Whether you are church staff or a church member, there are many ways to advocate for orphan care within your local body of believers. Volunteers on our Church Engagement team look like Lifeline ambassadors — helping engage your church with the full library of Lifeline resources and further equipping the Body of Christ to care for the least of these. Many of the options below will require creating long-term strategies to implement within your church. We encourage you to collaborate with church leadership to help determine your church’s unique approach to orphan care ministry. Some are simple things you can do as an individual or family to raise awareness in your church and influence other brothers and sisters in Christ to get involved. None of these opportunities are limited by you or your church’s location, so openly explore these options as they are applicable to everyone.
COORDINATE ORPHAN SUNDAY (NOVEMBER) OR SANCTITY OF LIFE SUNDAY (JANUARY) AT YOUR CHURCH
Raise awareness in what being pro-life really means and how you can defend the fatherless in your church by celebrating Orphan Sunday (November) and Sanctity of Human Life Sunday (January). These two annual events are recognized by churches all over the world as a response to God’s call to care for orphaned and vulnerable children. Share this opportunity with your pastor, elders, and other church leadership so your church can join the movement. Download Lifeline materials, create an orphan care information table display at your church, recruit Lifeline speakers, and let us help you discover the most beneficial ways to ignite your church body to defend life.
PLAN A STAND FOR ORPHANS® WITH YOUR CHURCH
Stand for Orphans is a perfect opportunity to introduce orphan care ministry to your kids and get them started in making a difference, even at a young age. Stand for Orphans encourages people of all ages to advocate for the fatherless around the globe through hosting a “stand.” Coordinating a stand with your church is as easy as 1, 2, 3. 1) Download the Stand for Orphans Church Kit. 2) Discuss with your church leadership to see how best to get your congregation involved and begin promoting your stand. 3) Host your stand. Host as a family, with your friends, or make it a fun event for your church’s kids/youth ministry. There are countless ways to host a stand, so let your creativity take over. You can also check out @standfororphans on social media to get some inspiration from others.
Download our Stand for Orphans Church Kit — standfororphans.org
ADVOCATE FOR CHILDREN AWAITING ADOPTION
Advocating for waiting children all over the world is a very necessary piece of orphan care and a way that anyone can help find Christian, forever families for children in need. Advocacy involves sharing information about a specific child available for adoption in your circles of influence via social media (with sensitivity to any confidential info), in your small groups, or even with your church as a whole.
Not everyone can adopt, but everyone can sponsor a child. Through (un)adopted, Lifeline’s international orphan care ministry, we offer sponsorships of children in Uganda, India, and Pakistan. You can help us share information about these children awaiting sponsorship in your circles of influence. To see children available to sponsor, click here.
BEGIN OR EXTEND FOSTER CARE MINISTRY IN YOUR CHURCH
Through our Fostering Hope™ resource, Lifeline can help you begin this important work within your church family. Resources include team recruitment and training guides, promotional materials, continuing education unit (CEU) recordings, and many more. Visit lifelinechild.org/fosteringhope for more information and to download this free resource. We will then connect with you to see how we can help you move forward as a foster care advocate in your community.
REQUEST LIFELINE LITERATURE FOR YOUR CHURCH
Do you have a place where church members and visitors can gather information about ministry partners within your church? We would be honored to be a part of that collection. Based on what is most relevant for your church, we can supply you with literature about adoption, orphan care ministry, or a little bit of everything that Lifeline is involved in.
HOST AN ADOPTION INFO MEETING AT YOUR CHURCH
Whether you are ready to take the next step in your pursuit of adoption or just beginning your research journey, we would love to help you host an information meeting at your church. In collaboration with you, your pastoral team, and other interested families, we will share practical ways to step out in faith to pursue adoption. This, in no way, obligates you to use Lifeline as your adoption agency or even adopt in general. We think a healthy adoption process starts with education and faith, so we want to provide a safe space for you and others in your church to explore what this means.
