James 1:27 says, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” As Christians, if we take this verse to heart, then we need to realize that it applies to ALL of us – not to just a few. So, if this verse is meant for all of us, why aren’t there more believers doing something about it? Maybe some people just don’t know how to apply that verse. Maybe some of us think that there really is no need for that kind of ministry, especially in this area – “It’s the Bible belt for crying out loud! There are more churches here per person than anywhere else in the world!” Maybe others think, “I’m too old”, “I’m too young” and on the excuses go. Well, Caroline’s Promise is ready to help end the excuses and start putting this verse into practice.
One of our desires and dreams, is to see a passion for orphans spread here locally in South Carolina and then across the country. We believe the best way for that to happen is to get the churches involved. But we also realize that many may not even be aware of the overwhelming need for this kind of ministry – even here in our area. That is why on Tuesday, September 17, we, along with other Christian adoption and foster agencies in the South Carolina area will be hosting a Pastor’s Luncheon, in which we hope to raise awareness and ignite a passion for orphans. Our prayer is that those pastors who attend will take this new passion and awareness back to their churches and begin their own orphan ministry.
You may be thinking, “Well, that’s nice, but then what?” The next step is to plan how to start an orphan ministry in your church – and we already have a workshop scheduled for you to take that next step! In October our same group will be hosting an orphan ministry workshop in which we hope the pastors who attended the luncheon will send church members to gain useful tools and ideas to incorporate as they begin an orphan ministry in their church.
The Pastor’s luncheon will be held at First Baptist Church in Simpsonville, SC. We will open the doors at 11:30am to give Pastors time to look at the many booths that will be set up. At 12:00pm we will officially begin and plan on ending at 1:00pm. Our guest speaker will be Carl Robbins of Woodruff Presbyterian Church. There will be a free book giveaway as well as free barbeque plates. The only thing that we are asking pastors to do is to come. Please RSVP to rlittleton@fbcsimpsonville.org. For more information please call (864) 967-8519 ext 16. Will you help us spread the word to your pastor and other pastors that you may know?