Welcoming the Orphan: God’s Call to Reform Foster Care and Adoption
Welcoming the Orphan: God’s Call to Reform Foster Care and Adoption
Church of Deets
Welcoming the Orphan:
God’s Call to Reform Foster Care and Adoption
Brothers and sisters, we gather today to consider a matter that goes to the heart of who we are as a society and, more importantly, as followers of Christ—our care for the most vulnerable among us: children in the foster care system and those waiting for adoption.
Our world is filled with brokenness, and one of the most profound reflections of that brokenness is the system meant to care for children who have been abandoned, neglected, or taken from their homes due to circumstances beyond their control. Foster care and adoption should be a reflection of God’s love—of hope, healing, and restoration—but too often, these systems fall short of that ideal.
Today, I want to speak to you about why we must not only reform but also reimagine foster care and adoption to be more compassionate and inclusive. These systems must better reflect the values of justice, mercy, and love that Christ demonstrated in His ministry on Earth. As followers of Christ, we are called to care for the orphan and the widow, to stand up for the voiceless, and to embrace the marginalized. But how can we do that if our very structures meant to protect and care for children are riddled with bureaucracy, inefficiencies, and barriers that harm rather than heal?
The Biblical Call to Care for the Orphan
Throughout scripture, God calls His people to care for orphans and those who are most vulnerable. James 1:27 says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” This is not just a suggestion or an afterthought; it is a command rooted in the very nature of God’s heart for justice.
In the Old Testament, God constantly reminds His people to care for the fatherless. Deuteronomy 10:18 declares, “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.” God’s concern for orphans is not just spiritual but material and tangible—He desires that their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs be met. The orphan is a reflection of society’s care for its most fragile members, and when we fail them, we fail the very heart of God.
The prophet Isaiah also condemns Israel for neglecting justice for the vulnerable: “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow” (Isaiah 1:17). To follow Christ is to take up the cause of the orphan and ensure they are cared for with the dignity and love that God commands.
A Broken System Reflects a Broken Society
In our modern context, the foster care and adoption systems should embody this Biblical mandate, yet we find that they are woefully inadequate. Children languish in the system for years, shuttled from home to home, never knowing stability, consistency, or the unconditional love of a family. Families seeking to adopt are met with endless red tape, costly fees, and long waiting periods that deter even the most well-intentioned among them. And most tragically, the voices of children themselves are too often ignored or marginalized.
In the United States alone, over 400,000 children are in the foster care system at any given time. Of these, more than 100,000 are eligible for adoption, yet many will age out of the system without ever finding a permanent home. These statistics are not just numbers; they represent real children—children created in the image of God, who have experienced trauma, loss, and heartbreak. They deserve better than to be treated as afterthoughts or burdens of a flawed system.
The problems with foster care and adoption are multifaceted, but the core issue is that the system is reactive rather than proactive, punitive rather than redemptive, and exclusionary rather than inclusive. Children enter the foster care system because of abuse, neglect, or abandonment, but instead of being met with compassion, they are often met with impersonal bureaucracy. Foster parents, caseworkers, and agencies are overwhelmed and under-resourced, leading to situations where children’s needs are not adequately met.
Worse still, children of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and children with disabilities are disproportionately represented in foster care, yet they face even greater barriers to finding permanent, loving homes. These children are often marginalized twice—first by the circumstances that led them to foster care and second by a system that is ill-equipped to meet their unique needs.
Compassion Must Be at the Center of Reform
If we are to truly reform foster care and adoption, we must start by centering compassion in every aspect of these systems. Too often, policies are designed with the convenience of the state in mind rather than the best interests of the child. This must change.
Compassion means recognizing that children in foster care have experienced deep trauma. They need not just shelter and food, but also love, stability, and emotional healing. Trauma-informed care must become the standard in every foster home, every social service agency, and every courtroom. Foster parents must be given the resources, training, and support they need to care for children who are healing from trauma. This means increased funding for mental health services, support groups, and respite care for foster families.
Compassion also means that we must do more to keep families together whenever possible. The foster care system often rushes to remove children from their homes, but we must ask ourselves: Are we doing enough to address the root causes of family breakdown? Poverty, addiction, mental health issues, and systemic racism all contribute to the high rates of children entering foster care. Rather than punishing families for their struggles, we should be providing the resources and support necessary to keep families intact whenever it is safe to do so.
This could mean expanding access to affordable housing, mental health care, substance abuse treatment, and job training. By addressing the root causes of family instability, we can prevent children from entering foster care in the first place, reducing the strain on the system and, more importantly, reducing the trauma experienced by children.
Inclusion Must Be a Priority
Inclusion is another critical aspect of reforming foster care and adoption. As followers of Christ, we are called to embrace all people, regardless of their background, ethnicity, or identity. Galatians 3:28 reminds us that “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” This unity in Christ compels us to ensure that all children, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation, are treated with dignity and have equal access to loving, permanent homes.
Unfortunately, the foster care and adoption systems have a long history of marginalizing certain groups of children. Black children are overrepresented in foster care, and they spend more time in the system than their white peers. LGBTQ+ youth are also overrepresented, and they face higher rates of rejection, abuse, and homelessness. Children with disabilities are often seen as “hard to place” and may never find adoptive homes.
This is a grave injustice, and it reflects the broader societal inequalities that we must address. We cannot claim to be a just society or a compassionate people if we continue to allow these disparities to persist in the very systems meant to protect vulnerable children.
Reforming foster care and adoption to be more inclusive means actively addressing these disparities. We must work to recruit more foster and adoptive parents from diverse backgrounds, including people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people with disabilities. Foster care and adoption agencies must be held accountable for ensuring that children’s racial, cultural, and identity needs are met. This might mean providing cultural competency training for foster parents, ensuring that LGBTQ+ youth have access to affirming care, or making homes accessible for children with disabilities.
Moreover, we must dismantle the barriers that prevent same-sex couples, single parents, and individuals from marginalized communities from adopting or fostering children. Every child deserves a loving home, and we cannot afford to turn away capable, compassionate parents simply because they do not fit a narrow definition of what a family should look like.
The Role of the Church in Foster Care and Adoption Reform
As the body of Christ, we have a critical role to play in advocating for foster care and adoption reform. This is not a task we can delegate to the government or to secular agencies alone. We, the Church, are called to be the hands and feet of Christ, to live out His love and justice in the world.
First, we must educate ourselves and our communities about the realities of foster care and adoption. Too many people are unaware of the challenges faced by children in foster care, and too many churches are silent on this issue. We need to break that silence and speak out boldly about the need for reform. Pastors, church leaders, and congregations should preach about the Biblical call to care for orphans and advocate for policies that reflect that mandate.
Second, we must support foster and adoptive families in our congregations and communities. Caring for children who have experienced trauma is not easy, and foster and adoptive parents need our support. Churches can provide tangible resources—whether it’s financial assistance, meals, babysitting, or emotional support. We can also provide spiritual support, reminding these families that they are doing holy work and that they are not alone.
Finally, we must advocate for systemic change. As citizens and as Christians, we have a responsibility to hold our government accountable for ensuring that foster care and adoption systems are just, compassionate, and inclusive. This means advocating for policies that prioritize children’s well-being, that provide resources to struggling families, and that eliminate the barriers preventing marginalized communities from adopting or fostering children.
Reflecting God’s Love in a Broken System
Brothers and sisters, we live in a broken world, but we serve a God who specializes in redemption and restoration. The foster care and adoption systems may be broken, but they are not beyond hope. Our God is a God of healing, and He calls us to partner with Him in mending the brokenness of this world. We are called to reflect His love, not just in our words, but in our actions—in the way we care for the orphan, the marginalized, and the most vulnerable among us.
To reform foster care and adoption is to participate in God’s redemptive work in the world. It is to take seriously the call to “defend the cause of the fatherless” (Psalm 82:3) and to create a world where no child is left to feel unloved, unwanted, or forgotten. This is not just the work of governments or agencies; it is the work of the Church. It is the work of each one of us who professes Christ as Lord.
We must push for foster care and adoption systems that are more compassionate—systems that see children as individuals with unique stories, not just as numbers in a bureaucratic machine. We must advocate for trauma-informed care, support for struggling families, and resources that prioritize the child’s emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being. Foster care should not be about simply providing a roof over a child’s head but offering a pathway to healing, stability, and love.
Inclusion must also be at the heart of these reforms. The Kingdom of God is wide, diverse, and welcoming to all. If we claim to follow Jesus, we must do the same in the systems we create and support. Every child, regardless of race, ethnicity, ability, or identity, deserves to experience the fullness of love and acceptance. Foster care and adoption must no longer be a system that excludes and marginalizes, but one that affirms the inherent worth of every child and every family.
A Call to Action for the Church
As a Church, we cannot be passive in this work. This is a moment for us to rise up and show the world what the love of Christ truly looks like. It is a love that welcomes the outcast, that stands up for the oppressed, and that builds up the brokenhearted. It is a love that says no child should feel like they are beyond hope or without a home.
What can we do? First, we must engage in prayer—deep, intercessory prayer for children in foster care, for those waiting for adoption, and for the families who care for them. We pray for healing, for provision, and for a radical transformation of the systems that are meant to protect them.
But prayer alone is not enough. We are also called to action. Churches must partner with organizations that work directly with foster children and adoptive families. We must create programs within our congregations to support foster families—whether that’s through providing material needs, mentoring, or emotional and spiritual support. We must encourage our members to consider becoming foster or adoptive parents themselves, offering them the resources and community they need to thrive in that calling.
Moreover, we must use our collective voices to push for systemic change. Churches have power and influence, and we must leverage that influence to advocate for policies that reflect the heart of God for children. This might mean writing letters to legislators, organizing advocacy campaigns, or partnering with social service agencies to ensure that children’s voices are heard in the halls of power.
A Reflection of God’s Kingdom on Earth
The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of love, justice, and peace. It is a kingdom where the vulnerable are cared for, where no one is cast aside, and where every person—especially the smallest and most fragile among us—is valued and cherished. When we work to reform foster care and adoption, we are working to bring about a glimpse of that kingdom here on Earth.
In Matthew 18:5, Jesus says, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” When we embrace the cause of foster children and adoptive families, we are not just engaging in a social justice issue; we are welcoming Christ Himself into our midst. We are living out the Gospel in its most tangible, transformative form.
Imagine a world where no child is left behind—where every child, no matter their background or circumstance, knows the unconditional love of a family. Imagine a world where foster care and adoption are not seen as last resorts, but as sacred pathways to healing and restoration. Imagine a Church that stands at the forefront of this movement, embodying the compassion and inclusivity of Christ in every action, in every policy, and in every heart.
Conclusion: A Vision for a Compassionate and Inclusive Future
The time for reform is now. The need is urgent, and the call is clear. We cannot wait for others to fix what is broken. We, as followers of Christ, are called to lead the way. We are called to be the voice for the voiceless, the advocates for the marginalized, and the builders of a more compassionate and inclusive world.
Let us, as the Church, commit ourselves to this holy work. Let us reform foster care and adoption so that they reflect the heart of God—a heart that is big enough for every child, every family, and every person who has ever felt left behind. And as we do, may we experience the fullness of God’s love, not just for the children we serve, but for ourselves and for the world that so desperately needs the healing only He can provide.
May we be the hands and feet of Christ in this world. May we care for the orphan and the widow, the foster child and the adoptive family, with the same love, compassion, and grace that God has shown to us. And may we, in all things, seek to bring about His Kingdom of justice, peace, and love on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Amen.
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