Towers magazine’s March 22 edition includes an interview with Alliance President Jedd Medefind on orphan care and adoption ministry and the church.

TOWERS: If you were a pastor in a church wanting to promote an orphan care culture, what things would you do and say?

MEDEFIND: You can always begin with Scripture because God’s heart for orphans is so clear. That should be the wellspring of orphan ministry, and all ministry, as we expose people in the church to the fact that caring for orphans in their distress is a central part of following Christ.

Second, an orphan care culture becomes particularly powerful when pastors are modeling it. When a church sees a pastor that has adopted kids or is somehow involved with the foster system or in other ways is caring for orphans, then it is just natural for people to begin modeling that.

A third thing I would emphasize is the importance of focusing not just on process, but on the journey. The process is the paperwork, the finances and the preparation to adopt. That is very, very important. However, the journey of a life with a child— everything prior to the adoption, in the adoption and for decades afterwards — is part of what adoption means and the church has a role in all of that. The church especially has a role in ministering to adoptive families after they adopt, supporting them through difficult times: everything with help with childcare to counseling if there are very difficult issues. So, I would argue that a full adoption culture includes support not just of process, but of community wrapping around the adoptive family to love them through all the ups, downs, joys and challenges of adoption….

Read More in Towers Magazine (the final page).