- Does your church have a Children's Pastor? If so, sometimes getting him or her involved is helpful.
- In your Church Bulletin, address the following: Are there any families interested in adopting, have adopted, hearts for orphans that could meet once a month? First Meeting can be set up as a Potluck or Pizza Party!!!
- At that very first meeting establish: What is our mission?
- Organize a team to do it together!!!
- Get the number of how many adoptive families or people interested in adopting are in your church? Do a survey at your church!!!
- Ask Michelle at Children's Hope to find out if there are more Children's Hope families in your area.
- After you know a number that you are dealing with, put folks into categories of 1) The Mentors 2) The "to be" Mentored 3) People who want to help orphans & want to get involved with Orphan Sponsorship.
- Do a Bulletin Board of Families getting ready to travel & then pray for those children. Put Pictures up after the family is home as a Welcome Home Celebration for the whole church to celebrate.
- Have a Booth set up every Sunday, Team Members to take turns. Give out Children's Hope literature, have profiles of kids that need sponsorship families/ set up appointments if anyone wants to talk about adoption/
- Seminar 1 X per month:
- Church Outreach Volunteer can show Children's Hope video, use speakers points, and materials.
- Have a Specialist come in and talk on Attachment Issues
- Panel of Adoptive Parents
- CPA comes in to talk on Adoption Tax Credits
- Use Children's Hope Bible Study Info on CD & start a Bible Study specifically on Orphan Ministry
- Contact Area Churches to see if adoptive families want to join.
- Contact local newspapers for advertising.
- Create a resource list for families to use.
- Set up prayer tree with Michelle at Children's Hope for Orphans to pray for.
- Host a dinner party with Michelle at Children's Hope. This will be a time to gather where orphans are prayed for and adoption/orphan sponsorship is talked about. International meal is prepared.
- Teacher packets will be ready to be presented to school in May!!!
- Set up a Children's Hope display in your community church.
- Have a table at church with pictures and stories of orphans needing families
I encourage all of you to visit familylife.com and to order their book & DVD ~ Launching Orphan Ministries within your church!!!
This should get you started! I am open to all suggestions and will do anything to make this program wonderful!
Appreciating all of your work,
Michelle Howdeshell
Director of Church Outreach
636-240-6778
Michelle.Howdeshell@ChildrensHope.net
