Our documentary Faultless: The American Orphan is intended to raise awareness about the issue of orphans and foster care in America. We don’t just want to raise awareness though, we want to equip you. With that aim we have highlighted some organizations and programs below that can hopefully help further engage your desire to care for the fatherless.

Unthinkable completely endorses the content below. While there are many other amazing organizations out there, these are some of the ones that we can confidently say are financially responsible and socially influential. You can utilize the Orphan Sunday concept and attend Summit directly. The other two, Welcome Child and Orphan Care Alliance, are intended to be more of a model for you to consider.

A Note on Global Orphan Care:
Unfortunately we are not currently engaged in global orphan care. Our friends at the Christian Alliance for Orphans have compiled an extended list of organizations that are specifically focused on children outside of America. You can access that list by clicking here.

Awareness & Advocacy | Orphan Sunday

On Orphan Sunday, Christians stand for the orphan. We are a people called to defend the fatherless…to care for the child that has no family…to visit orphans in their distress.

Each event is locally-led. Sermons and small groups, concerts and prayer gatherings, shared meals and youth activities—each rousing believers with God’s call to care for the orphan, and what we can do in response.

From many sources, one voice. On November 11th, 2012, thousands of events echo across America and around the globe, all sharing a single goal: that God’s great love for the orphan will find echo in our lives as well.

Orphan Sunday is your opportunity to rouse church, community and friends to God’s call to care for the orphan.

Church Ministry | Welcome Child

Based in Fort Collins, Colorado at Timberline Church, Welcome Child’s purpose is to sharing God’s heart for orphans within the church, community, and around the world.  They achieve this mission by partnering with local child welfare agencies, organizations in their community, adoption agencies and independent orphan ministries.  As Kari Stewart, the Founder of Welcome Child told us, “It is through supporting, advocating and encouraging each other that we are best able to advocate for the needs of children, support adoptive and foster families and reach goals that we could not achieve on on our own.”

We very much love Welcome Child. It is a great model for anyone feeling God call them to not only engage in orphan care as an individual, but also as a church.

Educate | Summit

The Christian Alliance for Orphans’ annual Summit has become the national hub for what Christianity Today recently called, “the burgeoning Christian orphan care movement.” Summit VIII on May 3-4, 2012 at Saddleback Church in Southern California is expected to draw 1,800 to 2,000 pastors, grassroots advocates, organizational leaders and church ministry heads. Alongside more than eighty workshops, the unforgettable plenary sessions will include Francis Chan, Rick and Kay Warren, Crawford Lorritts, Dennis Rainey, Steven Curtis Chapman, and other global leaders. Summit inspires, equips and connects for adoption, foster care and global orphan ministry.

Regional | Orphan Care Alliance

The Orphan Care Alliance (OCA) is a network of families, churches, and agencies that stand together with one voice and one heart determined to serve the fatherless, one need at a time.  Their Mission is to equip christian families, through the engagement of the local Church, to provide loving care and/or homes for the fatherless.

OCA activities are divided into 3 ministries:  1) Advocacy Ministry works to bring awareness to the churches in their community through church events, regional events, and partnership with national events.  2) Family Support ministry support kinship, foster and adoptive families with financial assistance, respite events, goods & supplies to care for children, and recruitment of Safe Families.  3) The mentoring ministry recruits, trains, and matches Life Coaches to those kids aging out of state’s care.  This is a challenging and much needed effort as 75% of this group become homeless or imprisoned.  Life Coaches become a support to them in Life… someone that can help in their journey to independent living and hopefully their connection to Christ.

This is a great model for anyone looking to develop a regional support network in their area. Check them out!

———————-

If you have further questions about how to engage in orphan care, we’d be glad to help you personally. Just send us a message and we will get back with you as quickly as we can.