What is an Orphan Ministry?
“DEFEND THE CAUSE OF THE FATHERLESS” ISA.1:17
ARE YOU HELPING ORPHANS IN NEED? - Undoubtedly your church has created effective ministries to serve youth, women, men, families, the aged, to do evangelism, to send out missionaries, to worship, to care for the various needs of your members, even do needed building maintenance, etc. but only a select few churches are actively ministering to orphans on a personal level, or are caring for the families or ministry organizations who support them. And while there are nearly 380,000 churches in the United States that open their doors each week, few of them have an active orphan ministry.
WHY HELP ORPHANS - There are an estimated 155 million orphans around the world who need love and care. The reasons for starting an orphan ministry seem pretty clear from scripture. Caring for orphans and defending the fatherless is mentioned over 40 times in the Bible and James even goes so far as to say that “Pure and true religion, in the sight of God the Father is this: caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” (James 1:27) In Deuteronomy 24:19-21, God instructs us to dedicate a portion of our harvest, our resources to widows and orphans; and when we do, He promises to “bless all the work of our hands.” Helping orphans is truly a faith issues, and a matter of believing this promise.
GETTING STARTED - An orphan ministry, at its most basic level, is a group of people working together to mobilize their church on behalf of orphan children and needy families who may be struggling to care for them. One of the best ways is to partner with an effective and trusted ministry like Orphan’s Lifeline International. And while an orphan ministry may manifest itself differently in every church, the core goal is the same: a response to the call to care for orphans and defend the cause of the fatherless.
The mission of Orphan’s Lifeline of Hope since its beginning has been to help the millions of orphans who will never be adopted, to engage the church in carrying out the mandate of James 1:27, and to provide the help and resources that will enable churches to carry out this good work.
YOU CAN HELP ORPHANS - An orphan ministry may start in the heart of a minister or an elder or someone on the church staff; however, often it bubbles up from families who have experienced the joy and pain associated with caring for orphans in a personal way. Your orphan ministry can begin by creating awareness of the plight of orphans around the world, hosting an annual Orphan Sunday or Orphan Christmas event or as part of your mission outreach, or it might involve encouraging families, individuals, a ladies group or youth group to sponsor one or more children. Some churches or individuals have committed to providing for an entire orphan home. Churches have even joined in to encourage and support families who want to adopt and help them with the high cost of adoption expenses.
WHY START AN ORPHAN MINISTRY?
We can no longer be content to just feel bad when we see a picture of an orphaned child; we have to come to the reality that God is asking us to connect in vital ways with the fatherless. We have been given much, and therefore, much is required of us. Our dream is for every believer to be engaged in helping vulnerable children. The primary motivator for starting an orphan care ministry at your church should not be guilt, but God’s Word, coupled with compassion born out of love. And the best advice is to not simply start an orphan care/adoption “ministry” but aim to see an orphan care/adoption culture established. The question for each Christian and each church is not “Should I care for orphans?” The question is “How can I care for orphans?” Orphan’s Lifeline of Hope is ready to be your partner and resource for involving you in rescuing orphan children.
