Stand for kids in your own community with CarePortal | Stand Sunday 2019
Each November, Christians all around the world stand for the orphan.
At CarePortal, we invite you to stand with us on Sunday, November 10 and claim this opportunity to rouse your friends, church and community to God’s call to care for the most vulnerable in your own community.
15 years ago, Bishop Aaron Blake, GO Project Board Member and friend, did just that. He asked his church to stand for every foster child in their county, sparking the beginning of the Stand Sunday movement for U.S. foster children. What God did will amaze you.
When Bishop Aaron Blake, pastor and foster/adoptive father, left his breakfast table for church on the second Sunday in November of 2004, he had a sermon prepared and it wasn’t about foster care:
“I had prepared a sermon to preach that morning that I had worked on all week. I stood up to bring the message when the breakfast table image of our boys came back to my mind. The faces of our sons seemed to multiply in my imagination as I recalled the image from the breakfast table earlier. I knew then that God was prompting our church to answer the call to care for children and broken families.”
Without explanation, Bishop Blake said to his congregation, “Brothers and sisters, there are about 30,000 children in the foster care system in Texas and nearly a half million in the U.S.”
He then asked this one simple question (and he wasn’t expecting a verbal answer):
“Who will stand with me to defend, care and support abused abandoned and neglected children in our community?”
After a brief moment of silence, one lady in the back of the church stood up and simply replied, “Pastor… I will.”
Like a tiny smoldering ember dropped in a pile of thirsty pine needles, her voice began to multiply. To his amazement, Bishop Blake watched as one family after another stood up and joined their voices to hers. As a result of that day, this church and the surrounding community has cared for and adopted hundreds of children in foster care over the last 15 years. In fact, their county actually has more than enough foster families to meet the need there. What an inspiring impact! What if we could get this response in other communities all over the country?
Each year since 2004, the church has celebrated that second Sunday in November, for the purpose of calling the church to stand for children and families in U.S. Foster Care.
Scripture says, “Learn to do what is right! Promote (stand up for) justice! Give the oppressed reason to celebrate! Take up (stand up for) the cause of the orphan! Defend the rights of the widow!” Isaiah 1:17
Stand Sunday is a time for the body of Christ to stand up for children that have become the victims of abuse, neglect or abandonment resulting in them becoming orphaned or needing to be placed into foster care. The prayer is that there will be more families waiting for children than children waiting for families.
How will you stand?
If your church is already enrolled in CarePortal, it’s a great day to find open requests in your neighborhood or talk to your CarePortal Regional Manager about more ways to serve. If you’re just hearing about CarePortal, we’re excited to help you learn more. Watch this short video about how CarePortal works or contact us.
We’d love to hear how you, your church or organization is participating in Stand Sunday! Tag us Facebook or Instagram, or send us photos at [email protected].
