Family First by Jessica Johnson

Family First

Purpose of this guide:

To empower the worldwide church to understand and serving the most vulnerable of this world in Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; name.

Background: Orphan Calling: A Biblical and Comprehensive Guide to Orphan Care and Mission at Denver Seminary. The desire was to give

new orphan care ministries in developing countries. http://issuu.com/jessicajohnson85/docs/orphan_calling_2015/1 Click here to access Orphan Calling! In 2015, Jessica Johnson created a shorter version of the content to be used world-wide in a variety of training contexts. This version can be accessed digitally at:

#familiesnotorphanages

What

does the bible say? (about orphans?)

Exodus 22:22

Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless.

Deuteronomy 10:18

[God] executes ju ce for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing.

Deuteronomy 24:17

Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of jus the widow as a pledge.

or take the cloak of

Psalm 68:5

A father to the fatherless, a de fender of widows, is God i n his holy dwelling.

Psalm 82:3

Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.

Psalm 146:9

The LORD watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

Jeremiah 22:3

This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.

Zechariah 7:10

Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.

James 1:27

Pure and unde ed 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.

What did you observe?

Hopefully, you observed:

1. Orphans (or the fatherless) are combined with widows, the poor, or the foreigner. They are known as the “quartet of the vulnerable”. 2. God demands we demonstrate

Scriptural Background

the “quartet” into the community.

In the Old Testament, the father was the head of the household. If he died unexpectedly, his widow and children were in danger of losing legal and provisions. When a father died, it was the responsibility of the larger community to care for the widow and orphans. 1

The larger community was now responsible for aiding in educating the fatherless in the following areas: 2

1. cultural identity 2. socialization & preparation 3. Religious instruction

This leads to bringing the ‘fatherless’ and the widow (and the poor and foreigner)

into the community and strengthening their and members of the community.

In the old testament,

the call

to do justice

and compassion

for the

widows

&orphans

is echoed throughout israel's history.

The Israelite community was responsible for including the orphan and widow in religious and other aspects of cultural life.4

Religious feasts

Families and towns were to facilitate and welcome the involvement of the orphans in their midst at the religious feasts. These of Israel's unique corporate iden-

a demand from YAHWEH to reflect his character. It is

in James 1:27,

from this special privilege. 5

What about the new testament? In the nt,

â&#x20AC;&#x153;orphans and widowsâ&#x20AC;? are understood as a unit, not as separate groups. For the New Testament church, they would have seen the link between what James was saying and the Old Testament mandate to care for the widows and orphans. 6

caring for the orphan and widow was evidence of belief in Christ. 4

consider the following: God’s mission of redemption is about redeeming all of creation, not just individuals.

Establishing Shalom= helping to restore the

Our role in establishing shalom refers to all aspects of our fallen world, not just individuals.

between: Man and God Man and Man

Orphan care should involv e the restor ation of not only the orphan , but their family, commu nity, In the West, and enviro nment. we value the individual. This is “Believe

in how we understand the gospel and how we view orphan

that Jesus died Think about how you would share the gospel. would it sound something like this?

your sins and ask him into your heart so you heaven with him.”

while this gospel is true, it is incomplete.

Jesus never explained the gospel in this way. For Jesus, the good news was always linked to the kingdom. Jesus said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God...for i was sent for this purpose." Luke 4:43

Therefore, our gospel presentation should include the kingdom:

â&#x20AC;&#x153;When you believe in Jesus and become his disciple, you enter into his kingdom. You but not yet kingdom, are commissioned by God to expand His kingdom through establishing shalom and

kingdom of God Me

Jesus IN

& Jesus

Jesus IN

& Jesus IN

Jesus IN

& Jesus IN

& Me

& Jesus IN

what does this have to do with orphan care?

Siblings neighbors

church family

"orphan"

grandma

Child

Uncle

Parents

cousins aunt

who is an orphan? categories of Orphans

Double A child who has lost both Parents Orphan A child who has lost only one

Single Orphan Parent

Social/ whose parent(s) have no access to Destitute

Unaccompanied

disaster

the word translated as orphan,

ana amasiye, is derogatory. it refers to someone a situation that is

relatively rare

abandoned

the Vast majority of children Living in orphanages are not orphans

have at least

% 10

Indonesia have at

If the majority of children have parents,

Why? Why are they in Orphanages?

Push factors

Push & Pull Factors

Po ve r ty

Un em p lo ym en t fa m il ia l st r es s In t ra - F a m il y Abuse

care as a survival strategy, responding to both push and Pull factors

Residential Care

Acc

: o T ess

F o o6ds i n g hou lthcare H e a u c at i o n ort e d ial Supp M at e

Pul l fac tor s

Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Villages

Isolation

children completely isolated from their

jealousy

the children return home they face issues 16

Many children coming out of the childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Dependency 17

integration 18

alternative care framework 19

1st Response: Keep families together

In an ideal world, no child would be separated from her or his

2nd Response: Emergency care 3rd Response: reunification and kinship care 4th Response: Foster care 5th Response: Domestic adoption 6th Response: international adoption 20

The Cost Comparison of Orphanages VS. community-based care

Central/ Eastern Europe Uganda South Africa

14x 6x 0

10x 21

Community-

Business Community

Y by ou do beg re ing in se y as arch our qu kin & es g tio ns !

You agree

that children deserve to grow up in a family, in a community, and not in an orphanage,

But Now What? Partner with an

children & families through communitybased care.

how do you choose an organization?

Does their mission & vision include keeping families together?

Do their beliefs align with yours?

What methods do they use to achieve this vision?

Do they hire locals and allow communities to be the heroes?

Do the methods they use align with best care practices?

Do they have a way to measure their effectiveness?

? 14

What if... you already partner with an orphanage in a developing country?

Orphanage

learn More about the orphanage 22

Legal registration:

Family Preservation:

Standards of Care:

Community Life:

Asking the right questions

Discontinue Support 1. or

Continue Support

1. 2.

or 24

Family and Community-Based Care

Day Care

Foster Care

what does 1. Long-term continued commitment Partnership 2. (effective) Short-Term look like? Teams 24

Long-term commitment

1. 2. Short-Term Teams: ...

1. 2.

Resources For further learning

Dig Deeper 1. http://faithtoaction.org/resources/from-faith2ac-

tion/

Introductory

http://faithtoaction.org/resources/from-faith2action/

http://faithtoaction.org/resources/journeys-of-faith-study-series/

Research Series http://faithtoaction.org/resources/research-series/childrenorphanagesandfamilies/

http://faithtoaction.org/resources/research-series/key-research-annotated-bibliography/

http://faithtoaction.org/resources/research-series/a-continuum-of-care/

Media

http://www.missionsdilemma.com/a-world-without-orphans/

http://www.wearelumos.org/content/orphanages-families

miscellaneous http://www.alternative-care-uganda.org/alternative-care-framework.html

http://kinnected.org.au/ http://issuu.com/jessicajohnson85/docs/orphan_calling_2015/1

What did the experts say?

Works Cited

In Defense of the Fatherless