Get Involved
What We Do For Your Church
Advocacy / Education
The Family Table will come alongside your church; by sharing about the needs of children in the foster care system of Los Angeles, the various ways to help, and listen to your team in order to best facilitate what God wants to do in and through your church. We’ll assess your desire and capacity in order to help you understand the role God is preparing for your church. Contact us for an info session and someone from our team will share with your church or small group to help raise awareness of what God is doing in your community!
Equipping
We not only mentor and train your church to implement and execute your plan, but will be available and accessible to walk with you throughout the entire process: for encouragement, support, and resources. We will make sure you have the tools you need: an understanding of the system, introduction to the agencies and non-profits working in your area, and practical ways to get involved in meeting the needs of abused and neglected children.
Coaching
- Discover:
We begin by establishing a biblical foundation for orphan care, assessing your present efforts, and seeking the Lord’s direction in crafting a mission statement for your church’s strategic engagement. You will be guided through developing a set of core values, discovering and articulating a unique vision to align with God’s heart for vulnerable children and compel your church to action.
- Develop:
Your coach will assist you as you develop a strategic plan in order to realize your churches unique contribution to the foster care crisis in Los Angeles. This plan will include a broad set of opportunities, making it possible for everyone in your congregation to be involved. Then we’ll help you start building strong partnerships with local agencies and support ministries who also embrace the active role of the local church and can provide expertise and resources which your teams will need.
- Deploy:
Finally, your vision is set in motion, partnerships are established, and the whole church is mobilized. Care for widows and orphans becomes integrated into every aspect of body life, and your community will know how to pray, how to help, how to advocate for the needs of abused children, and how the church of Jesus Christ is uniquely designed to make a difference in their lives by bringing the love and hope of the Gospel!
CarePortal
Family Table’s CarePortal network is an exciting collaboration that connects churches, agencies, and community partners around addressing the needs of hurting children and families. This is done through a geographically based communication system that invites the local church and community to help. Opportunities on CarePortal include supporting children and families in crisis, foster care support, reunification efforts, adoption finalization, and assisting youth who are aging out. To learn more about the scope of CarePortal watch this video that explains what we call the Grid.
The Family Table utilizes the CarePortal platform to connect churches to real time opportunities for meaningful connections in your community. CarePortal is a tool that helps churches take a significant first step in engaging the child welfare crisis in their local community. Your church is likely already providing for physical needs and engaging in relational care and support to those around them. CarePortal helps to accelerate the good work you are already doing in your neighborhood to those who need it the most.
Why We Do It
We believe that the local church is God’s hope for the world in every community. The church is where God’s glory and Kingdom can be seen and known. Because of the Father’s great love for us, while we were orphans He adopted us into His family through the perfect life, substitutionary death, and victorious resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The work of the Father, Son and Spirit compels us to also proclaim God as a Father to the Fatherless to both spiritual and physical orphans. Our city needs the church, not just local government, to step into these broken areas and rescue abused and neglected children. God has entrusted the hope of the gospel to the church, and desires to see each expression of the Body of Christ bring that hope to the weak, the vulnerable and the needy. We believe this is an imperative, but understand that many churches already feel overwhelmed and at capacity. The problem of foster care in Los Angeles is so large and complex many churches don’t know where to begin, what to focus on, or how to help. The Family Table is your first step towards becoming part of the solution without adding more to your schedule. We can take the pressure off your church leadership to figure it all out by handling the initial educating, establishing, and equipping, and continue to serve as an ongoing resource for your church to serve children in the foster care system.