Upshot – The final result; the outcome.
When working with a church as to what “long term, strategic orphan care” looks like, it is important to define the final result, the win, the upshot.
What are we aiming for?
Upshot is just another term for “result” – A result is the final consequence of a sequence of actions or events expressed qualitatively or quantitatively. For our purposes, we need to know the win and what sequences are going to need to be in place to produce that win.
So, what is a win for a church who is rolling out an orphan care strategy? What does that look like? Let me give you a couple of examples from our partner churches in Woodstock, GA and Buffalo, NY and then we’ll talk about what represents a “win”.
Example # 1:
My home church and first partner, First Baptist Woodstock, began a foster care ministry in 2007. Our pastor saw the need in the community and then led our congregation to do something about that need. It was quite a moment. Let’s take a look at what has happened since 2007. Patch Our Planet has been assisting FBCW for two years in the areas of Global Orphan Care and now Foster Care.
Family’s recruited for Foster Care:
2007 – 1 2008 -14 2009 – 22 2010 – 9 2011 – 9 2012 – 1Total = 56
How many placements happened during that time?
2008 – 2 2009 – 12 2010 – 18 2011 – 15 2012 – 2 Total = 49Adoptions of foster children during that time – 11.
It was figured that families at First Woodstock have provided 12,402 days of care in that time period, equivalent to 33 years…and counting. That’s amazing. And, in recent days, we have been through an intentional refining process to make the ministry even more effective for the years to come. Check it out here: http://www.fbcw.org/foster-care/
Example # 2:
Let’s take a quick look at what is happening in Buffalo, NY. This ministry just launched last Father’s Day, June 2012. See video of the launch here: https://patchourplanet.org/orphans/every-child-the-chapel-in-buffalo-ny/ Since last June, here are some of the results of just one church in this network of churches.
# of people responding on Father’s Day – 400
# of Families attending Information Meetings – 48
# of Children placed in homes – 15
It was a great beginning for the Every Child ministry. You can see the amazing network of care that is happening in Western New York here: http://every-child.com/ Churches from different denominations are coming together to care for the children in that broader region. It’s inspiring. It’s just right.
So, to answer the question above – what is the upshot of churches starting orphan care ministries?
1. Kids have a better chance at a forever family when local churches are equipped and engaged in the process. They have a road map.
2. Churches are blessed by their participation in “pure religion”.
3. Families will be available to care for children in need in their communities.
4. Churches will have a long term plan of care that equips the church to fulfill James 1:27 and speaks volumes to the community that they care about the needy children in their community. No more scrambling. The church awaits the child.
There are many more I’m sure. Those are mine.
What are yours?
For the sake of the church & the child,
Steve Gillis Founder | Exec. Director www.patchourplanet.org
