True Vine Ministries

This article was written by Laura Williams for information about starting an adoption ministry at your church so felt it would be good to share:

You and I have been given much. We have every comfort imaginable. I can sit in my warm home, eating whatever I want, while planning my family’s weekend adventures. The Word says that for those who have been given much, much will be required.

In 2010 there were 45 million orphans world wide. Combining the total population of New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago wouldn’t even equal half that amount, so you’d have to add in the population of the countries of Haiti, Portugal, Kuwait, and Switzerland! Can you imagine this many orphans with no comforts of a family? Many are hungry. Many will not be able to make one decision for themselves, let alone ever think about what to do with their families on a Friday night.

Today there are 45 million orphans … minus ONE. That one child is my beautiful Bella Mei. We brought her home from China a little more than a year ago. But this article isn’t about my adoption. It’s about how God is using my church to help the orphans and how God can use your church, too (see James 1:27).

True Vine Ministries, launched in the spring of 2009 at Pathway Community Church, followed the eight steps detailed in “Launching an Orphans Ministry in Your Church” by Hope for Orphans. The first step was easy enough for me and would be for you too—approach a key leader with your vision. This isn’t too hard when you’re married to the pastor! The next steps include inviting other passionate families to join you in prayer, dreaming together, planning and developing a leadership structure.

The first six months, my church followed the advice provided by Hope for Orphans and then launched the orphan ministry in November 2009. It has been exciting to see the church community step up as they become more aware of the needs of orphans. God has used True Vine Ministries to …

 develop a small group to help families who are considering adoption or already in the process;
 hold a community garage sale with proceeds benefitting adopting families;
 host socials to help adoptive families connect with each other;
 organize a “free family fun night” at the YMCA for all adoptive and foster care families in our county;
 collect and send shoes to orphans in our community and around the world;
 partner with Life Song to provide matching grants for adopting families.

If you think about it, adoption and foster care offer a child much more than a warm home on this earth. These are opportunities to give her the hope of eternal life, to share with him the love and peace that only comes from the one true God!

God has placed you in an optimal position to start an orphan ministry in your church. You can tailor it to match your community and delegate all you want. You can make a difference. Your church can say, “There are 45 million orphans … minus TWO!”