INITiative HISTORY:

The initiative began as a conversation in the spring of 2014 between Chosen for Life Ministries and the Clarke and Oconee County DFCS (Division of Family and Children Services) on how we might work with area churches to recruit, train, and support foster families.  As we began to research, we came across the 1-1-1 Project that started in Oklahoma and spread to Georgia in 2012.  We began working with Promise686 who oversees the 1-1-1 Initiative in Georgia to form our Foster Care Initiative.

initiative MISSION:

CFLM's Foster Care Initiative is a collaborative strategy between churches, CFLM, and Promise686 (another independent 501(c)(3) organization) that mobilizes and equips churches and families to serve orphans and children in foster care. 

THE NEED:

  • U.S. statistics indicate over 500,000 children in foster care.
  • Approximately 12,000 children in Georgia are in foster care.
  • There are 449 people who claim to be Christians for every foster child in the United States.
  • There are currently over 300 children from Athens in foster care and around 60 foster homes available to these children.
  • The significant deficit of foster homes means children are often moved far away from their community and school to other parts of the state, siblings are split up, and older children are placed into group homes.

THE SOLUTION:

Through our partnership with Promise686, our solution is to mobilize well-trained volunteers to support local foster families, which keeps approved foster families fostering longer. As volunteers serve through a Care Team, many are recruited to become foster families themselves, therefore increasing the number of homes available locally to children in care. 

If we, as Christians, don’t give these “least and lost” the Gospel in both word and action, they may never know it and risk growing up to repeat the cycles of destruction from which they came.

If you want to talk with CFLM staff on how to begin a Foster Care Ministry at your church, contact our Foster Care Initiative Coordinator Kelly Brooks! Check our list of supporting churches to see if your church might already have a ministry you can join!

Phone: 706.206.1230

You can be a part of what Chosen for Life Ministries is doing, too! Visit our Volunteer page to contact us about joining a Care Team!