Foster & Adoption
RE: Conference
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Working together is a beautiful thing!
In May of 2017, I found myself at the Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit in Nashville, Tennessee where God showed me an opportunity to expand the support we currently offer for foster and adoptive parents by putting on an conference that would draw parents from all over for a weekend of equipping and encouragement. It was obvious to me that this was the next step for our foster adoption ministry at Westside Family Church (WFC). Our ministry, called Network 1.27, from James 1:27 which states that “pure and faultless religion is to look after orphans and widows in their distress…” had grown from a simple life group ten years ago to a busy and active ministry supporting foster and adoptive parents in our congregation and in the KC area. However, I had just sensed God was assembling the pieces to do something bigger. Within hours of digesting this opportunity and daring to dream about bringing it to Kansas City I shot a quick, enthusiastic email to the about 10 people in leadership at WFC to float the idea. I anticipated a warm reception with thoughtful questions, encouragement to dream about this “someday” so you can imagine my surprise when within 12 hours I had enthusiastic buy-in and confirmation that I should go ahead and “go for it”.
THIS IDEA WAS BIGGER THAN ME, and I will be the first to admit that I had no idea what I was getting into but I did know it was going to take collaboration to pull this thing off. I immediately emailed the five busiest ministry leaders and foster/adoption champions in town. Anticipating, a warm reception to the idea and encouragement to “keep them posted”, what I found was the same enthusiasm and 4 leaders who were willing to roll up their sleeves and do this with me. Less than eight months later, in February 2018, we pulled off our first conference serving nearly 500 foster and adoptive parents from all over the region. We just hosted our third conference in February of this year and over the past 3 years we have served The momentum has allowed us to hold this event with open hands so that every church can be a part of getting the foster and adoptive families they serve this level of equipping and encouragement. Over the past three years we have hosted more than 1,150 foster/adoptive parents and professionals from more 20 states through this experience.
In 2020 five different KC area churches sponsored the event, and a dozen more provided scholarships to their families to attend. This expression of the Big C church is not lost on us. If the church is going to raise the banner of foster care and adoption as a biblical mandate then we have the responsibility and the privilege to come alongside individual churches with real support opportunities for the families in their congregation. This could never have been done without the body of Christ, without the leaders of multiple churches coming together and championing this effort.
In addition to this conference we are getting to watch churches and organizations come together in a number of different ways and because of our close collaboration with the conference we are able to make the resources of everyone more available to the greater community. For example, one church offers a respite night for foster parents, while another organization has a clothing closet, and another is offering a support group. What has grown out of this collaboration is good and it keeps us from duplicating one another’s efforts but rather helps us each be successful in the various opportunities God has given each of us to steward.
Jen Decker
Director of Network 1.27 foster adoption ministry of Westside Family Church and RE: Conference, real encouragement for foster & adoptive parents.
