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Support in Action: 3 Truths From a Recent Foster Care Event

By March 23, 2023Blog
Think about this idea for a minute—do you know the foster care community? Truly. Do you know the people, their experiences, emotions, and trauma?
It’s an important question because if we want to support the foster care community, we must first see, understand, and care for—know—who this community is made up of.
We recently equipped all of our TFI Advocates across the country to host local awareness events to help answer this exact question for their local communities. They gathered in homes, churches, and community spaces to be introduced to the stories of the foster care community and begin to move to further action and support.

Seeing our TFI Advocates equip churches across the country to make the foster care community known in the ways that they did, was inspiring! Awareness truly does lead to action, and seeing these events happen reminded me of three important things:

1) There’s a big problem in front of us.

With over 407,000 children and youth in foster care and only 218,927 licensed foster homes, there’s a significant gap between the need and the resources available. It’s easy to feel helpless or unsure of how to make a difference, but we believe that as Christians, we have a responsibility to act. The foster care system is overwhelmed, and children, parents, and workers in foster care desperately need support and resources.
As it says in Isaiah 58:10-12:
“Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes.”

2) We have a big solution.

At TFI, we believe that the solution to this problem is to equip churches to engage with and support the foster care community. There are about 380,000 churches in the U.S. and approximately 200 million Christians in the country today, which means we have the potential to make a huge impact! We raise awareness by sharing the stories of those in foster care, we provide encouragement by coming alongside those in the trenches, and we increase advocacy by developing leaders who mobilize their communities to care for those who feel forgotten.
We believe the local church is uniquely positioned to care for vulnerable children and families. We equip churches to make the foster care community known by providing resources and support to individuals and leaders who are passionate about caring for the vulnerable. We believe every Christian and every church can play a part in caring for the foster care community, regardless of experience, awareness, or access to resources.

3) Everyone has a (different) role to play.

I hope this thought is liberating for you: Everyone has a role to play, but not all roles are for everyone.
Please read that again. It has the potential to really empower us all.
While becoming a foster parent is one way to support the foster care community, it’s not the only way. Everyone can do something, and we believe that every follower of Jesus can make a significant difference in the lives of the foster care community. Ask yourself, “How can I be a part of supporting the foster care community?” and “What does that need to look like for me?”
To partner with our work here at TFI, we invite you to become a TFI Advocate, donate to our organization, or spread the word by sharing our content online. Together, we can work until every child, parent, and worker in foster care feels seen, understood, and cared for!

Mitch Nelson

Whether he is drinking coffee or designing graphics, Mitch is always looking for new ways The Forgotten Initiative can grow. His background includes working as a Creative Arts and Communications Director on various levels at a local church. He and his wife Becky were married in April of 2018, and together they enjoy camping, live music, black coffee, and good books.

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