CULTURE OF ADOPTION

HERITAGE OF JUSTICE

Heritage is our inherited beliefs and culture that are preserved, restored and passed down from one generation to the next. Psalm 127:3 says children are our heritage and that they are like arrows. They will carry the culture and beliefs we give them, whether godly or ungodly, to the four corners of the earth. God commands us to multiply and take dominion. The more children we have and train in the truth, the more God’s Kingdom spreads. As Ambassadors of Christ, it is our responsibility to seek biblical justice and hand it down to the next generation.

The Lord’s definition of justice is not our typical notion of fair treatment and equality.  In Isaiah 1:17, the concept is illustrated: “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” This version of justice requires those with power and voice to advocate for those without.  Worldly justice is rooted in bitterness, seeking retaliation, and retribution. Biblical justice is rooted in compassion, seeking restoration, and redemption. God invites us to partner with Him to prepare the way for His return, when He will ultimately make all wrong things right and establish true justice.

The United States has fought for justice causes since its conception. The first Americans formed a new nation as a people unrepresented in the tyrannical British government in the 1700s. Through bloody conflict in the 1800s, the cause of the slave was championed, and the emancipation proclamation freed a race of subjugated people.  Women won the right to vote in the 1900s, and twice, the United States secured victory over racism and oppression. This country is not without fault, but to ignore the Godly, justice-seeking heritage of the United States of America would be a major misunderstanding of history.

The heritage of justice that Americans have inherited commissions us. The oppressed continue to need an advocate. The question is, will the United States take our turn after three centuries of justice-seeking Americans, by standing up for the unborn, the trafficked, and the fatherless? Isaiah gives titles to those who take up this cause. He says in Isaiah 58 that those who “loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke… will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”  This country has roots in seeking godly justice; this is not a new endeavor. It is simply our generation’s turn to advocate for the oppressed and repair The Wall.

VULNERABLE CHILD CRISIS

Abortion, human trafficking and deficiencies in the foster care system have led to an increase in vulnerable children both globally and domestically. With the number of abortions per year in the U.S. alone equating to one baby aborted per minute, children accounting for one in four of the 40 million people enslaved today worldwide, and 60% of child sex trafficking victims coming from the child welfare system, it is time to address what has now become a Vulnerable Child Crisis.

ABORTION

The unborn are the most vulnerable children among us. Mothers who abort are often in vulnerable positions and some are legally children themselves. In this way, abortion can doubly victimize vulnerable children. The Church is the solution. Not only in adopting babies who would otherwise be aborted, but in supporting mothers to raise their babies themselves whenever possible. 

• 73 million babies are aborted per year, worldwide1.

• 862,320 annual abortions in the U.S. equates to more than one baby aborted per minute2. 

• The U.S. abortion rate (number of abortions per 1,000 women) is almost four times higher for African American women than for Caucasian women3. 

• The U.S. abortion ratio (number of abortions per 100 pregnancies) is highest among adolescents (19 years old and younger)4.  

• 75% of abortion patients are low-income or live below the federal poverty line5. 

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

The rise of human trafficking globally and domestically has increased the vulnerability of children. Many children are being enslaved in forced labor, forced marriage, and commercial sex. The Church is the solution, not only by taking part in identifying and freeing these children, but by providing safe homes for them through adoption when needed. Also, we must confront societal norms such as pornography that lead to the commerical exploitation of children. 

• One in four of the 40 million people currently enslaved worldwide are children6. 

• $150 billion a year is generated globally from human trafficking7. 

• The top three nations where human trafficking victims originate are the United States, Mexico and the Philippines8. 

• Over 1 million children are victims of commercial sexual exploitation each year, worldwide6. 

• 300,000 U.S. children are at risk of commercial sexual exploitation each year8. 

FOSTER CARE

When families are unable to raise their children, foster care is often the only option. Children in foster care are more vulnerable to child trafficking, juvenile delinquency, and early pregnancy ending in abortion or further involvement in the foster care system. The solution is for the Church not only to adopt children out of the foster care system, but to foster children and fight for redemption and reuniting of families. 

• Over 400,000 children are currently in the U.S. foster care system9. 

• 60% of child sex trafficking victims have been in the child welfare system10. 

• 90% of children placed in five or more foster homes enter the juvenile justice system11. 

• 77% of girls in foster care become pregnant before the age of nineteen (over twice the rate as girls not in foster care)12. 

• If one family in one out of three churches in the U.S. adopted, there would be no children waiting to be adopted in the foster care system (currently there are over 122,000 foster care children waiting to be adopted and 380,000 U.S. churches)9,13.