How should Christians respond to children in need? Dr. Sharen Ford of Focus on the Family says the Body of Christ needs to stand up and that we are called to be a father to the fatherless.

November is Adoption and Foster Care Month! This month, we reflect on the children in need of a loving home and take action to do our part in caring for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Join us live today to wrap up Adoption and Foster Care Month as Craig DeRoche, CEO of Family Policy Alliance, sits down with Dr. Sharen Ford, Director for Foster Care and Adoption at Focus on the Family. Dr. Ford discusses why Christians in particular are called to action in this area, and how there are many ways we can care for the children in our communities.

Watch on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or below.

November 30, 2022 at 10:00am PT / 11:00am MT / 12:00pm CT / 1:00pm ET

Dr. Ford has dedicated her professional career to foster care and adoption services. She spent 30 years in the Division of Child Welfare Services at the Colorado Department of Human Services. She is the former President of the National Association of State Adoption Programs and the Association of Administrators for the Interstate Compact on Adoption Medical Assistance, and currently serves as the Director for Foster Care and Adoption at Focus on the Family.

See you soon,

Emma Rarden
Communications Specialist – Producer

Adoption is a beautiful display of the Gospel- God adopting us into His family because of the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. Adoption is also a huge part of our pro-life, pro-family vision here at Family Policy Alliance. As November is National Adoption Month, we celebrate life inside and out of the womb. Every life matters!

Here are some thoughts as we work to promote the gift of adoption- providing every child with a loving, safe, caring family:

1. Believers can make a difference.Statistics show that the very best thing we can do for children is raise them in a strong nuclear family. Over 400,000 children are currently in the American foster care system with 125,000 of those children needing a permanent home. That’s astounding. Those children could replace the population of Minneapolis. The average adoption wait time for a child in foster care at 31 months, which is unacceptable.But we as Christians can make a difference. Churches around the country have emphasized the importance of adoption and foster care- notably even more over the last decade. While not every family is called to adopt, local churches can rally around adopting families and provide the support, resources, and help they need. If one family from every local church adopted one child, the need for foster care would significantly decrease across the nation. Christian families can provide the loving families these children need.
2. Adoption is for children, not adults.As our society embraces more structures of a so-called “modern” family, we need to have a proper understanding of adoption. Adoption does not exist for adults; it exists for children. But in today’s society, adoption has become all about what the adults want, not what’s best for the child. Because children deserve a mother and a father, we must always prioritize adoption placements where there’s a mother and a father present for the benefit of children. We must always strive to give children a healthy, strong, nuclear family whenever possible. Strong families create strong societies.
3. Faith-based adoptions are under attack.Despite a rare unanimous Supreme Court decision affirming the rights of faith-based adoption providers to operate in a manner consistent with their faith, the current Biden administration continues to target faith-based adoption and foster care agencies. This administration wants to promote open adoption in any kind of “modern” family. They say, “the kids will be fine.” But will they? As government entities include “sexual orientation and gender identity” in nondiscrimination laws, those laws can be used as a weapon against faith-based adoption agencies and families- the very people who are statistically more likely to adopt than the general population. Why? Because as matters of faith and conscience, faith-based families and adoption agencies may decline to tell a girl that she is a boy, or they may try to place children in homes with one mother and one father. These simple principles – driven by faith and the best intentions for children – do not align with radical LGBT ideology, and government entities may tell agencies to either violate their consciences or stop serving children in their communities.

Family Policy Alliance continues to pray and fight for America’s children and families. They must come first, always, which means society should prioritize placing children in nuclear homes with a loving father and mother.

On December 1, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case challenging Roe v. Wade. As Roe hangs in the balance, the question will be asked, “What will happen to the children if abortion is overturned?” We believe adoption is one of the answers to that important question.

That day, we will be at the U.S. Supreme Court to stand for life, and we’ll be sharing live video so you can participate from home. Will you join us online to stand for babies, both those who have been born and those who have yet to be born? We’ll also be making an important announcement that you won’t want to miss. You can find details and RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/895451261173035

We praise God that He adopts us into His family. And we at Family Policy Alliance share in that vision of adoption – both spiritual and on earth- as it is Heaven.

For Faith and Family,

Caroline Woods
Family Policy Alliance

It’s National Adoption Month. Here at Family Policy Alliance, adoption means a lot to us: it’s a critical part of who we are both as individuals and as an organization. Here are 3 reasons why.

1. Adoption is an important part of our pro-life, pro-family vision.At Family Policy Alliance, we believe that every person has inherent value that is worth honoring from the moment of their conception till the moment of their natural death. That’s why we take a strong stand on both abortion and end-of-life issues: No person should be denied a fair chance at life, regardless of the circumstances of their conception, their physical ability, their sex, or any other characteristic. Every life matters. Period.But while many legislative battles happen surrounding the first and last years of life, we don’t only care about those two points in a person’s life. We sincerely believe that every person’s life matters – and that they should not only have a chance at life, but that they should have the chance to be loved by a family as God envisioned it. That’s what adoption is—giving a child the chance to be part of a loving family, regardless of the circumstances of the family they were born into. It’s an opportunity for love to transform both child and parent. And supporting it is one way we can tangibly be pro-life from conception through life to natural death.

2. Faith-based adoption is at risk.Historically, Christians have led the way in adoption, seeing it as a privilege and as a Biblical command (James 1:27). In ancient culture, it was not uncommon for parents to abandon baby girls simply because they were girls. Often it was the church that rescued those precious infants. Over the centuries, Christians have continued to care for orphans in numerous ways, and that holds true today. One 2013 study revealed that practicing Christians were more than twice as likely to adopt than the general adult population.And there’s great need for adoption (and foster care) right here in America. As of April 2019, an estimated 443,000 children were in the U.S. foster care system. That’s significant. Those children could replace the population of Minneapolis. Of those, over 123,000 are considered to be available for or awaiting adoption. Each of those children is precious. And many Christians are eager to adopt or care for them!Sadly, though, faith-based adoption and foster care agencies are under attack. As some localities begin to include sexual orientation and gender identity in their nondiscrimination laws, those laws can be used as a weapon against faith-based agencies and families, the very people who are statistically more likely to adopt than the general population. Why? Because as matters of faith and conscience, they may decline to tell a girl that she is a boy or they may try to place children in homes with one mother and one father. These simple principles – driven by faith and the best intentions for children – do not align with radical LGBT ideology, and local governments may ask agencies to either violate their consciences or stop serving children in their communities.That’s not right, and the issue is so important it went before the Supreme Court earlier this month. You can read a little about that case here. We pray for an outcome that affirms the right of these foster agencies and families to live according to their consciences while serving children in need.

3. Adoption is critical to who we are as Christians.Most importantly, adoption is critical to our identity as followers of Christ. We believe that without the hope of the Gospel, we are spiritual orphans, eternally separated from God, and unable to get to him on our own, much less to participate in his kingdom or inheritance.Yet we rejoice that God, in his love and mercy, sent his Son to live and die on our behalf and to raise him from the dead so that we could be called children of God. As Paul says in Galatians 4:4-6, “…God sent forth his Son … so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying ‘Abba! Father!’”By his grace alone, we can call God our father. We can share in the eternal inheritance and glorious kingdom he has for his children. We can live not as orphans, but as the fully loved children of God through his gift of adoption.That’s why adoption means so much to us. Some of us have taken part in an earthly adoption process. All of us rejoice in our spiritual adoption as children of God.

As you may know, we often like to conclude our emails with some call to action, often of a political nature. But this time, our call is a more contemplative one. In this National Adoption Month, would you prayerfully consider how the Lord would have you involved in adoption, whether spiritual or physical? Perhaps he’s called you to adopt a child or support a family or agency involved in that process. Perhaps he wants you to embrace the spirit of adoption that you have as a follower of Christ—to  know that you are fully loved and can live with the freeing knowledge that you will inherit a heavenly kingdom. Or perhaps, you realize that you can’t call yourself a child of God – and God is just waiting for you to ask him.

We praise God that he adopts us, and that we at Family Policy Alliance can share in that vision of adoption – both spiritual and on earth as it is heaven.

In Him,

Meridian Baldacci
Policy and Communications Strategist

It is still National Adoption Month.

As we come to the close of November, we wanted to share with you one last story of how this amazing process blesses so many who need forever families and the families they join.

Jeremy Samek serves as Senior Legal Counsel with Family Policy Alliance’s state ally Pennsylvania Family Council. He and his wife, Sarah, share the story of adopting Maria Pearl, a precious little girl with Down Syndrome.

 

 

 

Family Policy Alliance is proud to partner with Julaine Appling, president of our state-based ally Wisconsin Family Council.

November is Adoption Month!

While we’ve had this national recognition month only about 20 years, adoption is, of course, an ages-old means by which children are given an earthly forever family. Adoption is a great option to abortion, but it’s also how some of us get brothers and sisters.

My parents wanted 6 children, but as it turned out couldn’t have any biologically. They trimmed their sails a bit on that number as they began considering adoption. I was adopted first, and they immediately set out to adopt again. This time they wanted a baby boy…

Please take a moment to read Julaine’s beautiful adoption story.

 

In honor of National Adoption Month, Family Policy Alliance President Paul Weber, along with his wife Lois and their daughter Molly share how it has touched each of their lives.

Their personal experience is just one reason our organization works to protect the freedom of Christian adoption agencies to operate in harmony with their faith.

After the Supreme Court decision that unconstitutionally redefined marriage, these organizations have come under fire. Why? Because of their belief that God’s timeless design for marriage is the best environment for raising children.

Your partnership with Family Policy Alliance will help protect the First Amendment freedoms of Christian adoption agencies.