Churches offer alternative to welfare system | The Orange County Register

by Sean Emery

[This is an excellent way to care for children whose families are in crisis, making them effectively "orphans" for a short period of time. It also is a way to extend mercy and grace to a parent in great need as a testimony of Christian faith and love.]

As economic woes put pressure on Orange County families, local churches are stepping up to stop kids from falling through the cracks of the state welfare system by taking in youngsters while their parents get their life in order.

First introduced to Southern California by Santa Ana-based Olive Crest, the Safe Families program has been taken up by some of Orange County's largest church's, where families are volunteering to temporarily take in at-risk youth, while at the same time coaching their parents through tough times.
Unlike kids caught in the welfare system, Safe Families allows the biological parents to maintain full custody, keeps the children within the community, and works to reunite families as soon as possible.
...
Olive Crest is there to provide support and training to church leaders and volunteers, taking care of required background checks and making sure families are ready for the reality of being responsible for taking care of a child. But the program's success also relies heavily on the churches to provide the volunteer families, and to use their existing support network to provide the parents counseling, job assistance or whatever else they require.

Read the rest here.

Look After Orphans | WORLD Magazine

Twenty ways to become an adoption-friendly church | by Paul Golden

[More good ideas describing how churches -- like ours -- can care for orphans!]

While Christians commonly praise adoption, most American churches do not have a single family that adopted a child during the past year. Churches can and should play a crucial role in encouraging members to "look after orphans in their distress" (James 1:27). Here are some specific ideas on how to become an adoption-friendly church:

Read the rest of the article here.

Called to Adopt | WORLD Magazine

The Rosenows serve God by bringing children with disabilities into their family | by Susan Olasky

[This article has so much to think about. Suffering. Calling. Reliance on God. And note how their local church has a key supportive role in their lives.]

If you think you have a lot on your plate, consider Scott and Kathy Rosenow. At 7:30 a.m. in their home outside Cincinnati, their 14 adopted children, all under the age of 15, begin to roll out of or be carried out of bunk beds, triple bunk beds, and cribs. Most dress themselves, make their beds, and start on chores: scrubbing toilets, vacuuming, sorting laundry. Three of the Rosenow's four adult biological children still live at home. They help get some of the younger and less-abled kids up and going.The adopted children come from five countries—China, Haiti, Guatemala, Bolivia, and Romania—and have varying levels of disability. Three have spina bifida. Two have brain damage. One is blind. Some come from previous failed adoptions—but they've finally found a home.

...

The Rosenows first started thinking about adoption when they heard years ago a radio program with former major league pitcher Tim Burke and his wife Christine discussing their adoptions. As the Rosenows studied the lives of Amy Carmichael, Hudson Taylor, Martin Luther, and William Tyndale, they became convinced that they wanted to "stand for the things that are important to Christ." Eventually that led to adoption.Kathy says it is frustrating to know "the world is so very full of orphans, and no matter how hard we work we are barely scratching the surface in the vast ocean of need. We are forced to keep our eyes on the Author of our story."

Read the whole article here here.