That’s when I first heard how it all began.
Irene couldn’t take it any more. She couldn’t read another headline and simply hope that the foster care system would change. But what can one person do to change an enormous bureaucratic system? She began to pray. A few days later she heard about churches in California that had banded together to provide homes for children in foster care. She knew this could happen in South Florida too. She didn’t know how it would happen, but she knew she had to start somewhere. That day she became one voice.
Irene knocked on every door she could find. Day after day she talked to her friends, and even some strangers, about the situation. She continued knocking until a door opened. One church listened to her vision and took a chance.4 With a handful of volunteers, an office, and a small budget, the movement began.
As the church’s pastor, Bob, became more aware of the plight of foster care children in his own backyard, his burden for them grew. He approached his leadership and congregation with his desire to delay the planned opening of their Christian school. Instead, for one year the church would commit their resources to addressing this great community need. He shared his vision and his congregation followed.
By the end of the first year, more than forty families from this one church had committed to taking children into their homes. By the end of the second year, another seventy-five families had joined the effort. Volunteers lined up and donations began pouring in.
The growing momentum caught the attention of a local foundation who met with a group of community leaders to strategize long-term solutions. Together they forged a plan and committed significant resources to make it happen.
The vision was in motion.
The synergy caught the attention of another advocate named Rick. A former foster parent, Rick wanted to see this vision impact every church in South Florida. Using the skills forged during his work mobilizing churches for hurricane relief, he implemented an ambitious plan.
Several houses were purchased, the staff doubled five times and additional non-profits formed. Churches and community leaders throughout South Florida had joined the effort.
The unlikely partnership of one church, one foundation and a handful of individuals had brought the foster care crisis to a tipping point.
Ten years have gone by since Irene knocked on that first door.
It is hard for most to remember the hopelessness that existed just a decade ago. Although there are still problems in foster care, something has clearly changed. Where there was cynicism, now there is hope. There is now a genuine belief that the foster care crisis is a solvable problem. The Christian community is no longer intimidated by the idea of working with the state. They understand their biblical mandate to care for modern-day orphans and they are mobilizing to meet this need.
With millions of dollars invested and hundreds of volunteers and churches now engaged, the results are clear… one has become thousands.
And that’s how it happened. One woman acted. One pastor committed. One foundation invested. One man strategized. None of them could see where the next step would lead, but each responded nonetheless.
And one changed everything.
This is that story.
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