At Summit VIII, the Christian Alliance for Orphans presented the 2012 Defender of the Fatherless Award to Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman. Alongside Steven’s famed music career, the couple has championed both in-country orphan care and adoption by Christians long before either topic was much discussed in most churches. The honor spotlights the deep impact Steven and Mary Beth have had in re-awakening Christians to God’s call to care for the orphan in distress.
The award is presented, “For bold and sacrificial leadership that has inspired the church, transformed children’s lives, and revealed God’s true heart to a watching world.” A Bible verse engraved on the award, Hosea 14:3, celebrates God’s great love for the fatherless and how that love becomes visible when Christians reflect God’s heart in action. “…In you the fatherless find compassion.”