Tag: Churches

There are so many ways to provide practical support for carers within your church. Children in care need a lot of focused time with their carers. Sometimes seemingly simple things can go a long way to help carry the load for carers who are giving their lives to providing nurturing, healing, care for children, which …

A trauma-informed approach to working with children and young people. The Homeward Project Trauma-informed Training will equip your Kids and Youth Ministry staff and volunteers with understanding of how and why a child from a “hard place” or with a difficult history may behave differently in a church environment. They will also be equipped with …

Any efforts to bring the light of Jesus into hard places should be inspired, guided, and sustained by prayer. Prayer is perhaps the greatest contribution we can give towards seeing God’s Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven within the child protection system, families experiencing separation, and our churches. God wants to engage …

A Homeward Project Info Session is one of the best ways you can engage and mobilise your church in a ministry of Out-of-Home Care. We’re not all called to do the same thing, but we can all do something. A Homeward Info Session for everyone. We’ll equip and support you to plan and host an …

When Grace first met 10-year-old Jasmine, Jasmine refused to speak. She stood with arms crossed and lips pursed. Grace had been assigned to Jasmine, as a Kids Hope mentor, to meet together once a week at school. After a few weeks, Grace brought out a Kids Hope tool designed to help with identifying emotions. She …

Creating opportunities for connection among those who are, have been, or want to be a carer. Carer Gatherings create a space for carers to regularly connect with others who have a shared experience, in order to support and equip them in their care journey. Gatherings can provide support through prayer, encouragement, and learning opportunities for …

You’ve heard it said, probably hundreds of times, that it takes a village to raise a child. Easy to say, perhaps harder to do. There are an increasing number of children entering the Out-of-Home Care system because their family of birth isn’t safe. Social isolation and loneliness are increasingly being recognised as a major issue …

A practical way to support family restoration. Family visitations are an important part of the process of working towards restoration for families who have been separated. Where decisions are made to facilitate contact between children in care and their families, a safe and consistent space is needed to host visits. The nature and frequency of …

The local Church can help transform Out-of-Home Care in your community. The Discovery Guide will show you how. Full of practical resources, ideas and stories, the Discovery Guide is an online resource that will equip you to build a model of ongoing model of foster carer recruitment and support where every member of your church …

Why does the church have a role to play in the foster care system in Australia? God desires that His people represent His heart, living as ambassadors of a different kind of Kingdom, one of justice and righteousness. The prophet Amos used some pretty strong language to tell people what God wasn’t interested in… religious …

ARK Communities exist so that carers, whether new or experienced, can connect, support, encourage and grow together. Foster carers, Respite carers, Permanent carers or Adoptive parents all come together to build deep relationships, create a network of support, and provide a ‘village’ for the kids in their care. ARK Communities form ‘extended family’ for each …

Ensuring your church is a safe environment for all children. We all want our churches to be safe places for everyone, particularly children and young people. A foundation for this is ensuring that you have robust Child Safety Policy and Procedures in place. Your denomination likely has resources available to support you in this area. …

Hillsong Brisbane Central have been providing a space for use by Mt Gravatt Child Safety Service Centre as part of the process of families being reunited. We spoke to them to find out about what it looks like. “If we’re going to be a church Monday through to Sunday, we need to be ‘alive’ during …

Connected Carers, in Western Sydney, exists to build a strong community where foster carers feel loved, valued, encouraged, supported and inspired whilst doing the ministry of caring. The heart of Connected Carers is to gather Christian carers to be a light in the Out-of-Home Care space.  Inspired by James 1:27, Religion that God our father …

There are people in your church who would make a really great mentor and we want to equip you to mobilise them to make a difference within the Out-of-Home Care space in your local community.  COACH Mentoring is a community-strengthening initiative that empowers individuals and families through one-to-one mentoring, breaking generational cycles of poverty and …

Kids & Youth Program Guidelines: Considering Out-of-Home Care. When designing and offering programs, churches can support Foster Carers to meet their obligations and provide inclusive environments for young people in Out-of-Home Care. We’ve prepared some guidelines to help you, which include considerations in the following areas: Download the guidelines below. We’ve also created some Communication …