During the month of September, we are re-releasing your favorite episodes of all time. Listen along and find answers to your common questions. Whether or not you have heard these episodes before, we are excited for you to be encouraged, equipped, and find hope. You don’t have to journey alone!
Have you wanted to foster or adopt but just don’t know if it’s the “right time?” My guest for this episode can relate! Jason Johnson and his wife knew they wanted to become foster parents, but were unsure when they should pursue it or how it might affect their biological children.
Jason is a speaker, writer, former pastor, and church planter who encourages families and equips church and organizational leaders on their foster care and adoption journeys. He is also the Director of Church Mobilization and Engagement with Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO). Jason has a deep passion for seeing the gospel catalyze a movement of foster care in the church around the world. Jason and his wife, Emily, are foster and adoptive parents who live in Texas with their four daughters.
In this episode, you’ll hear how Jason started his foster care journey, how to find the “perfect” time to foster or adopt, tips for navigating the concern of loving a child that might leave your family, and learn a new way to look at comments from strangers about your adoptive or foster family.
Whether you are currently a foster parent, are considering becoming one, or know someone who is, I know you will be encouraged by what Jason shares in this conversation!
- [BOOK] ALL IN Orphan Care
- [BLOG] The Beauty and Brokenness of Foster Care
- Follow Jason on his website, Instagram, or Facebook
- Give to The Forgotten Initiative
- Foster Care & the Church
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TAKEAWAYS FROM TODAY’S CONVERSATION:
1. “One day” could be today.
Many families who have considered becoming foster parents often ask the question of when the “right time” to foster would be. They wonder how this will affect their biological children and if they need to be in the perfect situation with their jobs, finances, or relationships. However, the reality is that there is no perfect time to become a foster parent. There are kids out there right now that need a family. If you feel pulled to get involved with foster care, the need exists today and you are needed now.
“There is a need out there now, and there is never going to be a ‘right time’ for us.”
2. There will still be periods of waiting.
Many aspects of foster care and adoption have periods of waiting to them. This journey can often be a hurry-up-and-wait kind of experience. You will have to work through piles of paperwork and background checks, waiting for a phone call to come in, and even then you might find out that they found someone else. It’s part of the nature of the system and an opportunity to remember that this is not about us.
“We’ve gone through all these training hours, we’ve done everything we are supposed to do, the state is saying they need families, and then we get our license and we don’t get calls about kids. That’s the nature of the system and an opportunity to say this is not about us; it’s about what is best for the kids.”
3. While this journey is painful, it is also a privilege.
Many of us have experienced the fear of becoming foster parents because it means that we will have to deal with the emotions and loss when a child we have loved dearly leaves our home. This is one of the realities of foster care we have to walk through, and on the other side of it is the great joy of knowing we were able to provide a safe space for that child when they needed it most.
“We would rather experience the pain of a great loss if it means she gets to experience the gain of a great love from us.”
Meet Our Guest
Jason Johnson is a speaker, writer, former pastor, and church planter who encourages families and equips church and organizational leaders on their foster care and adoption journeys. He is also the Director of Church Mobilization and Engagement with Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO). In 2012, Jason and his wife, Emily, became foster parents for the first time.
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