2010: Blazing Year for the Cause of the Fatherless
2010 carried an amazing twelve months for the Alliance and ongoing growth of Christian engagement for the “cause of the fatherless” (Is. 1:17). The real story is written in countless hearts and lives, and is seen in an increasing culture of care for the orphan in the Church. It is reflected in Christianity Today’s July issue featuring adoption and orphan care. It is captured in a simple description from the New York Times: “evangelical Christian churches…increasingly see orphan care as a core tenet of their faith.”
The growth in Summit, Orphan Sunday and other initiatives served both to help lead and to highlight the growing Christian orphan movement. Summit attendance rose from about 40 in 2004, to around 700 in 2009 to well over 1,200 in 2010. Over the past 18 months alone, the number of Alliance organization members has grown from 38 to 89, an increase of 134 percent. Individual memberships and church memberships have grown at a similar pace. Meanwhile, the new Church Orphan Ministry monthly webinars, new Alliance website, new Resource Library and other developments added further fuel to the fire.
We’re thrilled at all that awaits in 2011. But as 2010 ends, this is a time to thank God for all He’s ushered in over the past year. It’s far larger than any group or organization or even a “cause.” It’s God stirring His people to make His heart visible to the world through loving service to the orphan. May this only continue to grow in the year to come.
Orphan Sunday in Guatemala
 Although we often highlight how robustly God is stirring hearts for adoption and orphan care among American churches, this phenomenon is not bound by U.S. borders. From Eastern Europe to Africa, expressions of a renewed awareness of the biblical call to “defend the fatherless” are taking light in the local church.
One of the most exciting expressions of Orphan Sunday 2010 came from Guatemala. Lourdes de Morataya attended Summit in 2010 and was inspired by the breakout session on how local advocates can harness Orphan Sunday to raise awareness and action in their own church and community. She took the vision to Guatemala and ran with it. Lourdes translated many of the Orphan Sunday materials and designs into Spanish, then led a region-wide effort to challenge local believers to consider and act upon God’s call to care for orphans in their midst. She wrote to us, “Orphan Sunday was an instrument of God to start a discussion among hundreds of Guatemalans of the need [for God to make us] into the voice of the voiceless.” More than ten churches joined in hosting Orphan Sunday activities and Lourdes is already laying plans to expand efforts next year. |
