Lutheran Family Service, together with Lutherans For Life and Christian Life Resources, hosted the Lutheran Adoption Conference, April 10-11, in Houston, TX. Conference attendees were a mix of Lutheran faith leaders, lay leaders, pro-life organizations, adoption experts and more (conference photos below).
The conference mission? To increase the number of Biblically-based, Christian adoptions so that more little boys and girls know the love of Jesus.
A Biblical view of adoption means that we desire to bring children to a new life in Christ. It’s a faith-giving act of love. Adoption today can often be self-serving with no regard for the child’s salvation. As Christian adoption agencies decrease in number, an increasing number of adoptions are done with no intentions of bringing Christ’s love to these children. Conference attendees and organizations are motivated now, more than ever, to do something about it!
What can you do?
Read for TEN actions you can take to build awareness and take action regarding Biblically-based, Christian adoption!
Rev. Michael Salemink, Lutherans For Life Executive Director – post-conference letter to attendees
The Lord be with you!
We received considerable positive response to the event (even while it was still happening!). Energy is building among Lutherans to engage in receiving God’s blessings and serving our neighbors through fostering and adoption. Several are already wondering, “What steps come next? How can I help prepare and mobilize? Do you have anything I can do now?”
YES! Here are ten actions you can take at once to increase Lutheran involvement in adopting:
- Talk about it and tell somebody. Share what you learned and what you liked at the Lutheran Adoption Conference with a loved one in your family, congregation, workplace, or community. Invite them to view the family testimonial videos or Mark Schultz’s tribute to his birth mother. Don’t forget to post (and like or follow the conference sponsors) on social media! Visit their websites for social media links:
- Identify adoption experiences in your congregation. Consider an announcement in the weekly bulletin or monthly newsletter encouraging adoptive families to contact you. Compile a directory with a paragraph or two about each one’s story. Or plan a potluck to express appreciation and support for them as guests of honor.
- Locate relevant agencies. Explore whether your locale or region has nonprofits (such as Lutheran family ministries or pregnancy resource centers) that facilitate adoption and explore where they operate. Investigate their convictions favoring placement in biblical families. Inquire of their leaders and your parish’s leaders how you might connect the two entities and collaborate. Introduce yourself also to any congregation members with vocations in medicine, social service, and legislation.
- Learn more. Research into adoption theology or adoption policy (even an online search for the phrases will get you started!). Peruse the websites of Lutherans For Life, Lutheran Family Service, Christian Life Resources, The Riverside Project, and the Christian Adoptions Alliance.
- Pray. Remember those awaiting adoption before the Lord regularly. Include them in the church’s Sunday morning worship prayers as well. Ask Him to make you more aware and willing with regard to opportunities for you to have a hand in caring for children who need homes and families.
- Donate. Give an offering to one of the above organizations or another charity that assists the mission like LifeSong for Orphans or Pathways for Little Feet. Better yet, become monthly or annual contributor. Even better still, present an offering directly to one of the adoptive families you know!
- Volunteer. Make yourself available to the adoption agency or pregnancy resource center for whatever nonprofessional tasks they may have. Or offer to provide childcare, housekeeping, or errands for an adoptive family.
- Educate. Promote a congregational Bible study or Sunday school lesson about the adoptions God undertakes in the narratives of Scripture. Host an ambassador from an area agency at the church for an informational meeting to overview opportunities and needs.
- Advocate. Reach out to your elected representatives – both state-level and national – to inform them of your endorsement for regulations that incentivize adopting. Look for what beneficial measures other places have enacted as well as any the current session is considering. Find out how you might encourage officials to introduce such proposals.
- Contemplate opening your home. Ponder and dialogue together with your spouse and family about the Lord God’s call to care. What blessings – and what obstacles – could emerge from your household’s unique character? What details do you need to identify before deciding? What would it take for you to commence the process?
We don’t have to leave the adventure and the delight to someone else or another time. Our Heavenly Father, through Jesus the Savior, has brought adoption and fostering to your attention for such a time as this!
In truth and love,
Pastor Michael Salemink
Executive Director, Lutherans For Life
Lutheran Adoption Conference | April 10-11, 2024 | Houston, TX
