Every Child Update
Every Child is a ministry partner with The Chapel that has the primary focus of not only caring for children in need, locally and globally, but making sure that they have the opportunity to hear and see the gospel of Jesus Christ. Below is an update of what God is doing through that ministry, written by John Camardo (Executive Pastor at The Chapel).
Do you know that if only 7% of the world's claimed 2.1 billion Christians cared for an orphan, the Church could eliminate the need for orphan care globally? The Every Child ministry believes this wholeheartedly and is the reason we started our regional alliance nearly two years ago! We believe the church is the answer to caring for the defenseless and scripture leaves no wiggle room on this topic. We have taken the time over the past few years to keep you updated on the specific things we are doing through the ministry, but I feel it important to shed some light on what it appears God is doing in this arena - both locally and nationally.
Nationally, the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) is doing incredible work to resource and support the church in the US. They represent individual and regional partnerships (such as Every Child) across the country, best practice, advocacy, etc. If you ever want some encouragement on what the church is capable of doing in this space, check out the CAFO website - it is inspiring many to take great steps of faith!
Our national partner, Patch Our Planet (founder: Steve Gillis), is focused on envisioning and enabling church leadership to drive and support long term orphan care strategies that align with their mission and vision. Locally, the Every Child ministry was set up as a collaborative effort of the church in WNY. Our desire is to see the church care for every child in need within our reach – both locally and globally. We do this because we want every child to have an opportunity to hear and see the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Our goal is to break down barriers and make it easier for the church to fulfill the mandate in scripture to care for the defenseless. We are working to maintain local and global partnerships to care for defenseless children in foster care, through local adoption, international adoption and global orphan care programs (through strategic partnerships in Haiti and Sierra Leone).
Although we have seen progress over the past two years, the need for foster and adoptive families to bring children into their home is still great. Over the past year in our own neighborhoods, over 100 children could not be placed in foster care because a sibling group couldn't be kept together. Children in foster care are being housed in higher risk residential programs and homeless shelters because of a lack of foster homes available in our region.
A number of children from our own state as well as throughout the country are immediately available for adoption and looking for a forever family.
Individually, the Every Child ministry gives you many ways to get involved in this incredibly important initiative - from taking steps towards bringing a child into your home or simply supporting the families that do. For more information, go to www.every-child.com/getinvolved
Corporately, our vision for this ministry was to have it represent our region through broader church partnership. As of today, we have seven church partners and would love to see this grow. For more information on how to partner with the Every Child ministry, go to the resources section on every-child.com for details on what it means to be a church partner.
"Although we have seen progress over the past two years, the need for foster and adoptive families to bring children into their home is still great."
If you are an existing foster and/or adoptive parent (or are considering becoming one) and would like to know more about ways the Every Child ministry may be able to support you, check out our web site - specifically the needs section.
In closing, I want to share something that may help reiterate why we’re called to act. As described in "Becoming Home" by Jedd Medefind: "Anyone who dares to engage the world at its most hurting must know this: the results of even our best efforts will often be much less than we’d hope. We’ll likely be disappointed by those we seek to serve—and they by us, too. At countless crossroads along the way, we will face vexing dilemmas to which there are no good answers. To act at all, we’ll have to choose among imperfect options that threaten heartbreaking side-effects. From corrupt adoption processes to abusive foster homes, we’ll ache at unintended consequences.
Even a glimpse of all this complexity can be paralyzing. Like the risk-averse investor in Jesus’ parable of the talents, we may be tempted to bury what we have to offer and not get involved at all. But Jesus minced no words in condemning that approach. He called it “wicked and lazy.”
Instead, God calls us to act despite the risks. Knowing that helping can hurt gives us much-needed caution and humility."
Join us as we ask the Lord to show His followers that we can each do something!