As Christians, we should look at reunification and see reflections of Christ's own humility and mercy. In foster care, the breaking of a family occurs; but in reunification, families can be restored to one another. And the Church can aid the restoration process by imitating Christ's humility and offering grace to families in crisis.

But what are tangible ways I can help? 

Just as the Church is the Body of Christ and has different gifts, there are several ways the Church can approach the goal of reunification.

The work of foster families is important.

By providing a safe, loving home to children in need, foster families give struggling families a chance to work out the difficulties preventing them from being able to meet their children’s needs. Every child deserves safe and stable place to land.

Families like the Terrys have done just that, having had about 20 placements, including respite, in their home. The children in their home have ranged from 8 months old to 18 years old!

Foster families are needed for providing safe, loving homes for children in crisis.

By doing so, foster families give struggling families a chance to work out the difficulties preventing them from being able to meet their children’s needs. Every child deserves safe and stable place to land.

Families like the Gleasons have done just that, welcoming five placements into their home over the years.

The work of foster families is important.

By providing a safe, loving home to children in need, foster families give struggling families a chance to work out the difficulties preventing them from being able to meet their children’s needs. Every child deserves safe and stable place to land.

Families like the Coneys have done just that, having had over 10 placements in their home!

Every year, approximately 20,000 youth will “age out” of foster care.

But everyday, we get to see God use ordinary things and ordinary people in the redemption story of the young adults we work with, who He loves more than we do. 

Things like a can of soda and a pastor who was minding his own business, just trying to buy his morning coffee.

FAMs - or Family Advocacy Ministries - are church-led ministries that serve vulnerable children and families. Every FAM looks differently based on the needs of the local community and the makeup and gifts of the church. But together, FAMs across our region are each doing their part to fill the needs of their community and move the needle for our foster care system.

Here’s what the FAM at NewCity Church is doing!

What is a Care Community?

A Care Community is a group of trained church members who provide support, care, and encouragement to foster, adoptive, kinship, and vulnerable families.

Care Communities often bring weekly meals, mentor and tutor children, and provide child care for date nights or respite, along with other requested support. Caring for the most vulnerable children is not just for those who are called to foster; everyone can do something. These families need community and support now more than ever.

Project Belong works to support foster, adoptive, and kinship families, social workers, and aged-out foster youth. While Project Belong Virginia does not train foster parents or place foster children, we work closely with those who do.  Because of that work, we see the critical need for parents who step into hard things with children from hard places to care for them when they need it the most. 

So, are foster parents really needed? The answer is YES! Foster Parents ARE INDEED needed now, more than ever. 

Olympia is an inspiring kinship grandmother who attended our annual Abide Retreat for foster, adoptive, and kinship parents. 

We chatted about foster care, caring for vulnerable kids, and more — but more importantly, I felt I learned a whole lot more about following God, what faithful generosity can look like, and living each day with daily bread.

Here are some takeaways I had from my conversation with Olympia!

FAMs - or Family Advocacy Ministries - are church-led ministries that serve vulnerable children and families. Every FAM looks differently based on the needs of the local community and the makeup and gifts of the church. But together, FAMs across our region are each doing their part to fill the needs of their community and move the needle for our foster care system.

Here’s what the FAM at Providence Bible Church in Culpeper, VA is doing!

There’s a need in our area: families who can provide good, loving homes.

For the past few years, child welfare departments across our Northern region of Virginia have reported good numbers of foster families they could call upon for help.

However, circumstances have recently changed.

After database cleanup efforts and reassessments with inactive families, several Departments of Social Services in our local counties are now expressing to us an urgent need for more foster families.

FAMs - or Family Advocacy Ministries - are church-led ministries that serve vulnerable children and families. Every FAM looks differently based on the needs of the local community and the makeup and gifts of the church. But together, FAMs across our region are each doing their part to fill the needs of their community and move the needle for our foster care system.

Here’s what the FAM at Stafford Crossing Community Church in Stafford, VA is doing!

Recently, my 12-month-old niece said her first word and our entire family lost their minds — heaping on praise, applauding her, showering her with compliments and even labeling her a “genius baby.”

It made me think about the young adults in our Don’t Go Alone mentoring program who did not have someone to make them feel special or celebrated when they accomplished things.

Church is a place you behave! At least that’s what I grew up understanding. Acting out was not optional. Misbehaving was inappropriate…Without realizing it, I carried some of these understandings with me into young adulthood. I was an experienced but overly-confident young children’s pastor, doing things the way they had always been done. I valued outreach but was unaware that caring for the lost would require me to approach children’s ministry differently.

Creating a healthy community is vital while you're fostering or planning to adopt. Sometimes as a foster or adoptive parent, it is hard to ask people to step in. Perhaps, you aren’t sure what help to ask for, or the thought of coordinating that help can be totally overwhelming.

This is the most common—and understandable—question I’m asked. Parents want me to tell them that their children won’t be hurt by foster care. They want to know that something that they choose for their kids won’t be something that affects their kids.

But, well, it will.

As you support foster and adoptive families around you, you might begin to pick up on parenting differences. Maybe they are handling challenging situations in unfamiliar ways… Children who have experienced hard circumstances, like being separated from their families and removed from their homes for whatever reason, must be parented differently.

At Project Belong, we want to inspire and equip the Church in Virginia to enter into loving one of the most vulnerable groups — children in need of foster and adoptive families and homes. One of the most impactful ways we can do that is by caring well for child welfare workers, who are on the front lines of seeking permanency and safety for vulnerable families, children, and communities.

As parents of children with reactive attachment disorder – a developmental trauma disorder – we hear a lot of advice and opinions from our friends, family, professionals, and the general public.

We live in a world that magnifies false dichotomies. We are made to think we must make a choice between supporting the mother or supporting the child. Those in the foster care space might feel like they must choose a side in supporting either the biological or the foster/adoptive family. As Christians, we’re called to be known for our love & service to both parties.