Shepherding Ministries
Adoption and Orphan Care
Providence's adoption and orphan care ministry desires to glorify God by touching hearts with His calling to the Christian community to look after and care for orphans. To find out more about this ministry, contact Becky Estes.
Ongoing Areas of Service
Education and Awareness
Build awareness among members and visitors about the ministry of adoption and orphan care through programs and information.Coaching and Guidance
Coach and guide those considering or actively engaged in the adoption process, or who have a heart for orphan care.Support and Community
Create an ongoing community of support and connection for Providence families who have adopted or are caring for orphans.
Upcoming Events
November:
13 - Triangle-wide networking meeting in room 208 from 6-7 p.m.
16 - Post-adoption support group in room 603 from 4:30-6 p.m.
Orphan Statistics
An estimated 523,000 children live in foster care in the United States, and more than 119,000 of them are waiting to be adopted. Approximately 120,000 of these children are currently considered "waiting" children -those who are available for adoption.
According to UNICEF, there are more than 143 million orphans, ages 0-17, who have lost one or both parents in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean alone. Sixteen million children were newly orphaned in 2003.
God's Calling
Orphans and foster children face a world without family - without hope. If you speak to children growing up in orphanages, foster homes and on the street, you will find that they talk of family and belonging. Many hope against hope that their parents will return for them or that someone new will come to love them. Most significant of all is that they have no father to guide them, no mother to love them and no one to celebrate their accomplishments.
The future prospects for children who emancipate from orphanages, the foster care system or who grow up as street children are profoundly bleak. Ironically, the outlook for American orphans is almost identical to that of children around the world. Theft, prostitution, homelessness, substance abuse, incarceration and suicide affect the lives of the majority of those children who grow up as orphans and never find permanent, loving homes. In short, orphans by definition are children who for whatever reason have found themselves in need of permanent, safe and loving families. For such children, being taken in by a family through the "spirit of adoption" is their greatest need!
The world is in crisis. If nothing changes - nothing changes. And it is a crisis involving a population which is extremely precious to the heart of God: orphans. The problem of more than 100 million orphans will not be solved by one group, one church or one denomination.
The answer lies in great numbers of believers from many places gathering together, creatively finding solutions to solve small pieces of the orphan plight and saving lives one by one! God says that He is the Father of the fatherless; orphans are part of His royal family. He has asked us, the church, to be His hands extended and to love these children on His behalf.
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world" (James 1:27).
Helpful Links
How to Adopt
Learn more about the process of adoption on this page, including a step-by-step adoption guide, common myths and realities, and the information about caring for orphans throughout the world.
Angel Book Mission
Each December, Christian Library International helps send brand new, gift-wrapped, prayed-over, Christian children's books to the children in homeless shelters, orphanages and detention centers and thus helped thousands of children experience the peace, love and joy of Jesus Christ.
Wake County MAPP Training
Are you interested in becoming trained for foster parenting in Wake County? If so, contact the Foster Care Recruitment Line (919-212-7474) or their website and enter the keywords "Foster Care."
Shaohannah's Hope
This organization, founded by Christian music artist Steven Curtis Chapman, was established to care for orphans by engaging the church and helping Christian families reduce the financial barriers to adoption.
Voice of the Orphan
Recognizing that the severity of today's orphan crisis is bigger than any one organization, FamilyLife, Focus on the Family and Shaohannah's Hope joined together to launch a long-term, nationwide campaign called Voice of the Orphan. This campaign seeks to raise awareness of the orphan crisis and spur fellow Christians to action.
Warm Blankets
The mission of Warm Blankets is to restore the lives of orphans in partnership with churches, corporations, organizations and individuals who have a passion to help needy, parentless children.