Fostering, Adoption and the Church

On 17 July Redcliffe will be hosting a consultation on the theme of ‘Violence, Exploitation and Children: Shaping a Christian Response’. Although the day forms part of our Summer School MA module ‘Vulnerable Children: Bible, Theology and Society’ it is open to anyone to come along.

Details, including how to book can be found here: Violence, Exploitation and Children: Shaping a Christian Response

In a series of short posts this week I’ll be highlighting some of the themes being looked during them day.

County Lines

You may have come across the term ‘County Lines’ in the news or wider media. The BBC News website, for example, has the tag County Lines Drug Trade. The Guardian newspaper has a similar tag: County Lines.

The National Crime Agency defines County Lines as:

a term used when drug gangs from big cities expand their operations to smaller towns, often using violence to drive out local dealers and exploiting children and vulnerable people to sell drugs. These dealers will use dedicated mobile phone lines, known as ‘deal lines’, to take orders from drug users… In most instances, the users or customers will live in a different area to where the dealers and networks are based, so drug runners are needed to transport the drugs and collect payment.

(National Crime Agency – https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/what-we-do/crime-threats/drug-trafficking/county-lines)

One particularly troubling aspect of County Lines is how ordinary technologies are used to recruit, manipulate, and control vulnerable young people. This article in the Guardian newspaper offers a particularly stark explanation of how social media is used by gangs. It is a difficult but necessary read: ‘County lines’ drug gangs tracking children via social media.

We are so grateful that we will be joined by The Children’s Society on the day of the consultation to talk through the issues involved in County Lines, explain how they are working to address it, and help us imagine how Churches can play a part in tackling this phenomenon. You can read about their work here: The Children’s Society.

We hope and pray that our day consultation will play an important part in raising awareness about this massive issue but also move from awareness to action. If you want to be part of the day, go to the event website to register: Violence, Exploitation and Children: Shaping a Christian Response

This Summer sees the launch of a new MA module at Redcliffe that aims enable Christians working with or on behalf of vulnerable children to advance their understanding and practice. The module ‘Vulnerable Children: Bible, Theology and Society’ is part of Redcliffe’s MA in Contemporary Missiology and can be taken either as part of a PGCert, PGDip, or MA, or as a piece of non-validated Continuing Professional Development.

The module will be delivered for the first time on 16-20 July 2018, which is the second week of this year’s UK Summer School in Gloucester.

The module is delivered in partnership with Home for Good and builds on Redcliffe’s ‘Fostering, Adoption and the Church’ research project, including our research around unaccompanied asylum seeking children. Here’s the website text to explain more. For more information drop us a line in the comments, or contact Tim Davy at the college:

Vulnerable children or ‘children at risk’ live across the world and face numerous factors that can prevent them from thriving as whole people created in God’s image. This module aims to ‘upskill’ Christians involved in working with and on behalf of vulnerable children by developing them as informed reflective practitioners able to draw on a rich resource of applied bible, theological, and missiological thinking.

It is especially designed for:

• Christians involved in fostering and adoption (or supporting or advocating in that sphere) ;
• Christians involved in work with or on behalf of children vulnerable to, or caught up in exploitation, trafficking, refugee contexts;
• Christians working for organisations, NGOs, local authorities, or other networks who want to develop as Christians in those spheres;

This module is delivered as part of our MA Summer School, and is available as part of an MA, PGDip or PGCert in Contemporary Missiology;  or you can take this module for non-validated active participation.

This module aims to enable Christian practitioners working with and on behalf of vulnerable children (sometimes referred to as ‘children-at-risk’) to advance their understanding and practice in that ministry context. Deep and systematic biblical, theological, and missiological perspectives are examined, and related to an analysis of several important and complex issues such as:

• fostering, adoption and family-based care;trafficking and exploitation;
• the migration of vulnerable and unaccompanied children and young people;
• deinstitutionalisation;
• ministry ethics in the midst of vulnerability.

Traditional and innovative ministry approaches are critically examined with a view to developing good practice for students’ current or future work with and on behalf of vulnerable children.

A student passing this module should be able to:

• gain a nuanced understanding of the complex nature of different types of child vulnerability in the context of holistic child wellbeing;
• demonstrate a deep and systematic understanding of key biblical, theological and missiological perspectives on vulnerable children;
• demonstrate a critical awareness of different issues relating to vulnerable children in both local and global contexts;
• critically reflect on Christian practice in working with and on behalf of vulnerable children in specific contexts and workplace settings;
• articulate a thoroughly informed understanding of good practice for their own ministry (current or future) with or on behalf of vulnerable children.

(NB. the module is currently subject to validation by the University of Gloucestershire)

Last year the BBC hosted a podcast series called, ‘The Adoption’, which followed a real adoption case, aiming to tell the story from the perspective of the different parties involved. Here is a link to the page on the BBC website. I’ve also listed links to the individual episodes, below.

• Preview: The Adoption 

• Episode 1: The Search Begins 

• Episode 2: Foster Care 

• Episode 3: Meeting the Children 

• Episode 4: The Grandparents 

• Episode 5: The Father’s Story 

• Episode 6: The Mother’s Story 


• Episode 7: The Potential Adopters 

• Episode 8: Information Day 


• Episode 9: The Family Finds Out 

• Episode 10: Telling The Children 

• Episode 11: The Adoption Panel 


• Episode 12: Saying Goodbye 

• Episode 13: A Father Reflects 

• Episode 14: Naming The Teddy Bears 


• Episode 15: Meeting Mum and Dad 

• Episode 16: Parenthood 

• Episode 17: What Happened Next? 


I’m always keen to pick up on theological books that address themes relating to vulnerable children. Adopted: The Sacrament of Belonging in a Fractured World by Kelley Nikondeha was recently published by Eerdmans and won a Christianity Today 2018 Award of Merit Christian Living/Discipleship.

The chapter headings are intriguing, comprising a simple set of single words: Roots; Relinquish; Receive; Reciprocate; Redeem; Repair; Return; and Relatives. The publisher blurb announces:

In this compellingly readable book Kelley Nikondeha—adoptive mother and adopted child herself—thoughtfully explores the Christian concept of adoption. Her story and her biblically grounded reflections will give readers rich new insights into the mystery of belonging to God’s big family.

In February I attended the Refugee Highway Partnership roundtable. This is an annual gathering of people involved in working with and on behalf of refugees. On one evening I was asked to give an update on the issue of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children. I asked people to raise their hands if they came into contact with UASC in their work and a significant number did so. The situations and needs of these children across Europe are vast and complex. Let’s keep working and praying.

You can read a report of the whole conference here.

You can find out more about the RHP here.

As part of the activities of the Fostering, Adoption and the Church research project, I’ve contributed a week’s worth of studies to the current issue of Guidelines Bible Study notes on the topic of ‘Adoption in the Bible’.

Over the course of the week I look at Moses, the adoption of the king of Israel, the adoption of the people of Israel, adoptive language in Jesus’ story, and two reflections on adoption in the apostle Paul’s letters. You can order copies in your local Christian bookshop or online. Here’s a link to BRF’s website

Here is the opening section of the material to whet your appetite!

As I write this introduction it is national adoption week in the UK, a concentrated few days when peoples’ newspapers and Facebook feeds fill with articles on the joys and challenges of adoption, and stories of families who have permanently embraced a child into their home.

Such stories may be easily missed, however, if we are not tuned in to the topic and I wonder if this can be the case with our Bible reading as well. The purpose of this week’s studies is to alert us to examples of adoption imagery in God’s word, and to see how the biblical writers explored this rich theme. Thinking about the Bible and adoption can take us in a number of directions, two of which we will pursue over the next few days.

First there are stories of ‘adoption’ in the Bible. While we should be careful when drawing parallels between what happened in biblical times and our own, there are cases in Scripture where a child is taken in by a household and becomes a member of that family.

Secondly, the Bible uses the language of adoption to describe God’s relationship with his people. While this is well known of Paul’s writings perhaps it is less recognised as something that happens in the Old Testament.

I hope this will make for an interesting series of studies but I hope, too, that they will raise the question of how our identity as God’s adoptive children will encourage us to look outwards to consider the plight of vulnerable children in our midst. Historically the church has done great things to address the needs of vulnerable children, yet with nearly 70,000 children in the UK care system there is still so much to do. Adoptive families are needed, but so are foster families, as well as churches that work hard to know how to become the best supportive communities we can be.

How can the Church respond? How can the Bible shape that response? Perhaps one step we can take is to renew our understanding of our own transforming adoptive identity in God, the roots of which are traced in these studies.

Redcliffe’s mission journal, Encounters, was relaunched earlier this year and focused on the topic of hospitality. My contribution was an article comparing and contrasting the biblical stories of two vulnerable and displaced children. Here are the details and an extract from the beginning.

Contemporary life in the West seems to be increasingly marked by a suspicion or fear of ‘the other’. While not wanting to overstate the case, there does seem to be a concerning trend in the West towards a self-absorption that leaves an inevitable vacuum of kindness, generosity and hospitality towards those unlike ourselves, or who are outside of our immediate sphere of experience. Consider these words of Walter Brueggemann:

‘Fear makes us selfish. Fear makes us do crazy things. Fear turns neighbors into threats. Fear drives us into a desperate self-sufficiency and a yearning for privatism. Fear drives to greed and idolatry. Fear refuses the other. And now we live in a culture of fear… perfect fear drives out love.’ (Walter Brueggemann, ‘All Seminary Chapel: Dr. Walter Brueggemann “1 John 4:7-21” Podcast, Fuller Theological Seminary, 29 April 2015 c. 8:00mins “Diving in and Casting Out” – Dr. Walter Brueggemann on 1 John 4:7-21)

The issue of unaccompanied asylum seeking children is a case in point…

The first text I looked at was 2 Kings 5:1-4, the story of a young Israelite girl who was captured and taken to be a slave in Syria. The second was the flight to Egypt of Jesus’ family when he was very young. Both are stories of desperation, but both give rise to hope as well.

The Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics have just published an issue of ‘Ethics in Brief’ that I have co-written with Mark Walley, who runs Home for Good‘s unaccompanied minors project alongside establishing its political advocacy work. The title is ‘Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children: Shaping A Church Response’.

This is one example of the kind of work we are producing as part of the research project, ‘Meeting the Needs of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) in Gloucestershire: Enhancing the Response of the Local Church’. Here’s a link to the full article, as well as the introductory paragraph.

Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children: Shaping A Church Response:

A slightly unusual blog post but I wanted to highlight a number of opportunities that are currently available to join the awesome team at Home for Good. They are doing such valuable work in advocacy and engaging the UK church with the needs of looked after children. I’ve listed the vacancy title, brief description, and the application deadline in each case. For more details on each one visit Home for Good Job Opportunities.

From the vacancies page of the Home for Good website:

Would you like to be part of the Home for Good staff team?

There is an exciting opportunity to be part of the rapidly growing Home for Good team as a PROJECT COORDINATOR and taking a lead role in developing our work in KENT. Delivering an initial one year campaign in Kent in partnership with The Diagrama Foundation and The Diocese of Rochester.

Applications Close : 1st May

We are recruiting for a PROJECT MANAGER on a full-time, fixed term maternity cover contract. The position is based on our London office, and is responsible for delivering our key national events and campaigns – for example, Adoption Sunday 2017.  

Applications Close : 10th May

Join our team as our NORTH WEST PROJECT MANAGER. This is initially a one year contract, for 14 hours per week. Working in partnership with Adoption Matters, the role is to develop relationships with volunteers, chuches and Home for Good local movements, delivering campaign specific targets of more adopters in the region.

Applications Close : 5th May

Join our team as our LONDON REGIONAL MANAGER. This is initially a one year contract, for 14 hours per week. Networking with churches and champions across London, to run campaigns and events to deliver our vision across the city.

Applications Close : 10th May

How can churches become the kind of supportive, loving communities that are so needed by many who have fostered or adopted? How do we ensure we provide a place of hope and support when people feel isolated and overwhelmed?

In his first letter to the church in Corinth the apostle Paul includes an extended discussion on the reality and significance of the resurrection of Jesus, which ends with the wonderful conclusion:

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Cor. 15:58, NIV)

For Paul, the resurrection of Jesus, and the victory of God that this demonstrates and enacts, is grounds for hope and perseverance in his readers’ work for the Kingdom. If this is the case, and if we Christian communities really want to be a place of welcome and support for the families of looked after children, I’d suggest we need to have this stamp of resurrection evident in who we are and what we do.

But what does this embracing of Easter look like in individuals, families and church communities who are striving to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable children? Let’s pick up on a couple of ways in which Easter may help us to do this.

Easter confronts us with brokenness

The events of Easter declare that God has not forgotten or turned his back on the world’s pain. God has reckoned with the world as it is, in all its brokenness, and has faced it head on. He has dealt with the causes of this brokenness in a definitive way.

Our calling as Church is to declare and work for the Kingdom of God in the world as it is, not as we would prefer it to be. We are called to be a people who do not flinch from the sober realities, struggles and pain of others. We are called to enter into it, and bring a word of hope.

Easter confronts us with hope

The stories and statistics concerning vulnerable children can feel debilitating. It is easy to become overwhelmed by the depth and breadth of the need. It is easy to become overwhelmed by our own lack of capacity and energy to keep trying to meet those needs on our own.

Easter reminds us that God has transformed despair into hope. Friday was followed by Sunday. A sober reckoning of the brokenness of the world must be matched and swallowed up by a sober reckoning with the transformative work of God in Jesus. There is no point that is beyond the transformative capacity of our God. This can be hard to believe sometimes, especially in the midst of struggle and stress, but this is what Easter declares.

We are called, then, to be a people filled with hope and preoccupied by the transformative work of God.

We are not built to journey alone. Reckoning with brokenness and hope are not purely individual endeavours. Rather, we are called to be communities of hope that point to the possibility of transformation and perseverance, in practical activities as well as in words. We are called to be communities that labour in hope, and this is a labour that is not in vain.