My journey in foster care ministry began in the office of Bishop Aaron Blake.

I had spoken at his church’s Sunday morning service. Afterward, he invited me to his office. His first question was what I thought about the children’s choir that had performed during the service.

I remarked that it was impressively large for such a small church.

“Yes,” Blake said. “They are all foster kids.”

He told me about his involvement in foster care. He recited the statistics about the depth of the problem. And he described how his church was making a difference in the lives of many foster children. In fact, he said theirs was the first county in Texas to have more approved foster families than kids who need placement.

“What would happen to the foster kids in the rest of the state if you used your platform the way I have used mine?” Blake asked.

At the time, I was superintendent of the North Texas District Council of the Assemblies of God, which had 550 churches in its ministry network.

When I said I didn’t know, he asked whether I would consider praying about it.

“No,” I said. “You don’t have to pray about things the Bible already commands. I’m in.”

The next thing I knew, I was attending a lunch event for leaders who worked with the foster care system. I sat between a Children’s Court judge and an official in the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, which administers the prison system.

We look forward to the day when every church in our Fellowship does something to help children and families
in our nation’s foster
care system.

The judge shared the story of the first child he removed from an abusive home and placed in foster care. Sixteen years later, he encountered her again. By then, she was an adult. She was also the abusive mother of a child who was entering the system.

“Reverend” he said, “if God and the Church don’t help us, all our effort is in vain.”

Then the prison official chimed in: “Pastor, I determine how many beds we will need in our prisons based on how many kids age out of the foster care system. That system only works when the right people are in it.”

From that time on, I made sure the North Texas District was invested and involved in our state’s foster care system.

Now I have the privilege of serving as chair of the AG Foster Care Network. We look forward to the day when every church in our Fellowship does something to help children and families in our nation’s foster care system.

The articles that follow are written by credentialed Assemblies of God ministers who are members of the network. They are arranged to help you move from problem to solution.

• Eric Porter, founder and CEO of Backyard Orphans, begins by describing the American foster care crisis.
• Allen Griffin, pastor of Winston-Salem First Assembly of God and founder of Excellerate, outlines a biblical mandate to care for society’s most vulnerable.
• Sharen Ford, director of foster care and adoption at Focus on the Family, identifies five misconceptions about foster care that keep many from becoming foster parents.
• Finally, Jay Mooney and Johan Mostert of Compact Family Services share how congregations can come alongside foster parents to ensure stable placements for kids.

I pray that these articles will touch your heart in such a way that you will join me on the journey to practice the pure and faultless religion of James 1:27!

Other Articles in This Series

• “The American Foster Care Crisis” by Eric Porter
• “A Biblical Mandate to Care” by Allen Griffin
• “Misconceptions About Foster Parenting” by Sharen E. Ford
• “What Local Churches Can Do” by Jay Mooney and Johan Mostert

This article appears in the Winter 2022 edition of Influence magazine.