Over 25 years ago, a family in Michigan welcomed their first foster placement into their home. Understandably, the child was nervous and hesitant to come inside … until he saw the family’s extensive PEZ dispenser collection proudly displayed across the room!
If you’re not familiar with what a PEZ dispenser is, it is a manually-operated dispenser for PEZ candies, which are small, flat, sugar-based blocks. Over the last nearly 100 years, they have gained cultural significance as a popular collectible item, especially those featuring cartoon characters.
And it just so happened that this little boy spotted one of his favorite characters in the family’s display that afternoon. The brand new foster mom pulled it out, placed it in his 3-year-old hand and asked if he wanted to sleep with it that night.
It was their first point of connection, and now 25 years later, the PEZ cabinet has helped facilitate a sense of connection, safety and belonging for over 70 foster and respite placements.
Pure Religion Sunday — a simple, creative and powerful tool
Why do I share this story? Because that mom is also the foster care and adoption ministry leader at her church, and this year she is planning a PEZ-themed Pure Religion Sunday event for her church!
She’s currently scouring the internet to acquire as many PEZ dispensers as she can to hang on a tree and give out to people in her church on November 9th as a way of helping them understand the power of connecting with and caring for children from hard places.
This is the beauty of Pure Religion Sunday. While not every church participating in Pure Religion Sunday this year will have a tree with PEZ dispensers hanging on it, every church can do something to practically and powerfully inspire their people to live out the “pure religion” described in James 1:27 and reflected all throughout Scripture.
A unique approach for every congregation
Pure Religion Sunday is a day to recognize and respond to God’s heart for vulnerable children and families. It encourages churches to engage deeply in adoption, foster care, global orphan care and wrap-around family support — central to living as disciples of Christ. It will look different for every congregation.
Perhaps it’s a time of prayer for orphaned or vulnerable children in your country, like a church outside of Nairobi, Kenya did last year. Or a time of testimony for foster parents, adoptive parents, kinship parents, wraparound support friends or former foster youth to share their stories with your congregation, like we saw churches in Indiana, North Carolina and Southern California do last year.
And if you’re an organizational leader looking for ways to utilize Pure Religion Sunday with the churches you have relationships with in your community, be inspired by how one network in Ohio is actively bringing resources and opportunities to their church partners to help them creatively find and do their something this November 9th.
Get creative — without starting from scratch
Pure Religion Sunday is a tool you can use and adapt to your unique context and congregation. But you also don’t have to start from scratch.
To serve and support you this Pure Religion Sunday, CAFO’s Pure Religion Project has produced a library of high-quality, turn-key resources with you in mind. From customizable Canva graphics and logo packages to planning guides, ideas and timelines … these resources will help you creatively and successfully plan your Pure Religion Sunday event!
You can explore the whole suite of resources, but here are two new resources this year I’m particularly excited about:
New Pure Religion Sunday video for your service
This promo video will help you show the power of churches living out a holy and helpful calling. Integrating Scripture and footage from around the world, this video is designed to play in your Pure Religion Sunday service and seamlessly transition to your sermon or call to action for local engagement.
Download the video and use it to inspire your congregation.
Pure Religion Sunday episode of the More Than Enough Podcast
The More Than Enough Podcast connects you to people, ideas and tools that will help you and your community work together to fill the gaps that will make the biggest difference in caring for children and families where you live. The newest episode features inspiring stories and practical ideas for how your church can leverage the power of Pure Religion Sunday in your local community.
Listen to the episode to get ideas and be encouraged by the stories of other church leaders and advocates like you.
Setting the table for God to move
From PEZ dispensers to preaching or prayer, your Pure Religion Sunday service can set the table for God to move in surprising and beautiful ways, connecting people in your congregation to His heart for this work and then helping them find the ways they are uniquely called and equipped to get involved.
So get creative. Find resources to help you along the way. And watch what God does.
-Jason Johnson is the National Director of Church Engagement & Mobilization for CAFO.
Pure Religion Sunday is Coming on Nov. 9, 2025
Register your organization or church today at cafo.org/purereligionsunday. Tag us on social media @cafoalliance using #purereligionsunday to be featured on the website!
