Our Vision
Our vision is for all Covenant members to hear the voice of orphans and to extend to them the love of Christ through the various arms of this ministry.
Psalm 68:5 A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, is God in His holy habitation.
The primary objective of this ministry is to minister to and meet the needs of orphans by developing an outreach through Covenant Presbyterian Church. The initial phase of this ministry is awareness. There is a need at Covenant church to raise our awareness of God's calling of Christians to care for the fatherless. During the process of awareness we expect to see people's hearts opened and become burdened to serve in the way that God has individually gifted and called each member.
James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
The second phase of the ministry is outreach. The ministry will have a domestic and international outreach. Domestic outreach will include interim care, foster care, respite care, and adoption. The focal countries for international outreach will be China, Ukraine, and Africa. International outreach will include ongoing orphanage specific relationships, the provision of supplies and services to these orphanages, short term mission trips, medical needs, and adoption.
Romans 8:15 For you have not received the spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father"?
The third phase of the ministry is adoption. It is anticipaged that a natural flow from phase one and two will be an increased interest among Covenant families to adopt orphans into their homes. Therefore we will need to provide resources for guidance, adoption agency information, adoption process information, counseling and financial assistance to families who plan to adopt. As a pastor from Minnesota with a well established orphan ministry so beautifully states:
The pain and pleasures of parenting are mulitplied with every child we embrace - at whatever age and by whatever means. The rewards are partly in this life, but mainly in the next. Jesus does not call us to maximize our securities and comforts here. He said, "Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." The short-term risks of adoption are huge. The long-term risks of love are zero. God will make all grace abound for every day's demand. Nothing is impossible with him. There will be no regrets for parents who love in the power of Christ. - John Piper
