Since 1981, Lifeline has been engaged on the front lines of the ministry of bringing vulnerable children a hope and a future. Over time, we have grown in the ways that we accomplish this mission, but the gospel and the biblical mandate to care for the vulnerable have been the constant aim of our mission.
To focus our aim, Lifeline has adopted the following mission statement:
Lifeline exists to equip the Body of Christ to manifest the gospel to vulnerable children.
And, then our vision for having accomplished that mission is simple:
Vulnerable children and their communities are transformed by the Gospel and are making disciples.
We believe that God sees the vulnerable children of the world not as victims but as treasures; it is the task of His Church to reach them with safety and security and the good news of the Gospel. We long to see a world where families are restored, children are loved, and where those once vulnerable children are now taking the Gospel to the World.
This goal is audacious, but we serve a God who is “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows.” He is calling all of us to join Him in this work with the confidence that He is able to accomplish it. Lifeline takes part in this mission by equipping the Church to minister in various ways:
- Care for birthparents and helping them to know Christ and choose life.
- Adopting orphans into families where they can experience the love of Christ and be taught the Gospel.
- Training and discipling older orphans so that they know Christ and are prepared to enter adulthood with the skills to live well.
- Support families who love vulnerable children through foster care and adoption.
Thank you for joining us in praying, working, and giving to see this goal accomplished for the glory of Christ and for the sake of His Kingdom.
My journey through adoption has been a long one. My parents, Doug and Gail, have always been open in sharing and discussing adoption and its processes with me, but I was not. Until I was 20 years old, I rarely discussed my adoption with anyone. It was at this time I decided to go and obtain my medical records so that I would know of any family illnesses I might encounter. It was on that same visit that I decided I would like to try and find my birthmother, embarking on an entire new journey through adoption I never saw coming.
At 20, I was counselled so that I would understand that the process of reunification would not be easy. I had no idea just how hard until the door was closed: my birth mom did not want to meet with me. I continued to struggle and pray about this issue for almost 4 years, until one day last spring…
During my last week in graduate school, while studying for finals, I received the call that my birthmother had changed her mind. To say I was shocked is an understatement. The maturation that occurred in my understanding of adoption over those four plus years was God’s way of making me patient enough to find peace with not only my birthmother, but also with myself. I wanted to share my story of adoption with anyone who would listen.
Since graduating, volunteering with Lifeline has become a passion of mine. My success story is just one of many, and I am not afraid to tell mine to anyone. Sharing with others about Lifeline’s work in adoption and foster care to help to raise money and awareness for the ministry has helped me grow spiritually ten-fold. Lifeline gave me an earthly family full of the love of Christ, but it also helped me grow closer to my spiritual one as well.
Considering Adoption? Learn more about our Domestic and International programs
Interested in being a mentor to a birth parent? Learn more about Families Count
Join us in supporting the foster center. Learn more
“We adopted our first daughter from China through Lifeline in 2007. Lifeline didn’t have The Crossings training at that time. So, when we began our 2nd Chinese adoption and the opportunity came up to take this class, we wanted to take advantage of it. After having lived with an adopted child for several years…there were so many things we had questions about and wanted to see if we could learn some things that would still be helpful for parenting her, as well as our son we were in the process of adopting.
We had no clue what to expect from the class. Part of us thought it might be information we already knew since we were “been there, done that” parents! But that wasn’t the case at all. The class began and immediately had our attention. Many of the people who shared were not only specialists in attachment and bonding, but also adoptive parents themselves. They were able to share not only from an educated standpoint, but also an experiential standpoint.
Many of the activities of the day were interactive. We learned a great deal about bringing home an older child…and that was much needed for us as we were adopting an older son from China. There was so much practical information given on how to help integrate an older child and what is normal to expect and not normal. It was very helpful. By far, the most surprising thing we walked away with in The Crossings class, interesting enough, wasn’t about our adopted children. It was something we learned about one of our biological children. There was a great deal of time spent on learning about Sensory Processing Disorder. We had never heard about it. They began to share about how sometimes children that have difficult birth’s can experience this as well as if they have difficult childhoods. Our biological son has for many years exhibited signs of Sensory Processing Disorder, but we had chalked it up as him being a difficult child, or unwilling to be flexible. This class helped us see these challenges in our son was not him mis-behaving but it was the challenge of Sensory processing. They gave us great resources and tools to use in helping a child walk through this disorder. Having the knowledge was so invaluable and it has helped us in discovering many things about our children.
We are so grateful that we took The Crossings class at Lifeline and would encourage any adoptive family to take it. Even if you’ve adopted before but have never taken the class, it is a wonderful resource! There are many things you may know already from having walked through adoption, but it will provide a great refresher to help you prepare for your new child. And you never know. Like us, you may just learn some interesting things about the children you already have. We thank Lifeline for the resources they provide and The Crossings seminar was our favorite one during our last adoption process.
Looking for Post Adoption Resources? Call us at 205.967.0811