Situated just 10 miles west of downtown Portland is the community of Aloha, Oregon. Aloha is home to Oregon’s Roadside Attraction: Harvey the Rabbit, a 26-foot, 2,500-pound fiberglass statue. Additionally, it is home to Life Church PDX, a welcoming family of Christ followers serving God and the community around them. At Life Church, there is a place for everyone, and this motto was boldly demonstrated when their congregation took a stand for kids in foster care last year.
In March of 2023, our team visited Life Church. Pastor Matt and Sarah Blankenship had been serving as the lead pastors for only 6 months when they invited us to share about Backyard Orphans and the opportunity the Church has to be the solution to the foster care crisis. Let’s just say, God moved beyond our expectations! In a congregation of 200 people, 9 families said they were interested in fostering and/or adopting! Matt and Sarah had known they eventually wanted to start an orphan care ministry, but God was saying, “Now.”
Out of obedience to God’s prompting, they wasted no time! Pastor Matt got the ball rolling immediately by connecting with local agencies that could license their families for foster care, getting volunteers in place to support the upcoming foster families, and inviting us back to conduct a workshop for their church leadership and volunteers.
When it comes to developing a church-based orphan care ministry, many churches are aware of the need but lack the know-how. That’s where our workshop comes in. It meets the church’s passion with a sustainable plan. For Pastor Matt and Sarah, the same was true. “The workshop gave us a level of understanding that we did not yet have regarding orphan and foster care ministry. Like many other churches, we knew we needed to get involved but didn’t know where to start.”
Once they were fully equipped, Life Church went all in! They took advantage of every tool offered through the partnership with Backyard Orphans. They became sponges, absorbing all the knowledge and experience they could from those who had gone before them in this ministry. “We were not only given tools, but access to a network of leaders; we are not alone in this,” Pastor Matt and Sarah shared. “Everything we learned from the workshop gave us the confidence to move forward. We were given many good ideas for building relationships with local foster care agencies, some of which have already yielded fruit!”
In only a year, God has done incredible things through the congregation at Life Church. The passion from the pastors has trickled down through the pews! We were thrilled to receive the following update early this year:
- God has spread enthusiasm throughout the church to get involved in orphan and foster care.
- The congregation has generously given toward the new ministry.
- Families are in the process of fostering and are waiting for placement.
- Teams have been recruited and trained to run two Teen Reach Adventure Camps (camps designed specifically for youth in foster care) this July 2024.
- The church is serving their community by sending teams to refresh and improve the local foster care agency building this August 2024!
- Local agencies are responding to the support and are excited to help place children in the homes and camps of Life Church! God is creating supernatural bonds between the State and the Church.
- Plans are set to expand the ministry globally as they head to Guatemala this June 2024 to serve the women and children of the James Project!
It is our greatest joy to celebrate with churches as they go all in for orphan care. The Bible gives each of us a mandate to care for the orphan (James 1:27). Some are called to foster and adopt; the rest are called to support. We aren’t all called to do the same thing, but we are all called to do something. Pray, give, serve, love, support, or welcome home. No matter the role, God uses it to care for His children.
As God called Life Church to reach the children of Aloha and the Portland metro area, God is calling other local churches around the world to care for the hurting children in their backyard. This coming year, we look forward to reaching more churches, who will train up more families, who will welcome more children home.