7 Easy Ways to Educate Your Church About Adoption
It is often said that adoption takes a village, and it does! But specifically–Biblically–it takes the Church.
If you are looking to expand your Church family’s knowledge of or involvement with adoption, here are 7 ways to do so—
1. Welcome the questions.
Anyone who has or was adopted knows adoption attracts questions and comments of all kinds. If we want the Church to care more about adoption, we should do everything in our power to welcome the questions, regardless of what they are–because it indicates a desire to learn and it creates a context for conversation.
Note: This doesn’t mean we need to share things that are too personal (or that make us or our children feel uncomfortable), but we should creatively answer questions in a way that welcomes dialogue and educates the person who is asking.
2. Celebrate Orphan Sunday.
On Sunday, November 7, 2021, thousands of events will happen 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 our opportunity to rouse church, community, and friends to God’s call to care for the orphan.
3. Ask for help.
It may seem strange that “asking for help” should go on a list of educational opportunities, but consider this: People don’t often realize there is a need until they are explicitly made aware of the need. One way to educate the Church about adoption is to tell the Church about the needs. As brothers and sisters in Christ work to meet the needs, they will learn more about adoption and, Lord-willing, be burdened to get further involved.
For a long time, churches focused on the pre-adoption process There’s a growing understanding that the journey really kicks in once the adoption happens. The vision of the Church has matured to encompass that.
— Jedd Medefind, author and president of Christian Alliance for Orphans
4. Give faithful testimony.
As God blesses adoptive families in the Church (and He will!), we must be committed to giving faithful testimony to His goodness. If your Church sets services aside for sharing testimonies, or as you are engaged in personal conversations within the Body of Christ, jump on the opportunity to praise God for His faithfulness in your family’s adoption.
Sometimes–in our desire to stir the Church to further action–it is easy to only communicate needs or frustrations, but the Church needs to hear the good things God is doing in adoption. Let’s speak up!
5. Host a meeting.
Whether you gather a group at church or in your home, don’t shy away from directly offering informational or Q&A meetings for fellow church families. Host a meal or meet for a few minutes after a service. Invite your friends to ask questions and learn more.
(Go the extra mile and serve Gobena Coffee–fresh-roasted gourmet coffee with 100% of profits going towards helping orphans.)
6. Start a Church Adoption Fund.
An Adoption Fund is a very encouraging and practical help to Christian families who are called to adopt, but for whom an adoption feels “financially impossible.” The fund can maximize stewardship by utilizing innovative funding tools like Adoption Matching Grants & Interest-Free Loans. Learn more here.
7. Keep adopting.
Sounds obvious, perhaps, but consider it. The people closest to you will learn the most about adoption by watching and learning from you. So live transparently. Bring friends and family into the joy and pain involved in the process. Allow those you love to get to know your child(ren) and build friendships with them. Live in community … and your community will learn and grow with you.