Together We Are Making A Difference
- Posted on 19 April 07 by Jeremy Pace
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FAM is the new Foster and Adoption Ministry at The Village Church. It was launched on February 26, 2007, after a three week emphasis during which we showed video testimonies in our services of some our members sharing about their experiences relating to foster care and adoption. We also displayed the Heart Gallery in our lobby, where those who attended our weekend services were able to see the faces of some of the children in our area that are in need of loving, permanent homes.
The three weeks culminated with a “Meet the FAM” dinner that marked the official launch of our ministry. Over 80 people attended. We shared about the dream for FAM and described the various “baby steps” people could take in order to get involved. Dozens of people signed up to become part of our respite foster
care network, become prayer sponsors, or begin the process to become licensed to foster or adopt. It was a wonderful response to a tremendous need and a truly blessed opportunity to serve these children in Jesus’ name.
But the reality is that God made all of this possible through the help and partnership of an adoption and foster ministry at another local church. Tapestry, a ministry of Irving Bible Church, was such a blessing as they worked diligently on our behalf to put together much of the information offered during our launch. They also provided much needed advice and input based on their prior ministry experience. The Heart Gallery they provided helped make our congregation aware of the many children in our community in need of loving, adoptive families.
Nine months earlier we had tried on our own to get a foster and adoption ministry off the ground – utilizing various people in our church that worked for different area foster/adoption agencies. That previous effort taught us a few very important things. We realized that we could not launch this ministry on our own. We also realized that we did not want to start down this ministry path by ourselves. Instead, we came to the conclusion, and are now more convinced than ever before, that working together in this challenging, exciting ministry area is an important key in truly making a lasting difference.
Tapestry has continued to support our ministry in many ways, including helping us host foster and adoption events at our church so that we can begin to form a unique identity and community among those connected with FAM. As a result, we have seen firsthand how God can work in the hearts and minds o people when the local church raises the banner of foster care and adoption and gives voice to voiceless children. We are truly blessed to have had the opportunity to partner with another experienced local church adoption and foster ministry, and we look forward with great excitement to how the Lord is going to shape and use this partnership to see churches across our area transformed into beacons of hope for the “fatherless” in our community and around the world.