FOSTER CARE SUNDAY

A simple but powerful way for your church to respond.

Foster Care Sunday creates a moment of awareness, prayer, and response for children and families involved in Out-of-Home Care in our local communities.  

It’s flexible, practical, and easy to host in any church context.  

We’ll equip you to create a moment of awareness to spark change for children and families in your neighbourhood.  

Request the Foster Care Sunday Toolkit
Please provide the following details.
Foster Care Sunday Toolkit form

In submitting this form you consent to the information provided being used by The Homeward Project to communicate with you in relation to Foster Care Sunday and church partnership resources and opportunities. You can find our Privacy Policy below.

Foster Care Sunday is a moment for churches to stand with children, carers, and families connected to the Out-of-Home Care system. 

Many churches care deeply about vulnerable children and families but aren’t sure where to begin in their local community.  

Foster Care Sunday creates a simple starting point. It helps churches create awareness, learn, pray, and invite people to consider a range of pathways to get involved.  
 
We’ll equip you with ideas and resources to plan a Foster Care Sunday that fits your church community and context. Whether it’s a moment within a service, or a whole service focus, you can create awareness, compassion, and connection that leads to action and impact.  

Children need families, families need community, and the local church can provide both. 

The challenges in our Out-of-Home Care system can seem overwhelming. More children entering care, not enough carers to care for them within a loving home, not enough support for those opening their homes.  
 
But local churches are uniquely positioned to bring hope and practical response, and they don’t have to take on every need or launch a whole new ministry to make a meaningful difference.  
 
In response to the love of a God who has welcomed us into His family, we serve in different ways, creating spaces of belonging and genuine care for children and families walking through hard things.  
 
We don’t all have to do the same thing, but we can all do something. 

A Foster Care Sunday ‘moment’ is designed to fit naturally within a regular church service.  

1. Choose a Sunday 
Pick any Sunday that works for your church calendar (you might like to align it with Foster Care Week in your state or territory).  
 
2. Explore the toolkit 
We provide a range of practical resources and ideas to help you prepare. 
 
3. Plan your service 
Use the resources in a way that fits your church community and context, whether it’s a whole service focus, or creating a moment.  
A typical Foster Care Sunday may include: 

  • Playing the Foster Care Sunday video
  • Hearing from a carer in your church, or from a local Foster Care organisation
  • Preaching a message on a related theme
  • A moment of prayer for children, carers, and families
  • An invitation for people to explore next steps

This year’s Foster Care Sunday story

Support makes a difference. This year through Foster Care Sunday, we’re exploring the importance of a church community that shows up for foster carers.

“We’re not all called to be foster carers but we are all called to play our part.” 

– Mark MacKay, Senior Pastor Forest Lake Baptist Church

Bring Foster Care Sunday to your church

Request the Foster Care Sunday toolkit and we’ll send you practical resources and be in touch to help you plan your service with confidence.

Request the Foster Care Sunday Toolkit
Please provide your details below.  
Foster Care Sunday Toolkit form

In submitting this form you consent to the information provided being used by The Homeward Project to communicate with you in relation to Foster Care Sunday and church partnership resources and opportunities. You can find our Privacy Policy below.

If you’re interested in having someone bring a message to your church, please submit a Speaker Enquiry.

There’s more than one way to engage.

Becoming the kind of community that consistently shows up for vulnerable children and families is a journey, not a single event.

We’ll come alongside an identified Advocate (or team of Advocates) within your church community to represent this area of ministry – partnering with them to raise awareness, mobilise your people, and create a culture of belonging and care for vulnerable children and families.

Helping people explore the role they can play…

We help people explore their potential next step: whether that be to Foster, Support, Advocate, or Give. Together we can ensure there are enough homes for every child who needs one, and that every carer is well-supported within healthy church communities.

We don’t all have to do the same thing, but we can all do something.