No, TFI supports agencies by helping individuals across the nation create and grow sustainable foster care ministries in their communities. We come alongside them with tools, resources, ongoing support, and access to a network of other ministry leaders, and we do it all for FREE!

No. We encourage you to contact your local foster care agency to learn about the specific requirements in your state.

Yes, TFI is a 501(c)3 non-profit ministry of Lifesong for Orphans. All donations are tax deductible.

Yes! You can read our statement of faith here. We want to see people everywhere supporting the foster care community and experiencing Jesus together!

Start by finding the Advocate nearest you! Then connect via email or Facebook to learn how you can help support the foster care community in your area. 

TFI Advocates are volunteer representatives of The Forgotten Initiative.

TFI Advocates serve as the connection between churches and agencies. They develop a trusted relationship with a local foster care agency where they learn the needs of foster parents, vulnerable adults, children, and agency workers in their community. They equip the church to meet the expressed needs. Together, as the two interact, they both get to experience Jesus in deeper ways.

This is community specific. The TFI ministry works to facilitate opportunities for the church to meet the physical, relational, and spiritual needs of their local foster care community. A TFI Advocate is listening for gaps in care so that they can help mobilize the church to fill the gap. It could look like filling a need for a car seat, bed, diapers, or any number of items. A TFI Advocate might facilitate a church hosting an event for a specific group of the foster care community like a Parent’s Night Out or a Worker Appreciation Dinner. While the needs may be different in each community, the primary role of each TFI Advocate remains the same: to build trusted relationships with their local church and foster care agency, mobilizing the church to meet needs. 

As a TFI Advocate, you will have a team ready to support you with personalized coaching, professional resources, and intentional community. Our proven model will guide you toward a thriving ministry, one where you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. You can spend time building relationships and getting to know people rather than creating promotional materials or handling donations. Plus—you get to be part of a network of like-minded passionate leaders all across the United States.

TFI offers its coaching, resources, and community to TFI Advocates at no cost! TFI Advocates do however raise funds for local ministry work.

As an example, a TFI Advocate might find that there is a high need for foster parents who are willing to support teenagers. At no cost to the TFI Advocate, they would receive coaching to brainstorm how to host an effective event to generate interest, custom social media graphics to promote the event, and connection to another TFI Advocate who has hosted a similar event. The TFI Advocate might raise funds for food for the event and a goodie bag for each attendee.

Becoming a TFI Advocate starts with an application! We want to get to know you and to make sure that we are both mutually a good fit for one another. Open application periods are available 2-3 times per year. If we’re in between application periods, be sure to sign up to be notified of the next one coming up! After reviewing applications, we’ll host interviews, and then invite a handful of applicants into our 3-month training process where we’ll walk through the building blocks of ministry. After completing the training process, you’ll launch your TFI Ministry!

• Culture: Beliefs + Vision
• Model: Church + Agency
• Commitment: Desire + Capacity
• Support: Family + Friends

We do not have a requirement, though, we acknowledge that building relationships takes time. We’d recommend that you go into the process thinking of it as a two-year commitment. Along the way, we will help you develop a team, to which when you feel like your season is complete, you’ll have another leader ready to take the reins. Of course, if you continue to have the desire and capacity to lead, we’d love to have you for as long as you’d like. Either way, we’ll help you invest in others.