At Life.Church, we believe the local church is the hope of the world. That’s because the church isn’t just a building. The “capital C” Church is all about showing Christ’s love through its people.
Scripture specifically calls us to care for orphans and widows (James 1:27). We looked closely at this concept in our series How to Neighbor, and held an Adoption and Foster Care Event to provide info and clear next steps for people to get start helping kids in our community.
Some people are called to foster and adopt, but for those who aren't we still wanted to provide them a way to have a positive impact on a child's life. We can’t do everything, but we can each do something. And that's where CarePortal comes in; it's a powerful tool that allows church attenders to come alongside families in the fostering/adoption sphere.
CarePortal is an online tool that posts the needs of local foster children and parents. When you enroll your church, CarePortal sends notifications of needs in your area and gives your congregation the opportunity to respond. For example, when Irene and Duncan were approved as foster parents, they were selected to care for two-year old Dana—but they didn't have a car seat for a child her age. CarePortal posted the need, and a nearby family, the Camps, were able to give Irene and Duncan the carseat they needed. Because CarePortal helped bridge the gap between need and resource, little Dana was placed in a safe, secure foster home.
To learn more about CarePortal, visit their site. You can also host your own
Adoption & Foster Care Event with resources from Open.
Open Idea:
Not everyone is called to foster or adopt, but the Church can show Christ’s restoring love by supporting children and families in crisis. To learn more about how CarePortal works, visit
https://goproject.org/care-portal/about/. 
