Simple Idea, Big Opportunities

Simple Idea, Big Opportunities 

Lifesong's Outside the Walls Network

by Michael Monroe

Our initial dream for the Tapestry Adoption Fund was simple - to help as many children & families experience the blessing of adoption as our resources would allow. By partnering with Lifesong and utilizing the strategic tools of matching grants and interest-free loans, the fund was designed to help qualified families in a tangible and practical way as they follow God's call to travel the adoption journey. 

Our fund began with a modest balance - just enough to help about three families. Without much fanfare or really any plan to raise additional funds, we moved forward in faith, confident that with the help of Lifesong we could make a real difference as we faithfully pursued the vision that God had given us for our ministry. With each grant or loan awarded, we faithfully told the stories of how God was using the Tapestry Fund to bless the lives of families. As we did, more and more people wanted to give to the fund.  In only a few years, our relatively modest-sized fund has been blessed to play a small part in welcoming 24 children into loving, Christian families.

But along the way something interesting happened;

something that was entirely unexpected, although I am learning to always expect the unexpected from God when it comes to anything related to adoption. 

A couple of years ago we became aware of a simple fact - there are more qualified Christian families facing financial hurdles than there are available funds to help them. In fact, Christian adoption funding orgs are forced to turn down many more qualified applicants than they are able to help due to lack of available funds. And yet we know that God's provision is always sufficient. So we began to ask ourselves how our small fund might be more effective in meeting needs. What we soon discovered completely changed the way we view the Tapestry Fund and church adoption funds in general.

After much prayer and discussion with Lifesong, we concluded that God could use our fund in greater ways for His glory if we would seek to make our financial resources available outside the walls of our church. So we began to ask ourselves, 

"If we have money in our fund that is just sitting there with no use for it in sight, why wouldn't we joyfully say 'yes' to helping a qualified Christian family at a church across town or across the country if their church fund doesn't currently have sufficient resources or is just getting started?" 

After all, it's not really "our" money, and what better way to allow God to fulfill the dream He gave us of helping as many as our resources would allow. For us the decision was simple: Far worse than our fund "running out of money" would be for us to pass on the opportunity to be a tangible part of a story that God is writing with the lives of those He has called to this journey, simply because we had not looked outside of ourselves and our own church.

From this simple idea, the Outside the Walls Network (OTWN) was born. By joining the OTWN, Lifesong enables us to truly work together in a way that not only maximizes the stewardship of financial resources, but also broadens our impact in the lives of children and families. Lifesong offers participation in the OTWN to church funds at no cost and no additional administrative burden. To join, a church simply needs to communicate to Lifesong its desire to become part of the OTWN. There's no obligation for an OTWN church fund to say "yes" to any specific funding need that is presented, but as we discovered last year when we funded a family from Louisville that was waiting to bring their son 

home from Korea, the opportunity to say "yes" is truly a privilege and a blessing.

Over 15 churches have already joined, and our prayer is that many more churches will partner with Lifesong and come together in this important effort.  To learn more about the Outside the Walls Network or to join, contact Rich Metcalfe  - rich@lifesongfororphans.org

Michael Monroe, together with his wife Amy, leads Tapestry, the adoption and foster care ministry at Irving Bible Church (  www.tapestryministry.org).

 

Share the highlights of the last year in your 

orphan care / adoption / foster care ministries! 

barriers!

What is the #1 barrier to Christian families adopting?

MONEY!

Join us for a church adoption fund webinar on June 16th at 2pm CST to learn the most common barriers to churches creating Adoption Funds...and Lifesong's Solutions to overcome the hurdles!

Register now to reserve your spot!

Once upon a time from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.

Looking Beyond Ourselves

It's so common around here to see miracles happen every day right before our very eyes. Just today, a family called to tell us that they did not need the interest-free loan we offered them... since last week when we informed them, God provided for their entire $17,000 deficit! WOW!

As I thought about this family, I realized that it's so easy to overlook the magnificent miracles God is doing all around us each and every day...

Then God brought to mind two miracles I was able to view from the front-row seat just before Christmas. Two families from Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, KY that are in the process of adopting - one from Korea and one from the US – recently applied for financial assistance. Both of these families are dedicated to raising their children to know, love, and serve Christ. As we reviewed these applications, we were so impressed by their character and their commitment to the Lord. However, there were no funds available to help either of these families at the time.

Just a couple days after we informed both of these families of the situation, we were contacted by our good friends at Tapestry (Irving Bible Church). They were excited to share that God had blessed them through generous year-end donations from the Irving Bible Church congregation to the Tapestry Adoption Fund.  They continued to share their heart, and as I listened I was struck by the unique way that they view the financial resources that have been entrusted to them. You see, they do not want to let money sit idle in the Tapestry Adoption Fund while children and families wait.  The Tapestry Adoption Fund is focused on helping families at Irving Bible Church and in their local community meet the financial challenge of adoption.  But they know very well that the money that has been given is in fact God’s money, and they want to see it put to use wherever the needs may be.  Their exact words were “we believe that our goal should be to run out of money in our fund so that we can tell the stories of what God has done and allow even more people to give and be a part of what He is doing.” 

The next words that spilled from their mouths amazed me.  They explained that they want to help other qualified families in need, no matter where they live or what church they attend.  They want to be part of what God is doing outside the walls of their church.  They want to be part of the stories God is writing with the lives of His people across the country as they say “YES!” to what God is calling them to. You're starting to see the pieces come together, right?

Yes, Tapestry stepped outside themselves, outside their walls, to fund two families in need… two families that don't even live in the same state.  Now you can see why 'looking beyond yourselves' is so fitting for this story. 

Just this past year, as we saw more and more churches being led to help families in need regardless of where they attended church, we created the Outside the Walls Network. The network is a way for churches to band together and reach out to serve children and families through adoption financial assistance.  To learn more about the Outside the Walls Network and how your church can join with other churches to help families meet the financial challenge of adoption and welcome their children home, click here.

Church Adoption Funds!

As the Church becomes obedient to God’s commands concerning the fatherless, the community will see Jesus Christ is alive and working in the lives of His people to care for those children who can’t care for themselves. 

 

So Much Bigger Than Us from Tapestry on Vimeo.

ETC Success

I attended EmpoweredToConnect and it was -- amazing!  This is a content-rich conference, with valuable insights on parenting children from hard places. There are real challenges in parenting -- and ETC provides REAL solutions, with real HOPE!  The messages are shared with the love, care & compassion of your grandma, and at the same time...deep, meaningful counsel and guidance.

This is a must-attend for every adoptive or foster parent.

-Andy Lehman

 The Empowered to Connect conference, sponsored by Show Hope, was held at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Nashville, TN on September 10-11 and was an all around success.  Not only did the 400+ attendees, from 20 different states, receive powerful training and advice, but more than 150 child welfare professionals or adoptive families received Continuing Education Credits or Adoptive and Foster Parent Training Certificates for their participation in the event!  Very cool.

Big thanks to Show Hope, Dr. Karyn Purvis, and Michael & Amy Monroe for the huge amount of work that went into this event.