Are Orphan Care Ministries Really Helping

Sponsorship organisations sincerely set out to help orphans in Africa and other developing countries out of their misery and hopelessness by providing them with a family environment in which they can experience love and hope. To accomplish this, a sponsorship organisation often works with a like-minded partner organisation that executes its vision and objectives. Unfortunately, this is usually plagued by many complex problems that, if not resolved, can become insurmountable. In this book, the author draws on his many years of experience in working for orphans in Africa to identify difficulties that seem to be inherent in such an endeavour. He has determined that these problems stem from three specific areas: the orphans themselves, the partner organisation, and the sponsor organisation. Each of these has its own unique challenges; and when these unique challenges interact, they become so complicated that, if their root causes are not isolated and resolved, the ministry may eventually collapse. The telltale signs of such an eventuality are perceptible--but only to the discerning mind. Musa Okolo identifies and offers practical solutions to these challenges, which will enable orphan care ministries to understand and deal with the complex issues involved and hence achieve their objectives and fulfil their vision.

Orphanology unveils the grassroots movement that's engaged in a comprehensive response to serve hundreds of millions of orphans and "functionally parentless" children.You'll see a breadth of ways to care with biblical perspective and reasons why we must. Heartwarming, personal stories and vivid illustrations from a growing network of families, churches, and organizations that cross culture show how to respond to God's mandate. The book empowers:- churches--to plan preaching, teaching, ministering, missions, funding adoption, supporting orphans;- individuals and families--to overcome challenges and uncertainties;- every believer--to gain insights to help orphans in numerous ways. Discover how to - adopt;- assist orphans in transition;- engage in foster care;- partner with faith-based fostering agencies;- become orphan hosts.Along with their families' adoption stories, Merida and Morton give steps for action and features on churches doing orphan ministry, faith-based children's homes, orphan-hosting groups, and other resources.

A Passion for the Fatherless is written to help believers develop a God-centered ministry to the orphan. It exposes believers to the Scriptural mandate to care for orphans, helps them understand why God has issued that call, and equips them to joyfully respond to that call. It strives to achieve this purpose by developing a vibrant theology of orphan ministry for the church. Each chapter is accompanied with study questions so that it can be used in both personal study or with a small-group.

Adoption and The Gospel delivers sound biblical doctrine that most have never heard. One does not need to be a bible scholar to understand its message! Gerald Clark chronicles his struggle to overcome his traditional image of an orphanage, and how he learned from heart wrenching personal experiences with the children what they so desperately want and need. Six years working with children in an orphanage in the Philippines left Gerald and his wife seeking answers to difficult and very troubling questions. If God loves me, why am I an orphan? If you love me, why dont you adopt me? I kept asking myself , Whats wrong with this picture? No matter how much we love and care for children in an orphanage, theyre still orphans. Whats wrong with the picture is that we simply dont understand that children just dont want to BE orphans. Would we need more orphanages if Adoption was part of the Global Mission Strategy of every evangelical church in the world? Adoption says something about the Gospel and Gods love that no other word can say The Gospel is incomplete if it fails to include adoption Jesus came into the world to bring us a living example of Gods love, so that we might receive the adoption as sons! Galatians 4:4-5 As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12 The solution to the worlds orphan crisis is found in the bible. Adoption Ministry equips the church to accomplish the task, and God has called millions of families around the world who already want to adopt!

“A wise and experienced guide, Todd Chipman offers practical direction on how local congregations can do better in our quest to care for those Jesus calls ‘the least of these my brothers.’” –Russell Moore, author of Adopted for Life Your church is doing so much already. Trying to convince people to do foster care or adoption can feel like just another daunting, impossible task. It’s hard enough to get volunteers for the nursery, much less volunteers to foster or adopt a child! But what if we’re thinking about it the wrong way? What if orphan care actually increases your church’s capacity to do ministry? What if this one ministry opens doors to many others? Discover how orphan care transforms 6 key aspects of your ministry, meet dozens of families and churches who have experienced the transformative power of orphan care, and learn how you can get involved even if you’re not ready to foster or adopt. After catching the vision for this vital ministry, you’ll be ready to join them!

God's call to care for the orphaned and vulnerable children of the world is not easy or comfortable. And it will require willingness, commitment and sacrifice. The more you know about the global orphan crisis the more your heart will break and it will cause you to want to do something... anything... to make the life of an orphaned child a little easier. The need is overwhelming, but if you are willing, you can be part of the global orphan solution. It is a decision that will change your life forever. The journey will be worth the effort in countless blessings along the way. Together, with God’s strength, you can be the hands and feet of Christ and make a difference in the life of an orphaned child now and for all eternity. Are you ready for the adventure of a lifetime?

Illustrates the hidden challenges embedded within the evangelical adoption movement. For over a decade, prominent leaders and organizations among American Evangelicals have spent a substantial amount of time and money in an effort to address what they believe to be the “Orphan Crisis” of the United States. Yet, despite an expansive commitment of resources, there is no reliable evidence that these efforts have been successful. Adoptions are declining across the board, and both foster parenting and foster-adoptions remain steady. Why have evangelical mobilization efforts been so ineffective? To answer this question, Samuel L. Perry draws on interviews with over 220 movement leaders and grassroots families, as well as national data on adoption and fostering, to show that the problem goes beyond orphan care. Perry argues that evangelical social engagement is fundamentally self-limiting and difficult to sustain because their subcultural commitments lock them into an approach that does not work on a practical level. Growing God’s Family ultimately reveals this peculiar irony within American evangelicalism by exposing how certain aspects of the evangelical subculture may stimulate activism to address social problems, even while these same subcultural characteristics undermine their own strategic effectiveness. It provides the most recent analysis of dominant elements within the evangelical subculture and how that subculture shapes the engagement strategies of evangelicals as a group.

Looks at the origins of the orphan care and adoption movements in the U.S., and discusses the role of the church and individuals in meeting the needs of orphaned and vulnerable children around the world.