About Project 1.27
What's It All About: Part II of III
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
James 1.27 NIV
Too often pastors teach on this passage and gloss over the "orphans" directive. Too often the Christian Church in America spends its time feeding itself, reaching inward - distributing love, truth, encouragement and God's "Gospel of Hope" - to itself. True, we are called to minister to each other. "They will know we are Christians by our love." But shouldn't we be reaching out!
There some in the Christian body that are tired of feeding themselves, empowering themselves, fixing their own sin and wondering what's next. Maybe it's time for the church body to be just that - a body- a body that moves and breaths and walks. Maybe its time that the church spends more time out in the community, walking and carrying its unique abilities, power and "Gospel of Hope" to the people. How about administering it to the orphans in our surrounding neighborhoods? Project 1.27 is a demonstration of one such "walkabout."
It is true, Christians are adopting. In addition, many more are being slowly led towards adoption. Let's talk to those of you right now. God has been working on you for a very long time. His pull on you is a thousand times stronger than any words I could use. Maybe some of you have entertained the idea for years. But you have held back. You are not sure what it would be like. Your husband isn't ready. You don't have enough money. Your wife wants to have her "own" children. It would mess up your life. But God has been patient with you; he keeps whispering it in your ear. You are reminded and moved when you hear of another family that adopts. You wonder: "Why aren't we doing that?" "I'm Scared!" "I could do it, or could I?"
I say, "Yes!" I believe you can do it! We at Project 1.27 firmly believe that the Church and its unique environment provide the perfect place to stand up and take that step into adoption. People in churches have been adopting for years. And their friends have helped them out for years - informally. But it is rarely an organized effort. Most adoption experiences have characteristics of isolation, fear and anxiety. Sure it's wonderful - but the waiting, the paperwork, the money, and the tugs on your heart.it is all so overwhelming. We need to work together as a one body to support these families as they take this step of faith.
We believe that every Christian church in America has the ability to adopt a lot of kids and support those in this endeavor. We believe that every church in America can walk out the door and bring in children now! There is a church in Texas made up of 150 people. They mobilized their congregation to walk into their community and they placed 16 kids in 6 months! There is also a church in Possum Trot, Texas, 50 people strong who adopted 80 children!. There is another church in Washington State, who has been working with adoption for over 8 years and places kids in homes without cost. God is moving, churches are responding, and children are finding Moms and Dads!
Now it's time to look at Colorado. Currently, there are kids right here in our own cities--children with broken families, and some with none at all. Many are feeling isolated, rejected, lashing out in anger, wanting to belong and sick of being hurt. Many have given up. Our prisons are populated with 70% of people with time in the U.S. Foster Care system. A lot of us already know these kids. We see them on the streets, our kids meet them in the school hallways, and they give us our hamburgers, saying, "Have it your way!" Some of you remember those kids when you were growing up. Some of you "were" those kids. They are Americans like us: they speak our language, walk our streets, cheer for the Broncos, etc. They are right here.
There are over 875 kids in Colorado right now who are legally free for adoption. There are also over 1500 churches in Denver alone. Do the math! There is no reason that these kids should languish in the system. We need to stop our tentativeness, our living in fear, and in some cases, our selfishness. We need to pray, organize, stand, lock arms, and walk out those doors and tythe our lives for the sake of these kids!
It has been over 70 years since the Church took ownership of the orphan issue. In this country, there are thousands of children each year 'aging out' of the foster care system. Once a child hits 18, he is forced out. Now what does he do? Who will help him navigate those scary young-adult decisions? Who will walk her down the aisle? Where will he go for Christmas? Who will she call for advice when she wants to buy her first home? God "sets the fatherless in families" because we never lose the need for a mother or father, just because we grow up.
It is a ministry. Think of this as your chance to minister to these children. He wants us to care for them, work through their pain with them, let them yell at us, let us love them. He wants us to share with them His great and glorious truths. He wants us to tell them that they are special, fearfully and wonderfully made, worthy and loved. He wants us to share His words with them:
"We are pressed but not crushed, perplexed but don't despair, persecuted but not abandoned, we are no longer slaves but daughters and sons, and when we are weak we are very strong. And neither death nor life nor present for future nor depth nor height can keep us from the love of Christ. And the word I need is the word that was who put on flesh to dwell with us."
(Borrowed from Sarah Groves, The Word, Conversations)
We need to gather all of the rich resources in our church body and give them away to these kids. Sure there are no guarantees. We may get hurt. We may get some holes in our walls. It will be hard. But, it is a faith-walk. "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Heb 11:1) We may fail. But if you really want to see God, reach into the lives of these kids and live!
(Stay tuned for the next and final installment of Project 1.27)
May God Richly Bless You!
Christopher R. Padbury
Executive Director, Project 1.27
Read More:
Part I
Part III
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