Orphans

What It Entails:

• • • An orphan is a child who has lost one or both parents due to war, disease, poverty, natural disasters, abandonment that may also include cultural pressures, neglect, abuse, child slavery, religious inequity, child prostitution, indentured servitude and more. They may live with a relative or neighbor or are on the street.

Why It Matters:

• • • It is estimated that there are over 153 million orphans in the world today.
      • www.sos-usa.org/
    • If a caring person is not there to provide what an orphaned child needs, who will? Pimps, child labor bosses, terrorists, rebel armies with child soldiers, child traffickers, and so on. The end result is truly heartbreaking as many of the orphan children out there will die of starvation and issues related to malnutrition. They will die from preventable diseases. They will die at the hands of others and themselves. They will spend much of their life in jail.
    • The world and global society benefit when we help orphan children. Instead of harming themselves and others, they grow up to be responsible, healthy, adults that give back to the community they live in instead of taking away from it.
    • The good that is done to one orphan child is generational.

What God Says:

• • • James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” 
    • James 2:15-16 “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?”
    • Hosea 14:3 “For in You the fatherless find compassion.”
    • Psalm 82:3-4 “Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.  Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people.”
    • Deuteronomy 10:18 “The Lord defends the rights of orphans and widows. He cares for foreigners and gives them food and clothing.”
    • John 14:18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
    • Psalm 10:17-18 “Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless.  Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.  You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed,
      so mere people can no longer terrify them.”
    • Psalms 146:9  “The Lord protects the foreigners among us.  He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.”

Take Action:

• • • Pray for children without parents or guardians.
    • Ask God if adoption or fostering children is something He would like for you to consider.
    • Attend a personal adoption/fostering information meeting.
    • Engage your church by using your voice.
    • Sponsor a child through an organization that provides for their needs.

Relevant Organizations:

• • • Empowered to Connect– ETC has a long and fruitful history of serving children and families especially to those who are in the process of adopting or hosting their first foster placement. 
    • Adoption Learning Partners– want to make a positive measurable impact on adoption outcomes. They offer meaningful, timely, web-based educational adoption resources for professionals, parents, adopted individuals, and the families that love them.
    • Rescue1 is a sponsorship and outreach program that rescues children from the horrors of sex-trafficking and abandonment. 
    • Pathways for Little Feet– provide sustainable care for orphans.
    • Katelyn’s Fund– is speaking boldly for the fatherless. Advocating that all children,  deserve physical and spiritual restoration, implemented by the body of Christ, in obedience to the commands of the Father
    • A Home For Me– partner with agencies to make it convenient for families to find what they need in one place.  Their mission is to provide resources and support services for vulnerable families and those who care for them.
    • Orphan Care Alliance– work to equip, connect, and mobilize Christians to serve vulnerable children and families.
    • IRIS Ministries– Iris Global is empowered by the presence of God the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit to stop for the one in need through adoration, outreach, family, education, relief, development, healing, and the arts.
    • Mission of Hope– As an organization following Jesus Christ, Mission of Hope exists to bring life transformation to every man, woman, and child.
    • Orphans Lifeline– and organization helping orphans around the world.
    • Lifeline Children’s Services– To equip the Body of Christ to manifest the gospel to vulnerable children.

Resource Links:

• • • Understand Orphan Statistics– Grasping the true nature of the need provides a strong foundation for an effective, well-focused response. 
    • Hope For The Journey Conference– April 8, 2022; seeks to encourage and better equip parents and caregivers meeting the everyday needs of children impacted by adoption and/or foster care.
    • Adopting without Debt– It can be done! Here you will find practical information on budgeting and grants as well as tons of creative fundraising ideas.  
    • Foundations which provide financial grants to adoptive families: Show Hope, The Abba Fund, Lifesong for Orphans, Pathways for Little Feet.
    • Here I Am Orphan Ministry– Cares for orphans domestically and abroad through prayer, adoption awareness, missions and advocacy. It is their desire that every child know Jesus and experience the love of a forever family.   Check out their very thorough helpful resources. 
    • Adoption Attorneys– The Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (AAAA) is an organization of nearly 500 highly vetted attorneys dedicated to the competent and ethical practice of adoption and assisted reproduction law.

Prayers:

• • • Prayer for Children
    • Pray men would desire to be husbands, fathers, and leaders in their homes.
    • Pray the youth would find role models and mentors rather than acceptance in gangs.

Testimonies:

• • • Growing Down– When you give your life to working with orphans, Christian Alliance for Orphans President Jedd Medefind encouraged and challenged God’s people to “grow down to grow up.”
    • Joy’s Story– A story of new beginnings.
    • Arthi’s Story– She’s never alone.

Books:

• • • Becoming Home– A book that unpacks specific steps everyone can take to care for orphans in distress.
    • Fund Your Adoption: Step by step guide to adopt dept free

Training:

• • • Memphis Family Connection Center– provides connection based trauma informed care to families impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). They support hope and healing for families through counseling, parent mentoring, occupational therapy, speech therapy, expressive art therapy, and parenting classes all provided through the TBRI (Trust Based Relational Intervention) model.