adoption

Churches That Encourage Adoption Should Be Trauma Informed and Disability Accommodating

Churches That Encourage Adoption Should Be Trauma Informed and Disability Accommodating

Churches rightly encourage adoption and support families going through the adoption process, but are they prepared when the child or teen comes home and is diagnosed with special needs or trauma-related issues? Sandra Peoples shares three-part series on a theology of disability that can serve as a motivation for churches to meet the needs of these families.

The Church, Adoption, Foster Care, and Orphans

The Church, Adoption, Foster Care, and Orphans

Last month I was in Columbus, Ohio for a state-wide training for Ohio's Child Protective Services (CPS). This conference got me thinking about how the Church is responding to foster care, and other impacts with foster care and orphans. There are many people out there doing a lot of good work in foster care and adoption. Here are some resources that have moved beyond local mission.

Mental Health Ministry Resources at Inclusion Fusion Live

Mental Health Ministry Resources at Inclusion Fusion Live

We'll be offering an all-day training for churches interested in developing a mental health inclusion strategy and making available five additional workshops and presentations for ministry leaders and families with interest in mental health ministry.

An adoptive father comes home

An adoptive father comes home

Kevin brought us an appreciation for the challenges adoptive parents face in staying involved with church when their children experience emotional, behavioral or developmental challenges that make church attendance difficult.

The man on the pier

The man on the pier

The issue of “orphan care” has become rather en vogue within the Church — even to the point of having an “Orphan Sunday.”  And that’s all good and well, but if we are not careful, the Church could be the crowd on the shore.  But what if, instead of saying “we only know how to say jump,” the crowd had rushed to the end of the pier, with arms outstretched, yelling “Hang on! Help is on the way! Don’t lose hope!

The mental and physical health crisis of kids in foster care

The mental and physical health crisis of kids in foster care

Foster care placement in and of itself may represent a risk factor for mental and physical health problems.

Church, we can’t not know about adoption and special needs!

Church, we can’t not know about adoption and special needs!

Our church community didn’t know what we would need, but they said yes with us: yes to loving through the brokenness, yes to being faithful to the ones (me included) who need to learn to trust once again, yes to a bit more chaos in our row during worship, yes to choosing to do good for young ones for whom others hadn’t always chosen good in their recent past.