Orphan Sunday

Orphan Sunday - The Importance
Orphan Sunday is a way to rediscover the importance that Jesus puts on caring for orphans. This virtue has been largely lost among the church today. Sure, there are pockets of churches who have actively been reaching out to these people, but overall the modern Church’s response has been tepid at best. This has not always been the case. The early Church was known for its sacrificial care for widows and orphans. It’s just what they did. They knew that over 40 times in the Old Testament, God had commanded His people to care for orphans. They knew that Christ elevated children to a high place in His Kingdom. It was a given that the early Christ-followers would care for orphans. Caring for orphans was rightfully a part of the DNA of the young Body of Christ -- to such a degree that to be Christian was to participate at least nominally in caring for orphans. It was the rare exception not to be. We need to get back to this principle.

Orphan Sunday - The Event
Orphan Sunday is an event to bring caring for orphans back into the Church’s DNA. It is being coordinated by the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO). On November 8, 2009, CAFO is calling churches all across America to rediscover their call to care for orphans. The event is called Orphan Sunday. CAFO has developed a website (www.orphansunday.org) that is loaded with helpful resources and ideas for hosting an Orphan Sunday event in the local church. The signature event on Orphan Sunday will be a concert from Steven Curtis Chapman and Geoff Moore that will be web-streamed into venues all across the country. CAFO’s goal is to see 1,000 Orphan Sunday events on November 8. You can check out the website to see events taking place in your area.

The Orphan Sunday movement is gaining momentum. Large organizations like Focus on the Family and FamilyLife today have jumped on board, alongside many smaller organizations on the front-lines of caring for orphans. “We've learned that no single person, no single organization, no single effort will care for the needs of the 143,000,000 orphans worldwide.

“Orphan Sunday helps to bring the message of the orphan to the eyes, ears, hands and feet of God's huge family,” says Ed Schwartz, President, Loving Shepherd Ministries. Jedd Medefind, Executive Director of CAFO, says that the events will be diverse, “Sermons and small groups, concerts and prayer gatherings—each rousing believers with God’s call to care for the orphan…and what we can do in response.”

Orphan Sunday - Not Just a Single Day
The goal of Orphan Sunday is to create on-going interest and support for the cause of orphans. By hosting an Orphan Sunday event, you become part of the solution for the world’s 145,000,000 orphans, and you join the movement of churches around the country who want to make caring for orphans a renewed priority. God’s voice commanding us to care for orphans is growing louder and louder across the United States, and through events like Orphan Sunday, this defining characteristic of the early Church is making a glorious resurgence.

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Compliments of Loving Shepherd Ministries, an organization that is passionate about helping orphans and at-risk children.