{"id":32839,"date":"2022-09-10T16:25:13","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/adoption-foster-care-commonplace-in-churches\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T16:25:13","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:25:13","slug":"adoption-foster-care-commonplace-in-churches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/adoption-foster-care-commonplace-in-churches\/","title":{"rendered":"Adoption, Foster Care Commonplace in Churches"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Bob Smietana<\/em><\/p>\n

The Bible has a lot to say about caring for orphans.<\/p>\n

Protestant churches in the United States appear to be listening.<\/p>\n

About 4 in 10 Protestant churchgoers say their congregation has been involved with adoption or foster care in the past year, according to Nashville-based Lifeway Research.<\/p>\n

That may be because the Bible tells them to, said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research.<\/p>\n

\u201cFoster care appears to come naturally for churchgoers,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not surprising, since the Bible commands them to care for widows and orphans.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Foster care, adoption are commonplace<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Since the early 2000s, many Protestant churches have commemorated \u201cOrphan Sunday\u201d every November to draw attention to the plight of orphans around the world.<\/p>\n

In the past, they\u2019ve often focused on international adoption and orphanages. But in recent years, foster care\u2014both in the United States and abroad\u2014has become a focus as well.<\/p>\n

Lifeway Research\u2019s survey of 1,010 churchgoers\u2014those who attend a Protestant or nondenominational church at least once a month\u2014found 25 percent say someone from their church has been involved in foster care over the past year.<\/p>\n

Seventeen percent say someone from their church has adopted a child from the U.S. in the past year. Fifteen percent say someone from their church has adopted a child from another country.<\/p>\n

Those at larger churches, with 250 or more in attendance, are most likely to know someone in their church who has provided foster care (37 percent). Those who attend smaller churches, with fewer than 250 in attendance, are less likely (20 percent).<\/p>\n

Those who attend nondenominational churches (39 percent) are the most likely to know someone who has fostered children.<\/p>\n

Churchgoers from nondenominational churches are also most likely to know someone at church who had adopted a child from the United States (25 percent). Baptists (15 percent), Lutherans (12 percent) and Pentecostals (10 percent) are less likely.<\/p>\n

Churchgoers from larger congregations are more likely to know someone who had adopted from abroad (30 percent) than those from smaller churches (7 percent). So are those from nondenominational churches (34 percent).<\/p>\n

White (20 percent) and Hispanic (15 percent) churchgoers are more likely than African-American churchgoers (4 percent) to say someone from their church has adopted a child from another country.<\/p>\n

Church leaders don\u2019t speak up<\/strong><\/h3>\n

 <\/strong>Still, church leaders in general don\u2019t talk much about adoption, according to Lifeway Research\u2019s survey.<\/p>\n