Ministry equips churches to support children waiting for adoption
“We want to walk the trenches with the local church so that they can be all that God asks them to be.”
The lives of Harold and Wendi Park were turned upside down unexpectedly in November 2011 on a family trip to South Korea. They never expected attending an “Orphan Sunday” would be the beginning of a faith-based network for foster care and adoption.
Wendi says she and her husband led to be a part of a Canadian movement, and Forever Families of Canada was born. Its mission statement is “to facilitate greater capacity in the Canadian Church to effectively care for waiting children through national networking, education, and local leadership development.”
The Parks both resigned from their previous jobs, invested time in prayer, sought wisdom, and traveled throughout Canada and the U.S. to see what God was already doing and to discover what God wanted from them.
“The cool thing is, we are not alone!” says Wendi. “We have discovered many others across Canada who expressed…this desire for a Christian network for waiting children, including other Canadian Christian organizations and churches who now participate on a board level.”
Forever Families envisions a thriving Canadian Church that is connected, equipped and mobilized in effective local and global action for waiting children. The organization is incorporating as a national non-profit and currently is in the process of gaining charitable status.
“We recognize that ministry happens in the context of grassroots initiatives of the Holy Spirit, stirring people to get involved in the lives of waiting children,” Wendi says. “We are not establishing an enterprise to take care of the crisis or franchise our efforts into local churches by some sort of formula or guilt-ridden plea for children. God is already stirring the hearts within his Church, but we see much isolation and lack of support.”
Wendi says biblical understanding surrounding the Church’s responsibility to care for waiting children is not intentionally ignored, but it has been shelved over the course of history as government social services have grown.
“Education is simply a tool to bring scriptural truths back on the Canadian radar and also an opportunity to provide practical counselling insight to common issues that adoptive and foster families face,” she says. “It helps to normalize isolated struggles and allows the local church to be community when understanding is created.”
The Parks have taught a college course on Foster Care and Adoption in the Church. They also teach seminars and workshops and speak in church services.
“I tend to gravitate to teaching more on the theological aspects as well as leadership development,” Wendi says. “Harold is passionate about teaching the counselling psychology / family therapy aspects that fit well with his educational background.”
“We want to cheer existing ministries on, to not lose heart when things get tough, to pray with them, to encourage them, to celebrate with them in what God is doing. What causes churches to lose their vision or their passion? What are the barriers that need to be overcome?
“We want to walk the trenches with the local church so that they can be all that God asks them to be.”
Forever Families of Canada plans to officially launch at the 2015 Together For Adoption conference in Pitt Meadows, BC, May 22-23. They are also aiming to launch their website www.foreverfamilies.ca this month. For more information visit www.facebook.com/foreverfamiliesofcanada or email info@foreverfamilies.ca.
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