Great fundraising idea!

Looking for unique ways to raise money for your adoption? For your orphan care ministry? We are always so amazed at the unique, fun, innovative ideas that we hear about!

One of our church fund partners, Kentwood Community Church in Kentwood, MI holds an annual Easter flower fundraiser. This is the 2nd year and continue to be AMAZED at how God uses this fundraiser! The flowers are purchased from a local retailer at a discounted price and church members purchase the flowers in honor/memory of a loved one. The proceeds from the sales are then used to fund the KCC adoption fund with Lifesong.

The flower fundraiser is a great way to let your whole church know that we have a fund and that you are helping families.  Then, God draws hearts into it and called some people to generously give.  Amazing!"

This has been a GREAT way for KCC to inform families that they are helping to bring down the financial barrier to adoption as well as raise funds for the account. This year, God moved BIG and provided $13,794 for their adoption assistance fund! Praise God!

 Their stage looks so beatiful with all these flowers!

National Foster Care Prayer Vigil

Many kids in foster care feel like they don't have a prayer...let's change that.

2010 National Foster Care Prayer Vigil
May 16-23, 2010

The National Foster Care Prayer Vigil is calling followers of Christ together across the country during the week of May 16-23 to cry out to God on behalf of children and youth in our nation's foster care system, their families, their workers, and the church as it responds to the needs of those involved in the foster care system. 

A prayer vigil can take on many forms. It can be a formal, church-wide event, or it can be an informal gathering with your family after dinner. In fact, the possibilities are endless. A prayer vigil can be:

Part of a regular Bible study group in your home Part of a regular Community Group meeting Part of a Sunday School class A Prayer walk through your city A gathering of friends at a park, or the beach A lunchtime gathering with co-workers Whatever and wherever you want it to be Are you ready to COMMIT to praying? Click here.

The important thing is not what the vigil looks like or how well it's planned, but rather that

believers come together to pray for those in need.

Is God calling you to be the voice for your city? See the map for a listing of vigils already scheduled.  See the links to the left to learn how you can become equipped to add your city to the map.

Gather together.  Pray for the kids.  Watch God work.

A Heritage of Caring for Orphans...

Jedd Medefind, formerly the head of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and a Special Assistant to President George W. Bush, is now the President of the Christian Alliance for Orphans, for a coalition of more than fifty adoption, foster-care and orphan-care ministries. The author of two books and numerous articles as well as an accomplished speaker, he lives in California with three children, including a daughter adopted from Ethiopia.

How do you understand the biblical imperative to care for the fatherless? 

What might a church do to help people through the process of reflection preceding an adoption?

What are other ways people can respond to the needs of orphans?

To read the entire interview, click here.

Insights & Gifts Video Series

It's so incredible to see the Body of Christ responding to a need... a need to equip parents... a need to bring healing to hurting hearts!

As we are answering the call to adopt, we need to understand that most of the children that God will bring into our lives through adoption will have deep hurts and needs. Therefore, part of our call is to be prepared to be used by God to help this child heal. This is undoubtedly one of the greatest joys, blessings and privileges of adoption – but it will not be easy. The resources and tools on ETC are designed to help those whom God is calling and has called to answer the call well. To know what to expect, to be ready and prepared and, ultimately, to help bring long-term healing to their child. It is precisely this kind of 'love in action' that I believe reflects what it means to be called by God to adopt."

-Michael Monroe, Irving Bible Church/Tapestry

This new 16 video series (developed in partnership with the TCU Institute of Child Development) offers seven insights and seven gifts that are highly relevant for those who are parenting or considering adopting or fostering children from hard places. ETC is also developing a discussion guide for this video series, which will be available in May 2010.

Insights & Gifts: Introduction from Tapestry on Vimeo.

View the rest of the series here. Follow us on Facebook as we highlight each video here.

The Local Church is Uniquely Equipped!

I must confess I’m blown away by all God has done through Tapestry over the last 5 years. They’ve made a profound difference for local families and the children those families have fostered and adopted." - Jedd Medefind, President of Christian Alliance for Orphans

Check out this post from Tapestry titled 'Three Things We Have Learned & Three Things We Would Do'! A glimpse at the depth of this post -

In the end, the growth that we have seen speaks far more to the needs of children and families in our community (and every community) and the power and reach of the local church, than it does to anything that we ourselves have done. We are humbled that God has used us to play a small part in the lives of so many, and we are excited about what He has in store for us as a ministry and a community.

During any given week, we receive calls from people across the nation wanting to start an adoption, foster care or orphan care ministry in their church. Many of them have very similar questions: How do you get started? What do you do at your small groups and events?  How do you handle this or that?   Three things we have learned in these past five years are that there are no easy answers (although there are some very accessible and available resources), there is no ’one size fits all,’ and there are no shortcuts (at least none worth taking)."

See you at Summit VI!