Post Theme: Learning and Praying Together – Ministry Update, March 2018
“And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said…
And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
…Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. …Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.”Matthew 18:2,5, 10,11,14
Twenty percent of children who age out of foster care become homeless immediately. Only fifty percent of the children aging out will be gainfully employed by age twenty-four. Seventy percent of the girls will become pregnant before they are twenty-one. Sixty percent of the boys will be convicted of a crime. Fewer than three percent of these children will ever, at any time in their life, earn a college degree. A quarter of them won’t even finish high school.
Please Pray With Us
Three weeks ago, I met with the director of the local Foster Care Independence Program (FCIP) to see how we could get involved. To my surprise, the meeting started with “I didn’t want to cancel this meeting. In fact, I was told not to cancel this meeting because we’re still trying to network, but—our center is closing.”
I stared back with mouth hanging open. The center that ran this program was a vital part of assisting at risk children and families in Yellowstone County and beyond. They hosted everything from the FCIP to the program that provides forensic testing for children from sexually abusive situations. This closure leaves an enormous hole. As of Friday, they still had not found a new host for this program to complete the current term. (Providers bid on it each year.)
We are praying for a more permanent, Biblically based solution for the children in our area and are asking the Lord to show us what our part will be. As much as we want to fix things today, we know this will be a long process. Looking at the needs (both those that were being met by the FCIP program and many serious needs that were not being met), we know whatever lies ahead will be an enormous undertaking. But with God nothing shall be impossible.
Will you pray with us? Will you consider getting involved as things come together? This is not something that one or two people can do. We WILL need help. But it is an amazing opportunity to see God magnify Himself and show Himself strong not only on our behalf but especially for these children.
Learning Together
It may surprise you to find out that we pray over what we post to Facebook, but it’s true. We want to provide inspiration and helpful information along your journey in ministering to the fatherless. This month, the Lord has led us to a series of blogs entitled What the Bible Says About the Fatherless. It is a lengthy series, packed full of information. Starting today, we will be sharing one of these blogs each week.
We would like to invite you not only to read and learn through these blogs but also to share your thoughts, ask questions, and invite others to join us on this journey. We’ll be asking the group specific questions to help all of us think more about the needs of the fatherless in our communities and sharing the Bible passages that go with the blog throughout each week. We’ll be doing this in our Facebook group. So if you haven’t joined, now is a great time to do so!
Click here to read the first blog in the series.
One Last Thing…
Forbid Them Not is now set up as a non-profit on Facebook. This means you can make donations directly to FTN through our Facebook Page. You can also select us for a fundraiser for special events such as birthdays, holidays, Orphan Sunday, or just because you love the fatherless. You can check our page out here.
