Reluctant to foster a child? That’s normal but think about this

“Just so you know, our church isn’t involved in foster care or adoption. It’s just not something we do.” 

The pastor of a prominent, long-standing church said that to me recently as we were having lunch to discuss how we might work together. I paused before I responded to him. 

I believe our mission as believers is to demonstrate the love and compassion of Jesus to all those He places in our path. That’s a broad definition, and it could include a lot of different activities. Yet Scripture is specific about including certain elements in all of our faith journeys. 

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In James 1:27, we are commanded as followers of Jesus to care for widows and orphans, as these individuals are among the most vulnerable. 

Of course, reluctance to enter the foster care ministry is understandable. Jesus often asks us to do difficult things. More than 30 years ago, my wife and I personally became foster parents for our overwhelmed county agency. Despite significant preparation and training, it was incredibly challenging. 

As an educator for exceptional students, my wife quickly earned us the title of “treatment home,” and we soon had a young sibling group filling our once-empty three-bedroom condominium. We discovered that intensive support was limited, as programs struggled to achieve efficacy and find funding. Often, we arrived at respite care or counseling opportunities to find concerning conditions and inadequate staffing, many times only to return home with a child still significantly struggling. 

I’ve since come to appreciate the incredible opportunity the church has to step up and help both children and families in foster care. About 44% of Christian churchgoers in the U.S. said the church leaders and congregations they attend are involved in promoting foster care. 

So, let’s do the math. There are well upwards of 350,000 churches estimated to exist in the United States. 

If 44% of 350,000 — or 154,000 churches — produced just one family to intentionally commit to the support, uplift and empowerment of a foster child, they would have provided potentially life-changing support for close to half of the 360,000 children in foster care today.

This wouldn’t just be transformative for the children who receive ministry; it would be socially transformative to our culture as a whole, both as Christians and as citizens of the United States.

Historically, those who identify as Christians have been distinguished by their care for a community’s weakest members. This would seem simple and direct, but as with many things, we often complicate what Jesus made plain in the Gospel.

A mentor of mine once told me, “Keith, if you have never been accused of making the Gospel too simple, you have likely never shared the Gospel.”

It’s time to return to the simple and, at times, challenging heart of our faith, of the Gospel, and of our call to minister to the most vulnerable. The Church can and must rise to help provide safe, stable, and loving homes for each of the foster children who walk among them.

I shared my heart for this work with the paster that day during lunch. And to his credit, by the end of our meal, his posture had changed from one of “if and when” to “where and how.”

Together, today, we can help remake the world in God’s image — one foster child and one church at a time. While this work is not easy, there are many organizations like Bethany that are ready to come alongside fellow believers to equip, guide, and support them on this great adventure to change the life of a child forever. 

“Just so you know, our church isn’t involved in foster care or adoption. It’s just not something we do.” 

The pastor of a prominent, long-standing church said that to me recently as we were having lunch to discuss how we might work together. I paused before I responded to him. 

I believe our mission as believers is to demonstrate the love and compassion of Jesus to all those He places in our path. That’s a broad definition, and it could include a lot of different activities. Yet Scripture is specific about including certain elements in all of our faith journeys. 

Get Our Latest News for FREE

Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know.

In James 1:27, we are commanded as followers of Jesus to care for widows and orphans, as these individuals are among the most vulnerable. 

Of course, reluctance to enter the foster care ministry is understandable. Jesus often asks us to do difficult things. More than 30 years ago, my wife and I personally became foster parents for our overwhelmed county agency. Despite significant preparation and training, it was incredibly challenging. 

As an educator for exceptional students, my wife quickly earned us the title of “treatment home,” and we soon had a young sibling group filling our once-empty three-bedroom condominium. We discovered that intensive support was limited, as programs struggled to achieve efficacy and find funding. Often, we arrived at respite care or counseling opportunities to find concerning conditions and inadequate staffing, many times only to return home with a child still significantly struggling. 

I’ve since come to appreciate the incredible opportunity the church has to step up and help both children and families in foster care. About 44% of Christian churchgoers in the U.S. said the church leaders and congregations they attend are involved in promoting foster care. 

So, let’s do the math. There are well upwards of 350,000 churches estimated to exist in the United States. 

If 44% of 350,000 — or 154,000 churches — produced just one family to intentionally commit to the support, uplift and empowerment of a foster child, they would have provided potentially life-changing support for close to half of the 360,000 children in foster care today.

This wouldn’t just be transformative for the children who receive ministry; it would be socially transformative to our culture as a whole, both as Christians and as citizens of the United States.

Historically, those who identify as Christians have been distinguished by their care for a community’s weakest members. This would seem simple and direct, but as with many things, we often complicate what Jesus made plain in the Gospel.

A mentor of mine once told me, “Keith, if you have never been accused of making the Gospel too simple, you have likely never shared the Gospel.”

It’s time to return to the simple and, at times, challenging heart of our faith, of the Gospel, and of our call to minister to the most vulnerable. The Church can and must rise to help provide safe, stable, and loving homes for each of the foster children who walk among them.

I shared my heart for this work with the paster that day during lunch. And to his credit, by the end of our meal, his posture had changed from one of “if and when” to “where and how.”

Together, today, we can help remake the world in God’s image — one foster child and one church at a time. While this work is not easy, there are many organizations like Bethany that are ready to come alongside fellow believers to equip, guide, and support them on this great adventure to change the life of a child forever.