What Can the Church Do to Care for Modern Day Orphans?

Elevate Christian Network :: Inspirational Stories

Most of Tenell Felder’s life, she never truly considered the difficulties orphans face. In fact, she was unaware that there are babies, children and young adults in her city who live without the security of a home and family. God’s been slowly opening her eyes to see that orphans are not exclusive to third world countries (or to 19th-century England), they are in her very own community and their struggles draw His attention and concern.

Building a Relationship with God

We serve a God who is drawn to brokenness and pain. Just last week she spoke to a group of girls, some of whom happened to be in foster care, and stressed that point. She didn’t want them to be discouraged if they found it difficult building a relationship with God because of painful experiences. Tenell told them that, in fact, God was going to put some special effort into reaching them though that brokenness.

He seems to have an affinity for distressed people. That’s just who He is, and why I believe He tells us that looking after orphans (and widows) is pure and undefiled religion. He sees they have a deep need, and it pleases Him when we offer comfort to those who desperately need it.

Looking After Orphans

A few nights ago, Tenell proofread her roommate’s final assignment for her Master’s degree. The topic of her research was ways to help children in foster care learn about proper food nutrition. As she looked over the edits, Tenell asked questions about the paper. One question gnawed at her mind.

“What can the church do to minister to these children?” Tenell asked. “Foster. We need Christian families to foster,” she replied.  Read more… boundless.org

 

 Orphan Care: Connection Brings Hope and Healing for Children’s Mental Health 

Elizabeth Styffe, Director of Saddleback Church HIV/AIDS and Orphan Care Initiatives shares how there is hope through the power of connection when parents enter into the pain of their children from hard places. Using Trust-Based Relational Interventions (TBRI®) parents can disarm fear and give voice to build lasting connection bringing hope and healing.

 

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