Interesting session: Church-based Orphan Ministry: Global Orphan Care by Mike Douris of Orphan Outreach This session dealt with the larger matter of orphan care of which adoption is only a small part.
One of the things Mike talked about was how adoption fit into, or relates to orphan care in general. Considering that there were12,753 international adoptions in 2009 and that in 2008, there were 132 million orphans, it is clear that majority of orphans are not going to be adopted. Now, Mike was not in any way suggesting that churches should not focus on adoption – they should. Yet, he makes a good point that we need to be thinking about the orphan situation as a whole and considering what our role is within that context. I agree with his assessment.
That said, I think that it is important that we also consider that our role, our mission is not to solve the global orphan problem. Our role is to do our part in God’s redemptive program. To some, that may mean adopting a child. Others might be involved in a mission project. Still others might support orphans financially. What we do must be redemptive in nature and by that I mean that we are centered upon the Gospel. While adoption might not have a significant impact on the global orphan problem, it has a profound and life changing impact in individual lives - just a thought.
I’m still enjoying the conference very much.