USA (MNN) — Let's say your church wanted to begin an
outreach to orphans. How would you go
about doing that? What groups can you trust? How do you know agencies are staying relevant in their communities?
The Christian Alliance for Orphans unites more than 80
respected Christian organizations and a national network of churches. Orphan
Outreach is one such member group. Amy Norton is their Director of
Programs. She says because the prospect
of wading through so much information is daunting, the Alliance offers a
special Summit every year. "The Summit
is actually bringing together people who are interested in getting involved
and those who can share their experience and expertise with others."
Summit VII, Norton explains, "is an opportunity to come and hear about that
call, about that need, and to get all of the information at one time in one
place and really be able to move forward. It enable people to be more educated
as well as to be able to spread the word about the need and the opportunities
to help."
The Summit will be held May 12-13 at the Southeast Christian Church in
Louisville, Kentucky. They hope the
information will inspire, equip and mobilize Christians to
"defend the cause of the fatherless" in adoption, foster care and global orphan
care. "There are over 75 breakout sessions to choose from involving
everything from starting an orphan care initiative in your church, to how to
minister to adoptive parents/foster parents,"says Norton.
As the Alliance helps Christians understand God's call to
care for the orphan and equips them for effective response, the impact reaches
far beyond a single program or met need. Norton adds, "Even if
you're in the very beginning stages and you just want to know how to begin, how
to support it, what you can do, this is a
perfect opportunity to come and learn about that."
Through the Summit VII, people are encouraged to be a
part of an ever-expanding army of passionate advocates giving of themselves. However, Norton notes, "There are so
many secular organizations who are out there trying to do something
to help children and orphans around the world. But our emphasis is to
reach every orphan with the Gospel of Christ. It is the call of the Church to
do just that."
There's more about the Summit here. Registration links are found in Featured
Links section.
