WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.319 Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast. 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:07.040 We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:08.640 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:23.600 Well, Church, I want to introduce, um, I want to introduce Courtney to you. 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:25.359 She's gonna be preaching this morning. 00:00:25.519 --> 00:00:30.079 Um, she is here with Foster the City, which is a partnership that we have. 00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:38.560 Um, they are an organization that helps support kids in foster care, and they partner with local churches um in order to make that happen. 00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:42.320 And you're gonna hear all about that um and what that looks like. 00:00:42.560 --> 00:00:46.399 Courtney is she's the director of advocates of the East Bay. 00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:53.840 So they kind of split up by region, and she leads all the churches in um all the church partnerships in the East Bay here. 00:00:54.079 --> 00:00:58.399 Um, she's also a foster mom currently and an adoptive mom. 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:04.239 So she has all the angles of this topic, and I'm so thrilled for you to hear what she has to say. 00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:05.519 Can we welcome her? 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:06.959 Thanks so much, Courtney. 00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:08.400 Thank you. 00:01:11.359 --> 00:01:14.480 All right, well, good morning, Awakening Church. 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:18.719 Um, it's truly, honestly, such a privilege to be here with you guys this morning. 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:32.719 I've loved this Live Local series, I've been following it online, and I've just been so um compelled by the messages that have uh been preached previously. 00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:49.680 And I'm excited to talk with you more about uh the unhoused and the hungry and youth experiencing foster care, because even though you've already heard about the unhoused and the hungry, what I have to bring for you today is interconnected with that. 00:01:49.920 --> 00:02:00.319 Now, youth experiencing foster care, when they age out of the system, they're basically sent on this pathway, honestly, to becoming unhoused or hungry. 00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:03.840 And I want to share some of those statistics with you this morning. 00:02:04.079 --> 00:02:16.240 Um youth experiencing foster care are twice as likely to develop PTSD than veterans who've experienced active combat. 00:02:17.039 --> 00:02:19.759 All right, just let that sink in with you this morning. 00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:26.879 One out of three will become unhoused and experienced food insecurity after aging out of the foster system. 00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:35.759 50% will develop a substance abuse addiction, one out of two will experience unemployment by their mid-20s. 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:45.840 And for young women, there's an extra layer of vulnerability because 70% of girls who age out of the foster system will have one or more children to take care of by the age of 21. 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:58.000 Now, I want you guys to think about what it is like to experience this kind of baggage and these statistics over your life living here in the Bay Area. 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:01.360 Now, the reverse is true as well. 00:03:01.520 --> 00:03:14.639 Not only are people are children aging out of the foster system sent on this pathway that leads a lot of them into being unhoused or hungry, but kids entering into foster care have experienced this as well. 00:03:14.879 --> 00:03:23.199 In 2024, the primary reason for kids entering into foster care is because of neglect. 00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:27.919 And neglect is basically a code word for poverty in many situations. 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:34.560 So 55% of kids that are entering into the foster system are there because of neglect. 00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:40.400 So these social issues are all interconnected, right? 00:03:40.960 --> 00:03:54.879 And one of the most meaningful upstream approaches that we can take to prevent these huge societal issues that we all worry about is by helping kids in foster care. 00:03:55.199 --> 00:04:10.080 Now think about these issues: homelessness, um, food insecurity, human trafficking, incarceration rates, substance abuse, addiction. 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:20.079 All of these issues can be prevented in the lives of foster youth by you and I entering in. 00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:25.920 Now, there might be some of you this morning that are thinking, how have I never heard this before? 00:04:26.079 --> 00:04:30.480 How have I not heard that all of these societal issues are so interconnected? 00:04:31.600 --> 00:04:41.920 Well, as somebody that's in the foster care space, as a foster parent and an advocate, I can tell you that foster care is what I like to call a quiet crisis. 00:04:42.959 --> 00:04:48.800 Because kids in foster care demand confidentiality and privacy. 00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:51.759 Think about what their stories hold, right? 00:04:53.279 --> 00:05:02.399 Abuse, neglect, trauma, court cases, biological family complexities, right? 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:08.959 We don't hear these stories because the silence in some ways protects their confidentiality. 00:05:09.040 --> 00:05:18.000 Now, what it doesn't protect is because we don't hear these stories and we don't see them, the need goes unmet. 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:21.519 And the church sometimes is slow to respond. 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:27.839 But I promise you guys that there are kids that go to this school that are in foster care. 00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:34.639 I promise you that in your children's ministry, there are previous, current, and future foster kids. 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:38.079 So this need is real and it's tangible. 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:43.040 And that's why I'm here with you today because I can come and speak to you, right? 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:46.959 I'm here to speak on behalf of the kids who cannot speak for themselves. 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:53.279 And I'm here to share what I've seen and share how you guys can make a difference in the lives of foster youth. 00:05:53.519 --> 00:06:00.560 So I'd like to invite you to turn with me to our anchor passage today, which is James 1.27. 00:06:01.439 --> 00:06:08.000 Now, for a bit of context, the overarching theme in the book of James is this idea of faith and works. 00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:09.920 And James says some bold things. 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:13.360 He says that faith without works is dead, right? 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:20.480 And he asserts that genuine faith is demonstrated by action, not by what you believe or by what you say. 00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:23.600 And he has some bold things to say here in this chapter. 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:27.360 I wish we could go over all of it, but we're gonna jump to verse 27. 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:39.439 It says, pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:52.160 Now, in the original language, this phrase caring for, it means drawing near, pursuing, risking serious personal involvement. 00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:55.439 And do you know that's exactly what the early church was known for? 00:06:55.600 --> 00:07:00.160 They were known for responding to the needs of the vulnerable and living counterculturally. 00:07:00.319 --> 00:07:02.319 Now they did this imperfectly, of course. 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:12.079 If you read the New Testament, they uh they really make some mistakes along the way, but I want to point you to Acts 4, 32 through 35. 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:18.319 And let's hear how the author describes the early church. 00:07:19.040 --> 00:07:22.560 All the believers were one in heart and mind. 00:07:23.360 --> 00:07:28.959 No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 00:07:29.439 --> 00:07:42.560 With great power, the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God's grace was so powerfully at work at all of them in all of them that there were no needy persons among them. 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:52.800 For from time to time, those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales, and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:58.319 Now, can you guys imagine being part of that kind of community? 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:09.439 One that is so centrally focused on the mission of Jesus that they're willing to give up their home and their property and their comfort for the sake of other people in their community. 00:08:10.079 --> 00:08:17.279 I mean, honestly, I struggle to see how this kind of life looks in 2025. 00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:31.600 And maybe you're like me and you look at this passage and you're inspired by it, but you're kind of paralyzed in a way because you don't know how to move towards that kind of radically generous, embodied compassion. 00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:36.159 Like, how do we live this out in 2025? 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:48.399 What I don't want to happen this morning is that you're so paralyzed by this kind of generosity that you take no steps, that we leave this room no different than the way we came in. 00:08:48.720 --> 00:09:08.159 But what I want this morning, I'm praying, is that God would baptize our imagination, that he would allow us to just imagine what it would look like if all of our priorities and all of our values were aligned with his and we leave this room and we actually look like this. 00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:10.799 Let's just imagine together. 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:14.879 And I know that's not easy. 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:22.159 I know it's it's easy to say, but it's hard to live out, and right, that's what James is even talking about in this in this chapter. 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:26.480 This is easy stuff to say, this is hard to live out in action. 00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:38.720 But I know it is possible because we saw the early church real people wrestle through this kind of radically remarkable generosity. 00:09:39.919 --> 00:09:46.639 And what I love about the early church is even in the New Testament, as you see them stumble, you see them double down. 00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:51.360 They're doubling down on centering their lives on Christ-centered service. 00:09:51.519 --> 00:09:53.600 They make a mistake, they respond. 00:09:53.919 --> 00:09:56.399 They're confronted, they change, right? 00:09:56.639 --> 00:09:59.600 And so this morning, that's what I want for us to consider. 00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:06.320 Is there something in our thinking that needs to change so we can align more wholly with Christ? 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:18.320 That's what I invite you into this morning on the behalf of vulnerable children, because I crave this kind of faith in the foster care space. 00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:35.200 I crave that we would be so compelled by the radical, reckless love of Jesus that we want to be able to tolerate the fact that there are children in our community, children that go to this school, children in your neighborhoods that don't have a safe and loving home. 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:42.080 Let's not walk away from today disassociating with that reality. 00:10:42.159 --> 00:10:43.440 Let's let it soak in. 00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:49.279 Would we be bold enough in the context of community here to really address this? 00:10:51.120 --> 00:11:03.519 Now, James 127 isn't just a command, it's a description of a way that the early church was already living out this kind of radical generosity, this embodied compassion. 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:13.039 Now, in the early church, there was a or in ancient Rome, there was this practice where when a baby was born, it would be laid at the feet of its father. 00:11:13.919 --> 00:11:15.519 And the father would have a choice. 00:11:15.679 --> 00:11:24.159 If the father picked up his child, that would be a way of him accepting the responsibility of this life. 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:29.759 It was a way of signifying that this child belongs to our family, right? 00:11:30.240 --> 00:11:32.639 But the father would have another choice. 00:11:33.519 --> 00:11:42.240 If he refused to fix uh to pick up the child, he would be released of all responsibility. 00:11:42.480 --> 00:11:52.879 And the child would then be taken outside of the city gates and left there to die in an uh in infant exposure. 00:11:53.360 --> 00:11:53.679 Okay. 00:11:54.799 --> 00:12:01.200 But the early church, the radically generous, gritty, compassionate early church, they had a practice too. 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:07.120 When they heard about this, when they knew about this happening in their community, they sought after. 00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:12.320 They went out and looked for vulnerable children in their community. 00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:18.559 They would walk outside the city gates at night, listening for the cries of abandoned infants. 00:12:18.799 --> 00:12:22.559 And when they found them, they would scoop them up in their arms and they would take them home. 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:33.120 And Tertullian, a second-century apologist and author, he writes that the church was known for this practice for hundreds of years. 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:38.399 And he says that there's three ways that the early church would respond to this. 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:45.440 First, they would take the child home and give them all rights as a family member. 00:12:45.519 --> 00:12:49.759 They would adopt them, give them, give their family to this child. 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:58.480 Or two, they would look for children who were gravely ill that were left to die. 00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:06.720 And with compassion, then they would they would bring them home and treat them with dignity and care for them until their last breath. 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:13.759 Or three, when they would find children that had already been left and already passed away. 00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:17.039 They would bring them home and they would mourn them. 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:20.399 And they would bury them with dignity. 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:27.120 Now, what if this is what the church was known for? 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:47.360 For being a place that so values human life, so values the children in our community that we would radically, radically give our lives, offer our families, offer our homes to these kids. 00:13:52.559 --> 00:14:07.840 These early Christians stepped into situations marked by illness, disability, poverty, social stigma, and they weren't choosing children who were gonna make their lives better or easier. 00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:12.320 They chose children who needed love the most. 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:17.600 This isn't simply just a picture of a family growing. 00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:20.399 This is a picture of incredible risk. 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:42.559 We see through all scripture, the Old and New Testament, that one of the purest expressions of a relationship with Jesus is how we treat the vulnerable, the marginalized, the outsider, the foreigner, the fatherless, the voiceless, the powerless. 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:53.360 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. 00:14:54.399 --> 00:14:57.120 Now there's a second half to this verse, right? 00:14:58.159 --> 00:15:01.440 And for years I used to kind of wonder what's the connection here? 00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:05.679 Seems kind of disconnected. 00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:13.919 But as I spent time really wrestling with this, I realized what is the world corrupting us with? 00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:25.279 The older I get, the less I think that this is about the things I was taught as a kid, like watching rated R movies or like listening to the wrong music, or you know. 00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:33.679 I think the most persuasive invitation that the world has to offer us is to choose our own comfort. 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:38.000 I think that's how the world corrupts us. 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:49.679 By convincing me it's okay to build my life around me, around my security, around my success, my happiness, my house, my kids, my country, my money. 00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:56.480 These are all things that the world tells us we should worry about. 00:15:59.039 --> 00:16:06.480 Our cultural narrative revolves around me preserving my comfort and my personal peace. 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:17.120 We push away anything that's hard and broken, we try to shield ourselves from it, we try to prevent this in our future, we try to keep our kids from it, right? 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:22.799 But what if the gospel reality demands different priorities? 00:16:24.559 --> 00:16:33.279 The longer that I walk with Jesus, the more I recognize that comfort is the greatest danger to a living and breathing faith. 00:16:33.519 --> 00:16:38.320 And comfort is the very thing that we're taught to seek after. 00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:41.360 I see a lot of young people in this room. 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:50.720 If you hear anything from me today, young people, comfort will not give you the life that Jesus promises. 00:16:56.080 --> 00:17:12.079 As Jason Johnson, a pastor and a foster dad, writes, he says, we cannot rightly lift our hands in worship of a God that steps towards us in our hard and broken, and then use those same hands to push the hard and broken of others away. 00:17:13.359 --> 00:17:24.400 When comfort and security becomes our highest priority, we instinctively start building this case for why we shouldn't move towards the vulnerable. 00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:33.279 And in protecting ourselves, we actually build a shield between us and the people that God has actually called us to care for. 00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:45.440 When I was in high school, I knew. 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:02.799 Someday I'll do that. 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:04.079 Someday. 00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:09.200 But I had a lot of excuses why someday wasn't today. 00:18:09.440 --> 00:18:10.960 Let me share some of them with you. 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:18.799 When I before I started fostering, my biggest, biggest reasons for not pursuing it was I was single. 00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:20.799 I lived off one income. 00:18:21.039 --> 00:18:25.680 I lived in the Bay Area, and I was living off of a church income. 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:27.200 I was a kids' pastor at the time. 00:18:27.359 --> 00:18:29.279 Try to imagine that working, right? 00:18:29.759 --> 00:18:33.920 I had a studio apartment, I didn't even have a room for a child. 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:38.480 Um I needed to work full-time. 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:40.319 How was I gonna have child care? 00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:43.279 I didn't know anyone else that was fostering. 00:18:43.599 --> 00:18:46.880 I um hadn't had never been a parent before. 00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:48.480 Would I even be good at this? 00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:51.759 How would my extended family view this? 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:54.640 You know, I mean, was the timing right? 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:59.039 I had so many reasons to not do this. 00:19:00.640 --> 00:19:06.480 And I didn't wake up one day and all those reasons were suddenly like fixed, right? 00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:11.599 I didn't wake up one day suddenly brave or ready. 00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:17.200 I just became unwilling to let my comfort dictate my obedience. 00:19:19.359 --> 00:19:34.000 And every time I took one shaky step forward, God met me with provision that I couldn't have planned, community I couldn't have orchestrated, and courage I couldn't have manufactured on my own. 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:42.799 And the miraculous piece of all this is that God has used me in ways that I was absolutely sure I wasn't strong enough for. 00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:45.839 There was nothing about me that was extraordinary. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:51.119 When I told my friends in community I was doing this, they were worried for me. 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:53.839 Can she handle this? 00:19:54.799 --> 00:19:56.079 This is a lot. 00:19:56.240 --> 00:19:58.799 Does she understand what she's doing? 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:07.119 I was positive I didn't have the emotional capacity to hold the stories that I've needed to hold. 00:20:07.519 --> 00:20:08.240 But you know what? 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:10.079 God has shaped me through it. 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:11.759 God has formed me. 00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:16.079 He has pulled and stretched and humbled me through this process. 00:20:16.720 --> 00:20:18.799 But more than anything, I've been carried. 00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:25.599 Because I can tell you without hesitation that when you follow Jesus into the mess, he carries you through it. 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:32.400 Here are some pictures of some of the kids that I've had the privilege of caring for. 00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:33.680 You can loop through them. 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:42.960 Each one of these kids were removed from their homes due to allegations of abuse and neglect. 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:50.079 And then a social worker was tasked to place calls to find a stranger to take them in. 00:20:51.680 --> 00:21:02.960 And here's the thing honestly, I have absolutely zero doubt in my mind that if one of these children were with me today, and I said, awakening church, here is a vulnerable child. 00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:06.559 This family, this child needs a temporary family. 00:21:06.799 --> 00:21:07.920 Can someone step up? 00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:15.920 I'm positive that we would have a waiting list of families from this church ready to take this child in, but that's not how it works. 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:22.160 We actually have a waiting list of children in Santa Clara County waiting for a home. 00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:33.759 And she moved in. 00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:40.960 She'd never been to church before, and so on her first Sunday after church, I asked her, Hey, did you like church? 00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:42.319 What did you like about it? 00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:50.720 And I was sure it would be like the donuts or like the kids' ministry games, but her response stopped me in my tracks. 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:52.640 The Jesus stories. 00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:54.480 She'd never heard them before. 00:21:54.720 --> 00:21:59.519 Here in her most vulnerable, defeated, scared time. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:06.880 In her life, when she's been sent to live with strangers, she hears the stories of Jesus and she is inspired by them. 00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:08.400 Right. 00:22:09.039 --> 00:22:15.359 Now she continued to live in our home, and um, throughout the months, she became more curious about Jesus. 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:21.599 And um, one night I walked into her room and she was being a little too quiet, you know, so I had to like go check on her. 00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:24.240 And she had been writing in a journal. 00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:25.759 I have a picture here for you. 00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:28.160 She called this her Jesus Journal. 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:33.200 And then she was filling it with stories of Jesus that she had learned. 00:22:34.319 --> 00:22:37.359 And now this is a kid that I could not get to do her homework. 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:44.319 I mean, we're talking like major meltdowns around anything academic, and here she is, like writing the words of Jesus, right? 00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:50.720 And even though this girl was so loved, I love her so I still do. 00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:52.000 I love her so much. 00:22:53.279 --> 00:22:57.519 She had really hard things she was dealing with, deep traumas. 00:22:58.480 --> 00:23:03.359 And when kids have trauma, they talk to you through their behavior, right? 00:23:03.920 --> 00:23:06.240 So there's some behavioral stuff going on in our home. 00:23:06.319 --> 00:23:08.960 And we got her every service the county could provide. 00:23:09.039 --> 00:23:24.079 We're talking about like therapy in-home supportive services, therapeutic interventions, and things just continued to get worse, up until the point where there was an incident where she actually had to be put on an eight-day cycle to and I just felt so defeated. 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:26.240 God, where are you in this? 00:23:27.599 --> 00:23:30.720 And I got to the point where I just couldn't do it anymore. 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:34.799 And I called her social worker and I said, I I need you to move. 00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:36.240 I can't do this. 00:23:36.880 --> 00:23:38.000 Someone else has to. 00:23:38.799 --> 00:23:40.079 I need you to take this kid. 00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:44.559 So I gave them 14 days to find a new placement, and I was just heartbroken. 00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:46.319 I felt like such a failure. 00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:47.200 Right. 00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:53.839 And then a couple days later, I was in my kitchen doing dishes, and she walks up to me and says, Mr. 00:23:54.000 --> 00:23:56.960 Courtney, hey, can I get baptized? 00:23:57.519 --> 00:23:59.119 I decided to follow Jesus. 00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:03.039 I just again like froze, like, what? 00:24:03.440 --> 00:24:04.319 What is happening here? 00:24:04.880 --> 00:24:06.720 This up and down of this journey. 00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:10.880 And I hug her and I sit with her and I we talk about what that means. 00:24:12.160 --> 00:24:17.279 And I just felt the Lord like just working on my heart. 00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:24.160 Just day by day, just enough. 00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:26.400 The loaves and fishes of your life. 00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:29.119 I will do something in it, just be faithful. 00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:49.759 So I removed my notice and she stayed with me, and um slowly and surely peace started entering back into her home, and the behaviors decreased, and smiles started coming back on both of our faces, and within three months, she was able to reunify with her mom. 00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:51.759 Which was always the goal. 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:54.640 But it felt impossible at the time. 00:24:56.319 --> 00:25:01.440 And since then, I've had the privilege of getting to know her mom and developing this friendship. 00:25:01.599 --> 00:25:10.160 And um, they even came to church with me a few times and sitting next to her as we worship, just saying, God, look how you turned this story around. 00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:12.319 Look how you showed up. 00:25:13.680 --> 00:25:18.960 And what I've learned from this is I don't have everything to offer these kids. 00:25:20.559 --> 00:25:22.960 But what I do have is the presence of God. 00:25:24.559 --> 00:25:28.400 And I'm reminded that we bring his presence with us where we go. 00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:35.359 So what if there are people in this room where God is asking you, would you bring my presence to the vulnerable? 00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:39.039 Would you bring me where it's dark? 00:25:39.440 --> 00:25:42.480 Would you, would you let my light shine, right? 00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:44.640 Where's the darkest? 00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:47.039 You are the one that brings him with you. 00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:53.200 And there are kids in Santa Clara County who need the light of Jesus. 00:25:54.640 --> 00:26:03.599 You know, I think about the darkest places that I've been at with these kids where I feel like I have nothing to offer them. 00:26:05.519 --> 00:26:11.119 Just a couple months ago, with my current placement, I had to bring her to her mother's funeral. 00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:21.519 And I just remember as she was getting dressed, just sitting there thinking, God, I can't fix this, I can't make this better, but I can bring your presence with me. 00:26:24.559 --> 00:26:28.880 Can you bring the presence of God into the lives of these vulnerable children? 00:26:31.440 --> 00:26:36.480 I'll tell you right now, looking at this room, I see a lot of a lot of hope here. 00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:44.160 Young people who can then build their futures and mind of knowing I want to be the person who builds my life around the vulnerable. 00:26:44.640 --> 00:26:52.319 I see people in here who might be bilingual, who can speak to kids in their their most broken season and their heart language. 00:26:52.960 --> 00:26:55.839 The kids I currently have in my home speak Mandarin. 00:26:56.240 --> 00:27:01.680 And I wish that I could speak to them in the way that they would feel the most loved. 00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:04.160 Maybe you can do that in your heart language. 00:27:04.559 --> 00:27:05.839 Maybe you're single. 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:13.599 Man, if I could tell you the the I've seen so many powerful single foster parents. 00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:14.880 Right. 00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:19.119 There's all these barriers that we build for ourselves saying we can't do this. 00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:20.319 I'm not strong enough. 00:27:20.400 --> 00:27:21.519 I'm not good enough. 00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:23.440 I'm too busy. 00:27:23.599 --> 00:27:24.880 I don't have the resources. 00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:26.240 Don't limit God. 00:27:26.480 --> 00:27:28.160 Don't limit God with your life. 00:27:28.799 --> 00:27:30.720 God can do so much through you. 00:27:31.440 --> 00:27:38.480 I wish I had so much more time to tell you all the ways that I've seen this in the lives of my foster kids and my friend's foster kids. 00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:40.720 But I have a story here that I want to share with you. 00:27:40.880 --> 00:27:47.519 It's in a video we're gonna play in a moment of a church not too far from here who's been able to live this out in action. 00:27:47.599 --> 00:27:48.880 So take a look. 00:27:50.240 --> 00:27:52.720 We got invited to a Foster the City dinner. 00:27:52.880 --> 00:28:06.960 At that dinner, there was a video of Bethany and Brian, two actually foster parents, and that kind of convicted me to just ask my wife, maybe we should just pray for the next three or four months just to see what is our involvement in this world of vulnerable childcare and foster care. 00:28:07.119 --> 00:28:19.119 We started praying and thinking about it, and nothing was just telling us no, so we just kept moving forward and pretty much got certified, found out that we were certified in December, then got a call pretty much like a week later. 00:28:19.519 --> 00:28:21.440 Very, very quick turnaround. 00:28:21.759 --> 00:28:24.240 That first placement was a shotgun for us. 00:28:24.400 --> 00:28:33.039 I'd say that that first placement was hard, not because the child was hard, but hard because God had to work in us to prepare us for this kind of ministry. 00:28:33.359 --> 00:28:38.160 Choosing suffering was just something so, so very contrary to what we were ready for. 00:28:38.400 --> 00:28:47.440 Social worker visits, lawyer visits, all these things happening all at once, and my wife and I not fully being on the same page, at least initially, and it was tough during that first month. 00:28:47.519 --> 00:28:53.599 Um, but you know, God started to work in our hearts as we started to realize, oh wow, this is this is something still still so very good. 00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:55.920 It took us some time though, that first place was hard. 00:28:56.160 --> 00:29:08.640 One of the great joys of mine has been to see new life enter into these children's stories with with this conviction that every child is made in God's image, that every child matters to God. 00:29:09.279 --> 00:29:16.640 Because my fellow pastor Ryan himself started fostering, our church got to see this up close. 00:29:16.880 --> 00:29:23.440 Not just hearing about foster ministry happening in another church, but they were seeing it happen right here in our congregation. 00:29:23.680 --> 00:29:31.119 That then led very quickly to us getting signed up with Foster the City, getting coached and mentored by the wonderful people there. 00:29:31.279 --> 00:29:34.079 Pretty soon we had identified advocates in a new life. 00:29:34.240 --> 00:29:44.240 Before we knew it, the vast majority of our membership was involved directly with foster ministry somehow, whether as certified parents or as support friends on support teams. 00:29:44.720 --> 00:29:51.119 Very early on, we realized that embracing foster ministry at our church would not be a cakewalk. 00:29:51.279 --> 00:29:55.119 Our church is primarily, not exclusively, but primarily Asian American. 00:29:55.279 --> 00:29:59.279 In Asian culture, foster ministry is just really not a thing. 00:29:59.680 --> 00:30:04.240 If it is ever talked about, it is almost always rejected, almost always denigrated. 00:30:04.400 --> 00:30:14.160 I think of one family, for example, that informed their parents that they would be receiving certification and welcoming foster children into their home. 00:30:14.319 --> 00:30:18.960 The main challenge there was that the home they were living in was owned by his parents. 00:30:19.119 --> 00:30:22.559 And his parents made it very clear: if you do that, you get out of our house. 00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:33.680 That family packed the things up and moved to another place in order to comply with their parents' wishes or demands and still be able to step forward in faith with foster ministry. 00:30:33.920 --> 00:30:37.759 We definitely rely on our church body to step into this ministry. 00:30:38.400 --> 00:30:42.079 I remember when we were going to take in our teenager for the first time. 00:30:42.160 --> 00:30:46.160 I share it with the leadership team, you know, be praying for us when we're considering this. 00:30:46.400 --> 00:30:53.039 And Amos sends me a message and says, Ryan and Chen, thank you for serving in this way. 00:30:53.279 --> 00:30:55.680 New life stands with you. 00:30:56.160 --> 00:31:01.359 That was so memorable to me and so impactful to me that my lead pastor would say that to me. 00:31:01.519 --> 00:31:04.559 So it's it really is a church family collectively doing this. 00:31:04.720 --> 00:31:10.000 We've always seen it not as like this is Ryan and Chen's ministry, this is New Life's ministry. 00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:21.200 And I'd say that's what I have felt throughout these years is to see that hey, every single one of our church members that are involved in foster care, they see this as their own ministry, and they want to care for these children. 00:31:21.519 --> 00:31:34.319 We don't view New Life Community Church, our church, as a particularly special church in the sense that we are particularly well resourced compared to other churches, or that we are a big church, we are not a large church. 00:31:34.559 --> 00:31:40.960 If we have been able to do this by God's grace, certainly God's grace can equip other churches to do it as well. 00:31:41.119 --> 00:31:48.240 I've no doubt that any church that knows Christ, that has his word in their midst, can do this. 00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:57.599 The way that it grows people, the way that it mobilizes the church to action, the way that it allows people to live out their Christianity in a very, very tangible way. 00:31:57.839 --> 00:32:03.759 What is a way that I can participate as a Christian that really actually does make a tremendous difference in this world? 00:32:03.920 --> 00:32:06.400 I would say that these are all blessings of foster ministry. 00:32:06.480 --> 00:32:12.240 I would encourage any and every church to make it a part of their church culture and their church DNA. 00:32:21.039 --> 00:32:24.160 Thank you so much, Courtney, for coming and sharing with us. 00:32:24.319 --> 00:32:25.599 Can we thank her? 00:32:31.359 --> 00:32:39.839 So, how a partnership with Foster the City works is that the church invites people to become foster families. 00:32:40.079 --> 00:32:49.759 So you have one foster family, um, one foster parent or two foster parents, and then so they're within our church body. 00:32:49.920 --> 00:33:06.799 And then four people sign up, four individuals or couples sign up to be what's called a support friend to wrap that family in support in order to make it a more community effort and more manageable and more possible for these kids to be cared for well. 00:33:07.039 --> 00:33:19.440 Um, in that church that we just heard about, their congregation is about a hundred people each week, and they have 16 foster families, and then they have 45 support friends. 00:33:19.599 --> 00:33:27.839 So if you do that quick math, you can tell that that's almost their entire congregation is involved in caring for kids in some way. 00:33:28.319 --> 00:33:31.200 And so that is meant to inspire us. 00:33:31.359 --> 00:33:33.680 And Marta here, this is my friend Marta. 00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:35.599 Can we welcome her up here? 00:33:35.839 --> 00:33:36.720 Thank you. 00:33:38.160 --> 00:33:45.279 Marta leads, um, she co-leads our foster the city ministry here at Awakening, um, along with Melissa Slattery. 00:33:45.440 --> 00:33:49.279 She also has been a foster parent and is an adoptive parent. 00:33:49.359 --> 00:33:55.039 Um, and so she's here to share with us a little bit of her story and how you can get involved. 00:33:55.279 --> 00:34:08.400 So, Marta, what inspired you to take that first step to be a part of um foster care, of caring for vulnerable kids, and also what um inspired you to lead this ministry here at Awakening? 00:34:09.199 --> 00:34:20.559 Okay, so the first part of the story is um it's one of those stories where God has kind of called me my entire life, and I keep ignoring it or saying not yet. 00:34:20.719 --> 00:34:27.280 Um before my husband and I met, we both separately had had people in our lives who were adopted from foster care. 00:34:27.440 --> 00:34:30.800 So when we did meet, we were kind of on the same page about it. 00:34:31.039 --> 00:34:43.519 But of course, you know, got married young, started working, had one kid, had another kid, moved to the bay, had another kid. 00:34:43.760 --> 00:35:03.840 Um, and then we were at a church um with three young kids, and there was a family there who also were in the same phase of life as us, kind of in the thick of it, and they began fostering, and they were strictly fostering, they didn't want to adopt, and they kept taking in um, you know, babies or emergency fostering. 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:08.800 Um and she was a close friend of mine, so I got to actually walk alongside her in that. 00:35:09.199 --> 00:35:22.400 And during that time, uh foster the Bay, now foster the city, um had come to our church and uh established some advocates and created a support network around that family. 00:35:23.119 --> 00:35:34.960 Um and those advocates ended up kind of launching and moving and leaving and had asked me to step into that role, which felt really natural because I was friends with this family. 00:35:35.119 --> 00:35:40.159 Um from there I became a support friend, and then I'm like, this is this is cool. 00:35:40.559 --> 00:35:46.400 Um I s and then I started kind of training some other foster families who decided to become licensed. 00:35:46.800 --> 00:35:51.519 Um and then uh my husband and I decided to go to our own uh launch meeting. 00:35:51.599 --> 00:36:11.679 And this is after you go to the initial interest meeting where you find more, you know, more about becoming a support friend or a foster family, you can go to what's called a launch meeting and they kind of you learn even more about actually how to become licensed and the resources in your direct area. 00:36:12.079 --> 00:36:20.000 Um and then from there we uh we're like yes, let's do this. 00:36:20.159 --> 00:36:22.880 We started the process, our house was not big enough. 00:36:23.440 --> 00:36:27.199 We're like, well, we can't do this, and then God provided a bigger house for us. 00:36:27.840 --> 00:36:29.760 It's a longer story, but it happened. 00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:33.760 Um and then the pandemic happened, and we're like, well, definitely not yet. 00:36:35.119 --> 00:36:47.760 Um during the pandemic, uh family friend, a friend of a friend, um, had a family member that needed a foster family to take care of this baby. 00:36:48.880 --> 00:36:58.639 And they asked us, and we were like, well, okay, I guess this is might be our sign we need to just forge forward, even though we're in the mini middle of the pandemic. 00:36:59.039 --> 00:37:07.039 We ended up connecting with an FFA, which is a foster family agency, a nonprofit that we licensed with and made it really easy for us. 00:37:07.519 --> 00:37:15.840 Um that child did not end up coming to stay with us, but we did become a resource family, foster family through that. 00:37:16.159 --> 00:37:21.920 Um during the pandemic, um, I was working as a nurse in the hospital. 00:37:22.159 --> 00:37:24.400 My husband was working full-time from home. 00:37:24.800 --> 00:37:30.800 We had three kids on distance learning, and we just started taking kids in. 00:37:31.519 --> 00:37:34.400 Um, we had five kids in our home total. 00:37:34.960 --> 00:37:41.280 Um and our fifth was our current daughter right now, and many of you have seen her and met her. 00:37:42.239 --> 00:37:56.960 She was with us from 10 months, and then we adopted her at three years, and um yeah, it's we ended up coming to Awakening about a year after, or about the time that we adopted her, actually. 00:37:57.199 --> 00:38:03.440 And Ashley had approached me about becoming an advocate here, and I said, why not? 00:38:03.679 --> 00:38:05.039 So here I am. 00:38:05.760 --> 00:38:15.039 A lot of um not yet, and just taking small steps forward in faith is really our journey, our family's journey. 00:38:16.000 --> 00:38:16.639 That's amazing. 00:38:16.960 --> 00:38:18.800 So those small steps of faith. 00:38:18.960 --> 00:38:21.519 How can how can people get involved with this? 00:38:23.280 --> 00:38:27.119 So I would really recommend going to an interest meeting. 00:38:27.360 --> 00:38:35.360 Um all of the stuff that foster the city puts out is so informative, inspirational, helpful. 00:38:35.599 --> 00:38:44.719 Um and it really is a way to figure out okay, well, maybe I can't become a foster parent right now, but this is just not but how can I help somehow? 00:38:45.119 --> 00:38:48.000 Um it's just a great way to get connected to the community. 00:38:48.239 --> 00:38:50.960 Um that's what I would do. 00:38:52.400 --> 00:38:54.000 Yeah, yeah, we have a link here. 00:38:54.079 --> 00:38:56.960 You can also sign up outside um and online. 00:38:57.599 --> 00:39:00.800 Uh that interest meeting is low commitment. 00:39:01.199 --> 00:39:01.840 Low commitment, yeah. 00:39:02.079 --> 00:39:06.639 Your commitment is to attend the meeting and it's virtual, it's so you're in your house. 00:39:06.880 --> 00:39:14.400 Um, the commitment is really just to learn more if you sign up for this meeting, not to fully become a foster family or a support friend. 00:39:14.480 --> 00:39:19.760 Um, it's just to learn more about what foster the city does and um how you can be a part of it. 00:39:20.079 --> 00:39:33.039 Um for people who are sitting in here right now who are um maybe like you were at the very beginning of your journey, feeling something from the Holy Spirit saying, Maybe this is for me, maybe God wants to do something through me, but I don't know. 00:39:33.119 --> 00:39:38.239 I'm hesitant for so many reasons, so many legitimate barriers in my life. 00:39:38.480 --> 00:39:42.639 Um just feeling that hesitation, what would be your encouragement for them? 00:39:44.400 --> 00:39:47.920 I think just asking God, like, do you want me to do this? 00:39:48.639 --> 00:39:51.440 These are the barriers that I have, this is why I'm afraid. 00:39:51.840 --> 00:39:54.079 And I think God will take you to the next step. 00:39:54.480 --> 00:40:05.199 I think, and also just take a little baby step, go to an interest meeting, um, go hang out with a friend who's fostering or who's adopted from foster care, find out more information. 00:40:05.679 --> 00:40:17.119 Um I think that the idea of taking on a child or being involved in it is scary, and that's normal. 00:40:17.440 --> 00:40:32.639 It's scary to have your own kids, it's scary to have to get married, it's scary to have a baby, but you just do it because I don't know, you feel called to, or you you want to grow your family, or you want to serve the church, or God just meets you. 00:40:32.960 --> 00:40:37.199 I and I like how Courtney talked about baptizing your imagination. 00:40:37.599 --> 00:40:42.159 I think that's a really great visual because I think we can baptize our imagination in fear. 00:40:42.639 --> 00:40:48.079 There can be you can imagine all of the things that would be hard or that would be scary. 00:40:48.559 --> 00:40:52.159 But what about imagining things that would be good? 00:40:52.719 --> 00:41:01.119 And like for example, I have three of my own kids, and something people say to me all the time, well, isn't it hard on your kids? 00:41:01.360 --> 00:41:05.840 Isn't it like scary to bring another child into your home that isn't part of your family? 00:41:06.239 --> 00:41:09.679 And yeah, that was a that was that's a that's a valid concern. 00:41:10.159 --> 00:41:17.360 But I would say my kids have loved it, they've enjoyed it, they've grown in ways that I never thought they would. 00:41:17.440 --> 00:41:18.800 They are so good with her. 00:41:18.960 --> 00:41:22.079 They are it it's been a joy, truly, it's been a joy. 00:41:22.239 --> 00:41:23.280 Yes, it's hard. 00:41:23.440 --> 00:41:24.880 Kids are hard. 00:41:25.199 --> 00:41:28.079 I'm not really like a kid person, you know. 00:41:28.239 --> 00:41:30.400 I mean, honestly, I have four of them. 00:41:30.880 --> 00:41:36.559 But you know, God opened my heart to it and it's grown me in ways that I never thought were possible, honestly. 00:41:36.880 --> 00:41:37.360 Yeah. 00:41:37.760 --> 00:41:39.199 Thank you so much, Marta. 00:41:39.280 --> 00:41:45.599 Can we thank her both for being up here this morning and sharing her story and also for what you do here at Awakening? 00:41:45.679 --> 00:41:46.719 Thank you so much. 00:41:46.880 --> 00:41:52.000 I'm gonna invite the worship team back out because we are gonna close our service with worship. 00:41:52.079 --> 00:41:58.719 Um, but I just want to say outside, um, there is a tent out there, or there's a table, actually. 00:41:58.800 --> 00:42:02.880 It's not under a tent, it's under the overhang, and there's a big banner that says serve. 00:42:03.039 --> 00:42:07.440 And Marta and Melissa, and I think Courtney will be outside. 00:42:07.519 --> 00:42:08.960 Um thank you. 00:42:09.280 --> 00:42:16.400 We'll be outside to answer any questions that you have and um help you get uh signed up for one of those interest meetings. 00:42:16.480 --> 00:42:29.679 But they can answer questions from all different angles of this because they all play different roles, but they um all know this, uh they all know foster care pretty intimately based on different experiences that they have. 00:42:29.920 --> 00:42:47.840 So if you have questions, even some of the personal things, the personal barriers that you um sense, they would be the people to ask, and they will be outside right after service so that you can ask them questions and take a next step in order to serve the vulnerable kids in our community. 00:42:48.079 --> 00:42:49.599 Well, church, we are gonna worship. 00:42:49.760 --> 00:42:51.440 We're gonna end by worshiping God. 00:42:51.519 --> 00:42:54.000 So would you stand with us? 00:42:56.400 --> 00:43:03.360 And we are gonna sing and glorify God with our lips and with our hearts and with our minds. 00:43:03.599 --> 00:43:06.079 So would you worship with us? 00:43:08.239 --> 00:43:10.559 We hope you are blessed by this message. 00:43:10.719 --> 00:43:15.199 Please subscribe to our podcast for access to every episode as they're uploaded. 00:43:15.360 --> 00:43:17.440 And hey, we'd love to connect with you. 00:43:17.599 --> 00:43:23.360 Take a next step by filling out our virtual connection card at awakeningchurch.comslash card.