FocusOnTheFamily

Hearing the cry

November 7, 2010, is Orphan Sunday. One Canadian church that is on the map to celebrate this special day is McLaurin Baptist Church in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Randy Burtis, an adoptive dad and the church’s pastor of family ministry, recently shared with us their plans for that Sunday. The church’s ideas may inspire you to incorporate something similar in your own church.

The schedule starts with dedicating the worship time in their two services to the theme of celebrating that we are all adopted by God as His children. The church will also use various forms of media to share the stories of families within the church who have chosen to adopt children as an answer to the Bible’s call to care for widows and orphans (the church has a significant number of adoptive families already in their midst).

“Our goal,” says Burtis, “is to bring to light that this is an opportunity but also a command of God [that His people] look after orphans and widows in their distress.” It is “not an optional thing,” Burtis declares passionately.

McLaurin Baptist’s adoption awareness strategy isn’t just for adults. In Sunday school, teachers will present “a day in the life of an orphan” to open the eyes of the children to show them how other kids live.

A lunch will follow the worship service. During lunch, the church will play the new Cry of the Orphan video production. A discussion period will follow the video. The church is trying to raise awareness of both the needs and the opportunities for families to make a difference in the lives of children.

McLaurin Baptist believes in caring for the needs of not just Canadian children, but also those in the global community. Thus, it partners with a school in Rwanda in which many of the children are AIDS orphans.

At Focus on the Family Canada, we are actively pursuing what God is calling us to do to highlight this topic. In the next several months, we will be addressing this issue in a number of ways. We encourage pastors and churches to begin thinking and praying about how God could use your ministry to touch the lives of the children for whom He cares so deeply. Here are a few online resources to stimulate your thoughts as you listen for His call in this area:

Watch: “Adoption is Greater Than the Universe” by John Piper

Read: “Abba Changes Everything” by Russell Moore

Listen: “Preaching Adoption” by Robert Gelinas (sermon series)