By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
MONROE, La. (LBM) – The Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home and Family Ministries has introduced a new model to help associations better engage churches in foster care and adoption ministry.
“While each individual church may be involved in foster care and adoption ministry independently, this model encourages a coordination of efforts to serve the foster care community as an association,” Kerri Byrd, director of Connect1Child foster care and adoption services for the LBCHFM, told the Baptist Message. “The model helps to prevent a duplication of services among member churches and provides a more streamlined approach to meet urgent needs.”
Under this new approach that was introduced during a meeting at the Eastern Louisiana Baptist Association in late January, an associational foster care and adoption ministry coordinator (trained by LBCHFM staff) will organize foster care and adoption ministry efforts throughout his or her association. Through this model, the association can establish support groups for foster parents, provide life essentials for foster children and sponsor events for foster families.
The coordinator will serve multiple roles:
— recruit a foster care and adoption ministry director in each associational church;
— work closely with Connect1Child staff to develop relationships (within both their local branch of the Department of Children and Family Services and with foster care and adoption community partners) to identify resources and understand ongoing needs within the foster care community; and
— serve as a point-of[1]contact for DCFS and community partners to communicate needs to associational churches.
LBCHFM President and CEO Perry Hancock hopes this new model will lead even more couples to answer the call to foster care ministry.
“We say it all the time that our churches can do more together than they can on their own,” Hancock said. “That is certainly true with foster care and adoption ministries. A church with 50 members can have as great an impact as a church with 1,000 members.
“Our vision for Connect1Child has always been to have hundreds, if not thousands, of foster children in Louisiana Baptist homes, attending church every Sunday, experiencing God’s great love in Christ,” he continued. “If every Louisiana Baptist Association implemented this model, we would reach that goal in a very short time and lives would be changed forever.”
For more information about foster care and adoption ministry, email Kerri@LBCH.org.
