A little book recently captured my attention. It didn’t have a flashy cover or a catchy title. A thin ribbon held its pages together. Pictures filled the pages, framed by biographies of children. The children found a place in the book because the state of South Carolina is seeking to find families for them. I received the book at an adoption open house hosted by the South Carolina Department of Social Services.
Kris BarnettMy wife and I are seeking to answer an unexpected call that God placed on our lives. In December we celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary. God blessed us with the two kids that we wanted, a girl and a boy. We had our children at the right time so we would not be too young or too old as we raised them. It seemed our plan had worked perfectly: two kids, one of each, the right age, all on track.
Then, out of the blue, God spoke to my wife about our plan. It seemed his plan differed drastically. I was completing school at Southwestern Seminary, waiting on God’s direction for our next place of ministry. We attended worship at a local church. In the midst of the service, God spoke to my wife, forever altering our plan. In a still but certain voice, Kelly heard the Lord reveal that we had two extra places at our dining table and that he intended to fill those places with children who needed a home.
A little over a year ago, God brought us to Pickens so that I could serve as the pastor of East Pickens Baptist Church. We arrived with God’s plan on our hearts and discovered that he had paved the way to perpetuate his plan. East Pickens already possessed a culture of adoption. On our arrival, we met numerous families who had brought children into their homes through adoption. When Kelly shared the story of God’s intent to expand our family, she found a chorus of encouragement from our newfound friends.
We started researching the options for adoption. We could adopt privately or through the state, internationally or locally. All options offered opportunities to meet the needs of children, but from the beginning we felt that God wanted us to adopt through the state so that we could reach children in DSS. That’s how we found ourselves at the adoption fair. That’s how the slim volume with ribbon-bound pages landed in my hands.
In some of the faces of the children, the traces of the pain that led them to the custody of DSS are evident. However, in each face, something else shines through: the hope of a future with a forever family. I am consumed by this book because the faces remind me of another book. The Bible speaks clearly of God’s concern for the orphans. The psalmist writes that God is “a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families -” (Psalm 68:5-6a). James reveals: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress -” (James 1:27).
If the Father who adopted us is passionate about caring for the orphans, shouldn’t we display a similar passion? A group of people at East Pickens Baptist Church believes we should. An orphan ministry team formed and selected the name, “Our Father’s Children.” As the group began meeting, praying and dreaming together, a God-sized vision we call “Adopt NOW” (No One Waiting) was birthed. We believe God will provide homes for children by raising up Christians who will step out of their comfort zones. In South Carolina, 500 children are waiting for forever families; they are free and clear for adoption. The only delay the children have in finding a home is available adoptive families. In addition, DSS workers have identified approximately 1,500 other children who are on track for adoption.
The Adopt NOW initiative desires to raise up enough Christian families to meet the current and future needs of South Carolina’s children. The South Carolina Baptist Convention has more than 2,000 churches. If one family in every four churches answered the call to open their home to a child in DSS custody, then every child who is waiting for adoption would have a home. In addition, if one family in every Southern Baptist church in South Carolina answered the call to open their home, every child headed for adoption would have a forever home.
God is calling us to step out of our comfort zones and dust off the extra chairs around our kitchen tables. He is calling us to open our homes and our hearts to those in desperate need of hope. If you would like to find out more about how you or your church can participate in Adopt NOW, please check out our Web site at www.eastpickens.org.