As a teenager I had an innate sense of justice and it was particularly aimed at the foster care system. I saw how broken it was and how deeply wounded it left so many and I was determined to be a part of the solution. I was quick to point out what was wrong with the system, the government, and the foster families.
I used my senior paper and senior project both to highlight the horrors of the system. I went on to major in Sociology and pursue a career in social work. All the while fueled by frustration and bitterness towards the brokenness that I saw around me. Like many, I was paralyzed by the size of the problem and could see no real solution.
In my mid-twenties I had a life changing encounter with Jesus. I had a personal revelation that Jesus is the hope of the world and I felt a call to Church ministry. So for the last seven years I have been serving full time on staff at Bayside Church doing what I love, helping people encounter freedom and true hope.
Two years ago, though, something started stirring in my spirit and God began to remind me of this burden He put in my heart as a young person, even before I truly knew Him. Every time I heard someone talk about kids in foster care or needing adoption I would instantly be brought to tears.
I prayed for years “break my heart for what breaks yours” and this season in particular He was answering that prayer. I could not get away from the thought that there are kids today—in our city, in our neighborhoods—without loving homes.
And once again a sense of justice rose up in me—but this time it was different. This time rather than only seeing an incredible problem, I saw an incredible opportunity. Is the system broken? Yes. But here is the truth: The state was never called to care for the orphan, the Church was.
In the Bible James 1:27 clearly states “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
The Church has been called, anointed and equipped to be the solution but we need to believe it and get into action. Nationwide there are over 400,000 kids in the foster care system. The state with the highest amount of kids in care is California with an overwhelming 54,685 kids in care.
The statistics are staggering:
More than 23,000 children will age out of the US foster care system every year.
After reaching the age of 18, 20% of the children who were in foster care will become instantly homeless.
7 out of 10 girls who age out of the foster care system will become pregnant before the age of 21.
1 out of every 2 kids who age out of the system will develop a substance dependence.
If we look at homelessness, drug addiction, sex trafficking and trace back the lines we see it all began in a broken home. This is not some foreign issue, but it is here in our own backyard. The human rights society released a study showing that Sacramento is the second worst city in the country for human trafficking. Half of all victims of trafficking are minors and 70 percent are from the foster care system.
It is no secret that the family unit, as a whole, is currently in a fractured state and it is easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer size of the problem. But, I believe Jesus was right when He said in Mark, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
The reality is that we are perfectly positioned to effect change in the state with the greatest need in the nation. My pastor Ray Johnston always says, “Whoever wins the kids, wins the community,” and I believe that with all of my heart. If you want to change a community there is no better place to start than the home and there is no better time to start than now.
At Defending the Cause we have a big goal in the next five years—that, in our own backyard (the greater Sacramento region) there would be “more than enough.”
More than enough …
Foster and kinship families for every child to have an ideal placement.
Adoptive families for every child still waiting for adoption.
Assistance for biological families trying to stabilize and reunify.
Wrap-around support from the church for foster, adoptive, and biological families.
This God-sized vision doesn’t happen without the Church. That’s why our mission is to do our part to mobilize the Church by educating, equipping and empowering them to care for these vulnerable kids and families.
Educating the Church provides information necessary to make a decision on getting involved. It requires having an accurate view of the problem as well as an avenue to be part of the solution. Simply put, people who know better—do better. This is not a calling for only a few, but everyone can do something.
Empowering the Church to be the solution creates a culture of caring for kids and families from hard places. You can make a meal for a foster family, provide childcare for a single mom, buy a stroller for a family in need or actually open your home to a child without a family. Just as it takes a whole village to raise a child; it takes the whole Church to change a community.
Equipping families involves providing the families who say yes the tools to succeed. Half of all foster families quit within the first year. Our goal is to create an environment that helps them win. This includes trauma training, tangible support and a community who is willing to walk the road with them.
If I am honest, when I first began this journey over two years ago, I was frustrated with the Church because I felt that we had so much resource and yet so little impact in the lives of kids from hard places. Then, one day God showed me that the Church is ready and willing to engage, they just need clarity and opportunity. Now I believe with all of my heart that the Church is the solution. I believe in God’s dream for these kids so much that I work with Defending The Cause Regional Alliance. We’re helping raise awareness and create a clear path so the Church will rise to the challenge and meet the needs of these children who didn’t ask to be born in these hard places.