What better way to celebrate Father's Day than to give voice to men who are advocating for vulnerable children in our community. It is a wonderful opportunity to hear from them and gain insight into their understanding and compassion for the fatherless and the hurting.
We'd love to introduce you to a few men who have generously shared their heart with us. We asked them to answer a few questions for us, and their answers will leave a lasting impression! Learn a little about who they are, and continue reading throughout the week to hear wisdom and encouragement this Father's Day!
Brian King, Foster Parent and CFLM Staff
I am connected to foster care and adoption through my work with Chosen for Life Ministries, where I have been a volunteer for about 6 years and a staff member for about 2 years. Additionally, my wife and I have been foster parents for the last 3 years. Our connection to the foster/adoption world really began several years ago as a longing that God gave us to do more for kids in need. This led us to pursue education as to what the need is, and to consider what we might be able to do to help. Over time, this developed into a conviction that this crisis is the Church’s crisis to solve and that we, as members of the Church, have a specific role to play in solving it, if only for one child.
Danny Stevens, CFLM Board Member
I have been working professionally in the adoption and foster care field since 1982. I was able to complete my graduate school research on adoption. It has been a wonderful journey - I have had the tremendous honor to work with many terrific adoptive and foster families who have shown me the true definition of selfless love and commitment. I have been blessed to have worked with many, many children whose lives have been positively changed by the love and commitment shown to them by their foster and adoptive parents.
Steve Archie, Foster Parent
My wife Jill and I have been fostering children for our sixth year now. We've had six placements and around 10 children in our home. The reason why is related to the calling of the Lord to care for orphans. God had laid it on Jill's heart to start with and after a lot of discussion and prayer we decided to start fostering. A big reason for me was to be able to train up children in the ways of the Lord and share the gospel of Christ with the children and birth families.
Jake Parham, Adoptive Dad
I am an adoptive father to Harris, our (almost) 3 year old son. We adopted him from Ethiopia in the fall of 2016.
Steven Brooks, Foster Parent and Youth Pastor
My wife and I are foster parents. We have also served on a care team. I am involved in foster care because it is a way for me personally, and our family, to be a part of God’s call in the Bible to look out for the weak and vulnerable. Besides how God has used it to change me personally, fostering has had a big impact on my biological kids in helping them become the kind of generous and servant-hearted people I hope for them to be.
Kory Verdonck, Adoptee, Adoption Attorney, and Foster Care church Advocate
I am connected as an adoptee, as an adoption attorney, and as a foster care team leader. I was adopted at birth, and have always known that adoption was a part of my life. When I graduated from law school, I met my now boss, who works as an adoption attorney and introduced me to the possibility of working in adoptions. It has been an amazing experience so far, and God shows me every day how important it is to the world and to the sharing of the Gospel. Through work, I became connected with foster care teams, and started the ministry at my church.
Caleb Brown, Adoptive Dad
I am a foster parent and adopted two children (sibling group) from foster care. I have a passion for helping people and love kids.
Doug McFarland, Adoptive Dad and CFLM Board Member
My wife and I started feeling a call to adoption in late 2010/early 2011. In late 2014 we adopted our son Ben from China. During that process we got connected to other families who had adopted, were adopting, or were involved in foster care. We also got connected to CFLM through the adoption assistance grant. While our adoption was finalized in 2014 we felt that we should continue our involvement in adoption and foster care.We have been part of a church small group formed around families like ours. We also serve on foster care teams helping support families who are currently fostering children. I am also privileged to serve on the board of CFLM.
WHAT DOES FATHER'S DAY MEAN TO YOU?
Brian: When viewed in light of what our Heavenly Father has done for us, Father’s Day means so much more. God, in His mercy, stepped into our suffering at the moment of our greatest vulnerability to rescue us as only He could. And, in His wisdom, He has given us, as His image-bearers the opportunity to experience a reflection of His sacrifice through adoption and foster care. We are invited to enter into the suffering of hurting and vulnerable children and offer them hope through the One who is the Father to the fatherless. So, Father’s Day is a day that we have an opportunity, not to celebrate what great fathers we have become, but to be reminded of what a privilege it is to be a father in the first place.
Danny: Father's Day is simply a reminder of the incredible honor it is to be able to serve the role of father, to be able to take and shape a person's life in immeasurable ways. It is a reminder of the mandate our Heavenly Father offers us men, the mandate to follow His model in service and love. It is a reminder of the awesome opportunity to love our children as He loves us.
Caleb: Father’s Day is a special reminder for what I feel like I have been put on this earth to do, which is to be Gray and Gracie’s dad. God brought these children into mine and Jenny’s lives and we are committed to seeing his plan for them and us through.
Steven: Father’s Day reminds me of the joy that I have in watching my kids grow up and preparing them for a lifetime of loving Jesus and their neighbor. It also humbles me because it reminds me that I am far from a perfect dad so I need the grace and forgiveness of Jesus everyday to be the kind of dad I hope to be. And it is this dependence on God that I hope my kids remember most about what it means to be a dad.
Doug: A good lunch and a nap. Seriously, it is a day to slow down and enjoy time with my wife and kids.
