostering and adoption. Available to you without charge, these resources equip your church to minister well to families with children who come from hard places. They include Equipped to Love, a 6-session video curriculum designed to help church leaders and servants understand how to minister to children coming from hard places and their families, and Lifeline’s Adoptive and Foster Parent Connect Guide, a support group curriculum to help you encourage community and support among the adoptive and foster families in your midst. For more information, visit https://lifelinechild.org/category/resources/.
• Advocate for Waiting Children – There are adoptable children all over the world who are waiting for their forever family. Advocating for these children is a necessary piece of orphan care and a way that anyone can use his or her voice to help. Advocacy involves sharing information about a specific child available for adoption in your circles of influence like church small groups and on social media. For more information, email [email protected].
• Partner for orphan care – For the overwhelming majority of orphaned and vulnerable children around the world, adoption is not the answer to their plight. Through Lifeline’s (un)adopted ministry, your church can partner with churches in places all around the world to teach life and job skills to these children and to point them toward their eternal hope and future that is found only in Christ.

 

These are but a few of the ways that we at Lifeline are working to help mobilize your church to care for orphaned and vulnerable children in Jesus’ name. We would love the opportunity to talk with you about partnering together to live out James 1:27 through one of our existing ministries or to discover a way to partner that is unique to your church. To begin a conversation and see how Lifeline and your church can work together to care for hurting children and make Jesus known, please email us at [email protected] or give us a call at (205) 967-0811.