From Genesis to Revelation, God reveals his heart for the vulnerable. He calls himself a Father to the fatherless (Psalm 68:5), commands Israel to defend the orphan (Deuteronomy 10:18) and reminds his church through James that true religion is measured by how we treat the most vulnerable. 

In a nation where fatherlessness and foster care touch millions of children each year, the Bible’s commands are not abstract; they are urgent and present.

Data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System indicates that 600,000 children engaged with the U.S. foster care system in 2023, while more than 340,000 children currently reside in the foster care system. Furthermore, more than 25% of all children in the U.S. (17 to 18 million) grow up in homes with no male adult present.

These children are not statistics or case files but God’s image bearers. Devaluing the vulnerable diminishes the image of God himself. To see them rightly reminds us who God is — a Father who never abandons his children. Scripture makes it clear that the church has a divine calling to defend the fatherless and care for the orphan. 

James 1:27 captures the charge for the church to care for vulnerable children: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction.” Likewise, Psalm 82:3 exhorts, “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.” 

These commands carry a mandate for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ to care for vulnerable children and advocate for them in the same way that Jesus does for us. We must resist the temptation to ignore the plight of the vulnerable, who are often out of sight and mind. Instead, the Lord commands that we go out of our way to care for orphans and vulnerable women, and he even calls this service true worship, the pure religion commanded by our holy God. 

Spiritual Adoption

In contrast to secular cultures and other religions that mistreat, ignore, or abandon vulnerable children, our loving God values those who have no standing because they are made in his image. As the perfect Father to the fatherless, God has ordained his church to be the living extension of his love and care for the vulnerable. The church must respond to God’s love in obedience by contending every day for the hearts and lives of children from every tribe, tongue, and nation living in great peril.

As followers of Christ, we understand spiritual orphanhood. We were once spiritually fatherless, separated from God and lost in sin. Yet, through Christ, we have been adopted into his family and embraced by our loving Father. Now, we are called to imitate that same love that we have been so generously gifted by going to and caring for vulnerable children in their distress. 

Governments can provide services, but only the church can provide family. Systems may sustain life, but they cannot give belonging. That is why God has charged his people to step into the gap — because in Christ, we know what it means to be adopted.

As president of Lifeline Children’s Services, the largest evangelical Christian adoption agency in the U.S., I believe that adoption is a beautiful reflection of the gospel. It tangibly expresses God’s redemptive love that draws our hearts back to Christ. But adoption is only one expression of how Christians can obey God’s call. 

Not everyone can or should adopt, but every follower of Jesus should do something to care for the fatherless in Jesus’ name. 

At Lifeline, our desire goes beyond helping children find forever families to helping every child know the truth of the gospel. Our focus is eternal, anchored in the hope of an everlasting relationship with Christ for both the child and the parent. We believe a gospel-centered family is a powerful window through which a child can encounter salvation. That’s why we come alongside missional Christian families, equipping them with the resources and support they need to find, nurture, and disciple their children so that, together, they might become disciples who make disciples.  

A parachurch ministry like Lifeline cannot do this work alone. The church has been called by God to support and strengthen ministries and individuals who provide adoption and foster care opportunities. The church needs to call and equip Christ’s followers to adopt vulnerable children from around the world. The more than 340,000 children in the U.S. foster care system need advocates, families, and hope.

And this is not only an American issue. Worldwide, UNICEF estimates that 140 million children live without permanent families. The global orphan crisis intersects with poverty, war, disability, and trafficking. 

Practical Steps Toward the Fatherless

You can take the first steps toward making a difference through four vital commitments: pray, advocate, support, and consider fostering or adopting. 

Begin with prayer, asking the Lord to move in the hearts of vulnerable children and families, and strengthen those he calls to open their homes. We must pray for the hearts of vulnerable children around the world to find not only physical homes, but also the eternal love of their heavenly Father. Pray that our advocacy would bear fruit and that potential adoptive and foster families would be strengthened, encouraged, and equipped for the sacred work before them. We must also pray that God would soften government leaders’ hearts so the church may freely and effectively advocate for those who cannot speak for themselves. 

Advocate within your community by speaking up for children who cannot speak for themselves, engaging leaders and raising awareness in your church. The church must also come alongside struggling families to help them find healing and reunification while supporting the children who age out of foster care without a family to call their own. 

These commitments can take practical shape: you might volunteer to host a child temporarily to prevent him from entering foster care, offer mentorship and encouragement to a vulnerable family in your area, or come alongside foster youth at risk of aging out of the system to help them develop the life skills they need to thrive. Lifeline has resources to equip churches to pursue these needed ministries.

Support foster and adoptive families by providing respite care, taking meals, or simply being a servant-minded friend. Churches can be the hands and feet of Jesus by hosting informational meetings, preparing families to welcome and care for vulnerable children, and offering ongoing support throughout the journey.

And, as God leads, consider whether he is calling your family to adopt or foster. 

We cannot turn away from the orphans in the U.S., nor from the millions more around the world. The need is great, but the command is clear. As those who have been adopted by our heavenly Father through Christ, we cannot forget the millions of children who long for love, stability and hope. When the Church remembers the orphan, we embody the very gospel we proclaim, showing the world a Father who does not abandon, but who redeems and restores. 

May we pray, support, advocate and act with courage, so that every child might know they are seen, valued and loved by God.

Herbie Newell is the president and executive director of Lifeline Children’s Services and a member of Faith Presbyterian Church in Birmingham.