Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit Reflections

We had a great time at the Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit IV last week in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Dwain Gullion, the ABBA Fund COO, stayed the whole time while Eugene Allison, our Founder, and myself were only able to make it for the day on Friday. Here are some of the highlights:

• I had the joy of connecting with Johnny Carr, the National Director of Church Partnerships for Bethany Christian Services. They have some great new resources coming out. I will link to them when I get them.
• Talked to Katie Porter who along with Mark Andre runs Focus on the Family’s Orphan Care intitiative. They too have some great resources for churches.
• Attended the session on Church Adoption Funds and thought Michael Monroe (Tapestry), Maridel Sandburg (MICAH Fund), and Bob Mudd did an excellent job outlining the different options for starting a church adoption fund. See our website for how we can help your church start an adoption fund.
• Had a wonderful lunch with three families from NC who each have an incredible adoption testimony! Check out their blogs here: the Mestas family at Job’s Daughters, the George family at He Will Equip Us, and the Falchook’s. God is at work in NC and I am looking forward to all that is in store!
• Ran into Tommy and Aimee Poche and wished could have sat down with this amazing family. You can read their adoption story here.
• Other friends I got to see were Dan Cruver (Together for Adoption), John Erickson (All Nations Christian Fellowship, Minneapolis, MN), and RJ Caswell (Weaving Families).
• Met Laura Garvey who reads the blog and has her own blog here.
• It was also great to talk with many other dear adoption/orphan advocates in person such as Phoebe Dawson (heading up Family Life’s Foster Care National Prayer Vigil Initiative), Wendy Cosby (Shaohanah’s Hope), Doug Sauder (President of 4Kids of South Florida), and many others!

It was a long day but I came away invigorated and encouraged! I believe God is doing more than we can see or imagine! It is a honor to work alongside a growing army of servants committed to the orphans around the world and seeing God get more and more glory as the church dives into God’s heart for the “fatherless.”