It has been a common belief and norm that the government and non-profit organizations are the ones at the forefront of orphan care and child welfare. This is what we see all over the world and this is what is most evident in the Philippines.

But as we zoom out and look at the bigger picture, who else should be at the frontlines of the orphan crisis? Who has the heart for it? Who, in their very nature and design, is essential to bring children into families?
"It’s part of our DNA. It’s who we are. We take care of widows and orphans. Our God is passionate about the orphan. He will not leave them undefended. He will take care of them. We were all orphans once, and God adopted us into His family." - Robert Glover OBE | Founder, Care for Children
In essence, the church understands the orphan the most. We were once orphans but through Jesus, we were adopted into God's family, as children and co-heirs. This is the gospel and our very foundation. God created us for family, to be in family. In His redemption, His desire was for us to be reconciled with Him and be restored into His family. So, it is not God's intent for anyone to be alone and not have a family.
God commissions us to care for orphans
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." - James 1:27
"Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.” - Isaiah 1:17
"Look after orphans" and "bring justice to the fatherless", it is evident in scripture how God wants His people to treat those without family and belonging. We are mandated by our God to care for those He cares about.
God is passionate about the orphan
“A Father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families...” - Psalm 68:5-6
“Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.” - Exodus 22:22-23
It is God's desire to defend and care for orphans. He wants them to be set in families who will love them, care for them, and defend them. This is the nature of our good Father. He never leaves us nor forsakes us.
We were once orphans adopted into God’s family
“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” - Galatians 4:4-7
“In love, he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will...” - Ephesians 1:5
The greatest rescue mission of all time: God coming to save us and making us part of His family, once and for all. This is the heart of the God of the church. This is the mission He is on. As His children, it is part of our DNA, our design, to do what our Father is doing and to say what He is saying, to care for what He cares about.
He cares for the orphans— children who have no families to raise them, give them a home, love and nurture them, and to tell them who they are in Jesus.
How, then, should the church respond?
This is an opportunity for the church to be mobilized and to live out the gospel as children of God, as His hands and feet.
To the church, let's lock arms with the government and non-profit organizations who are already doing the work. Let us come together to see more children in loving families, not forgotten nor forsaken, just as God intended. This is the gospel in action.
To learn how you and your church can get involved, email us at connect@generationshome.org
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