Welcome New Alliance Members!
The Alliance welcomed a host of new members this quarter. In little more than a year, the number of church, organization and individual members have each more than doubled. God is stirring, and as the Alliance expands, our shared initiatives to ignite and equip Christians to “defend the fatherless” grow. Our ability to interlink and leverage each other’s strengths increases as well.
Most recent additions range from vibrant young ministries like Fields of Promise to tremendous veterans of the field like Compassion International. Many new churches from across the U.S. have joined the team as well, from First Baptist Church of Houston to The Point Church of Brunswick, New Jersey.
Many individuals have joined also, affirming and supporting the shared vision. A letter we received last week along with a personal membership application from Alabama boosted our day. It read, “Having worked at [a statewide foster ministry] for 15 years, I believe the Spirit of God is working, stirring up the hearts of men and women across the United States (certainly here in Birmingham) to love children and families…There is a greater passion evident. I desire to hear/see what He is doing among other brothers and sisters in the Lord and their organizations, which is another reason for my application to become a member…”
Whether focused on adoption, foster care, or global orphan care, each Alliance member shares a passion for the Gospel and the orphan. We also share a sense that we can achieve far more through united effort than laboring—as ministries often do—in isolation or competition. To a watching world, the Alliance is an all-too-rare picture of the church unified, serving the fatherless in both word and deed, bearing poignant testimony to the character of our God. (If you’re not a member yet, learn more here.)
Orphan Sunday in Action
Rich and Christianna moved to Waco three years ago so Rich could work on his PhD in Religion at Baylor University, while Christianna continued teaching high school English. Their local church, Family of Faith Nazarene in Waco, TX, became involved with Arrow Child and Family Ministries by doing an Easter Egg Hunt for the local foster families/children in the spring of 2009. This event exposed the Kinney’s to the huge need for families to adopt locally through the foster-care system.
Shortly thereafter they began working toward certification, and a few weeks prior to Orphan Sunday 2009 they informed their Pastor of their intention to build a family through adoption. On Orphan Sunday, during the sermon entitled, “Adoption…it is OUR story,” that pastor called Rich and Christianna forward to share their heart about why they felt God was calling them to adopt. The church was tremendously supportive. In fact, that December the church also held a Christmas Dinner for local young people who had “aged out” of foster care after turning 18, and now had no family with which to spend the holidays. Rich and Christianna’s involvement in that dinner continued to ignite the flame in their heart to reach out to kids who have no family. In January 2010, they were licensed as foster/adopt parents with Arrow, and within a few short months they were matched with a young girl. On June 18th, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services placed the girl in their home. It now appears that they will be able to adopt her by December 2010!
In the past year, Rich has become an Associate Pastor of Family of Faith Nazarene and is scheduled to preach on Orphan Sunday! His sermon will focus on God’s heart for the orphan and the Church’s response to adopt children into God’s family. “We have come full circle! God has demonstrated his care for the orphan by calling parents to adopt a child in need of a forever family.”
