May is foster care awareness month. Do you know much about foster care? Are there opportunities for your church to serve right here in Missouri?
Children’s Division reports indicate 12,143 children are in Missouri state custody. When comparing other states with similar populations, Missouri has nearly double the number of children in state custody. There is a shortage of foster homes, and a need to reduce the number of children in foster care by focusing on prevention.
No organization is better suited than the church to serve children and families in crisis, helping them find healing by the power of the gospel. How does a church get started?
First, we need to reframe our thinking. Many wrongly assume that if a child is in foster care, the child must have had terrible parents who were horribly abusive. The truth is, actual statistics reveal that most children that have entered foster care are there due to issues related to 3 major factors: substance abuse, poverty, and mental health. These families impacted by child welfare do love their children, but many have experienced trauma and hardship in their lives which has taken them to some very hard places. Many live in isolation with very little relational connection. The need is not to rescue children from bad families; instead, we need to get outside the walls of our churches and into the community, making connection with these families, serving the least of these, offering them the same grace and compassion that Jesus has offered to us.
Second, our churches can look for ways to connect and form relationships with families right in local communities. MBCH has a church engagement initiative that helps churches gain relational connection opportunities by engaging with local children and families in crisis. Consider one or more of the following ministry opportunities:
• Stewards of Children training – host a child abuse prevention training where your church and community can learn the 5 steps to keep children safe and prevent abuse.
• CarePortal Network – become a part of our CarePortal Network and use technology to begin receiving vetted needs of children & families in crisis right in your community. Be right at the point of care as you meet with and serve families in crisis and gain relationship opportunities.
• Foster Care Ministry – MBCH can assist your church in the design & development of a foster care ministry that provides wrap-around support to the families that serve.
• Parent Support Volunteers – get connected to a parent who is working to reunite with their children and come alongside them offering encouragement and hope in their journey to see their family restored.
MBCH would love to assist your church in serving children and families in your local area. This year during foster care awareness month, please consider how your church might make a bigger impact for the children and families in your community. For more information on how to get engaged, contact David Burch, Church Engagement Strategist at david.burch@mbch.org.