All 100% of Us

Written by Brooke Miller
FHF Regional Director in Southern California
brooke@finallyhomefoundation.net

Numbers don’t usually move people. But there’s one very specific number that moved me out of my seat.

It was the number seven.

If 7% of the world’s proclaimed Christians were to take responsibility for an orphaned child (perhaps through adoption, perhaps through foster care, perhaps through an initiative to care for them in their community), then orphans would be no more.

Can you imagine? Just think with me for a moment. I mean, is there any other crisis on the planet that is so solvable? So doable? With 7% of our resources?

Close your eyes. Well, read this sentence, then close your eyes. And imagine a world without orphans. Seriously.

What does it look like?

I can tell you some things that are sure to be true of that new world:

-       The AIDS epidemic would be drastically reduced

-       There would be less teen pregnancies and less abortions

-       The homeless population would be reduced

-       Our prisons would be less full

Orphaned children are arguably the most vulnerable population on this planet, and if they were cared for from the beginning, this world would be a different place.

If there was a story to be told of this generation, what if it were this - What if this was the headline that spoke of this generation:

In the 21^st century, the world stood up and took notice of the Church. Because the Church stood up and cared for the world’s orphans. In 2014, there were over 153 million orphans in the world; by 2044, there were less than 5000.

This is a story that I’m convinced God is writing. He has a story of redemption that is unfolding. The numbers are staggering and real, but so is the Father-God revealed in the Bible. And He is chasing down His children and inviting them into His story of redemption.

All of us. Not just 7% of us.

Which means this: 93% of Christians may never directly care for an orphan, but they can care for someone who does.

What does that mean for you?

Maybe it means being a foster parent. Or maybe it means mowing a lawn for a foster family.

Maybe it means adopting a child. Or maybe it means tutoring an adopted child in who needs help catching up in school.

Maybe it means mentoring a teenager. Or maybe it means babysitting someone else’s toddler so they can mentor a teen.

Maybe it means working in social services. Or maybe it means volunteering to drive a friend’s foster child to her bio parent visits.

However it plays out, we are all invited into this great story of redemption. All 100% of us.

I’m excited to step into a new role with Finally Home Foundation during a new phase of this ministry’s story. For years, FHF has been modeling how to care for foster and adoptive families, and now it’s your turn. We want to help you discover YOUR place in this great story. To look and pray and create and dream and ask what is my piece?

If you’re called to be a foster or adoptive parent, we want to connect you with other families partnering on that journey, and resource you along the way. If you’re called to serve foster or adoptive families, we want to educate you on the best models for providing tangible benefit to foster and adoptive families. Our mission is to equip communities to rally around the heroes who are foster and adoptive families. That’s not one-size-fits-all, but there are some proven models and tools that can really make a difference. In the life of a child, a family, and a volunteer.

Just think – if 7% of the world’s proclaimed Christians could eliminate the world’s orphan crisis, imagine what 100% can accomplish as we work together?

Want to talk further? Email me at brooke@finallyhomefoundation.net. If you’re in Southern California, I’d love to grab coffee and talk about your place in this great story.