Yeovil Family Church story

Yeovil Family Church has hosted Adoption Sunday for two years. The 10-year-old church plant comprises around 60 adults of diverse ages, backgrounds and family makeups. As a church they are passionate about looking after the widows and orphans, and they see adoption and fostering as part of fulfilling that call. In recent years, fostering and adoption, and the work of Home for Good, have been highlighted through their Newfrontiers network. Their leaders have firmly embraced the ministry, and are keen to support families within the Church involved with fostering and adoption.

The Adoption Sunday events have enabled the children’s agenda to gather momentum. “At our first Adoption Sunday event, we had one family in the Church who had recently adopted a child. They spoke positively about the experience and introduced representatives from two local authorities who talked about the process. We watched one of the Home for Good videos and were challenged by a sermon that looked at how God has adopted us as His children. We were encouraged to consider the fact that this wasn't something that one or two families may get involved in, but it was a Church-wide mission. There was a real buzz that morning as people got excited about the part they may be able to play. Many considered whether they offer a child a home, and others thought about how they could offer support to those families.”

At their second event the church looked back at what God had done over the last year. The adoptive family had adopted another​ ​child. One family had been approved as foster carers, and another family were close behind. A couple were well on their way to being approved as adopters, and a lady who had recently become a Christian and joined the church had been approved as an adopter. She is currently in the early stages of settling the child into his new home. Church families are supporting them and making meals for them for the first couple of weeks. Since then, two foster famil​i​​es have gained four foster children between them, and the other adopters are weeks away from ‘matching’. At this second event more people expressed their interest, particularly those who had considered it in the past. The church also welcomed other foster carers and adopters from the area, to celebrate together the fact that these children are truly finding their home for good.

Yeovil Family Church plans to keep fostering and adoption as part of the core ministry of the church, and to be a foster friendly church, where fostering and fostered children are welcome and accepted as any other family or child. As well as continuing to encourage new foster carers and adopters to come forward, at things like ‘Fostering and Adoption Sundays’ they also aim to maintain the emphasis on supporting those who are already involved, recognising fostering and adoption as an important ministry within the church, in which everyone can play a part.