Why We've Come Together

Our Motivation

Every day 21,000 children live without a stable family in Los Angeles county.  Their desperation is our motivation.   They need mentors. They need advocates. They need families.   They need hope.  

​God’s Word emphasizes the significance of caring for orphans.  In the United States, the abused and neglected children who enter the foster care system are our nation’s “orphans.” Our deeply held desire is to connect the family of Christ to these kids, so that children and youth living in LA foster care can be protected, befriended, prayed for, guided, supported, mentored, encouraged, assisted, and most of all loved, as Christ loved us.

 We have joined together as a Coalition to better serve these children by working to educate the Christian community about their needs, to engage the local church in foster care ministry, and to equip individuals to serve as 'ambassadors' for the needs of these children in their local church.

Our Mission

 Our mission is to connect the family of Christ in Los Angeles with the children in foster care who desperately need them. We work to awaken churches and individual Christians to the needs of these kids, and to educate them about the many opportunities to make a difference. Our Forster Care Info Fair provides an overview of the foster care system, and bring together ministries and agencies that offer a variety of ways to get involved. We also provide a list of local opportunities on our website (see our Volunteer Opportunities  page).

In addition, we train interested individuals to be "Foster Care Ambassadors" for their church -- designated point people equipped to be a resource for their church, able to provide information and guidance to anyone with a heart for kids living in foster care.  

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What We Provide

Local Church Advocacy:  The Foster Care Coalition  exists to serve the local church with her mandate to care for the widow (single parents) and orphan (kids in the foster care system) in our community. Since every church is different, we begin by discerning how God has uniquely shaped and equipped your church community to be a light to families in need.  We have gifted speakers available for general training and awareness, to share with the congregation on a Sunday morning, in small groups, or to work with your leadership or ministry teams. We want to be a resource to your church however you feel we can best support you.

Info Fairs:  At our Foster Care Info Fairs, we provide an overview of the foster care system and the Biblical mandate to care for vulnerable kids in foster care.  Attendees also get a unique perspective through our panel of former foster youth, and hear first-hand stories from volunteers who have come alongside kids in the foster care system.  We bring together 10-15 ministries and agencies that provide information about the many different ways to get involved (see some examples below).

Ambassador Trainings: We train interested individuals to be "Foster Care Ambassadors" at our Ambassador Trainings.  These individuals are given a deeper understanding of the foster care system through our interactive, expert-led program, and equipped to be a resource person for their congregations, offering information and guidance to anyone interested in foster care ministry.  

Examples of ways to come alongside a child in foster care:

• Volunteer at a youth club or summer camp
• Advocate for the educational needs of a child
• Become a foster or adoptive parent
• Pray daily for a foster child by name
• Drive a foster child to your church Sunday school 
• Mentor a teen "aging out" of the foster care system
• Set up a "care calendar" for foster families
• Provide tangible goods & assistance to foster families
• Volunteer as a monitor for court-ordered family visits
• Teach a job skills/life skills class for emancipated youth
• Provide an emancipating youth with a job internship
• Provide tutoring to school age children in foster care