In this episode of In Case You Forget, Jami and Jamie welcome their friend Jason Johnson, National Director of the Pure Religion Project with the Christian Alliance for Orphans, to discuss the long, often unseen nature of foster care work. Drawing from years in church leadership and his family’s personal foster care journey, Jason shares how caseworkers can stay grounded, hopeful, and encouraged even when progress feels slow and outcomes are uncertain. The conversation centers on shifting away from measuring impact by standard societal grading systems and instead falling back on the sovereignty of God. Jason offers powerful reminders that true success is not defined by the outcomes we can produce, but by our individual daily faithfulness.
About the Guest
Jason Johnson serves as the National Director of the Pure Religion Project with the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO). In this role, he develops resources, coaches leaders, and teaches on church-based ministry and organizational strategy related to foster care and adoption. He and his wife, Emily, live in Texas with their daughters and care deeply about encouraging and equipping people who serve within the foster care community.
- The vital importance of having people in the foster care space who are committed to sticking around for the long haul.
- Rejecting the mentality of expending ourselves to the point of exhaustion or “dragging lifeless limbs” across the finish line.
- Reconciling with the reality that in the work of justice and mercy, results will often feel slow and underwhelming.
- Moving past standard societal standards of measurement to completely reframe how we view progress and impact.
- Navigating the extreme tension of implementing systemic decisions that are entirely out of your personal control.
- Choosing to rest in the sovereignty of God over bad decisions rather than trying to carry the crushing weight of outcomes alone.
- Understanding neuroscience and transformational thinking: how the things we regularly pay attention to double back on us.
- Prioritizing small, consistent choices to protect and refresh our minds, bodies, hearts, and souls.
- Resisting the trap of a savior complex by decoupling your personal identity from your capacity to produce work outcomes.
- Intentionally inviting trusted community and spouses to “stand guard” around your life to prevent working in isolation.
- Relinquishing situational urgency and forecasting so you can operate at a pace measured by eternity.
Spread the Word
If this conversation encouraged you, consider sharing it with someone who cares about the foster care community and would be encouraged.
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