Journey to Orphan Sunday

Orphan Sunday is November 3....the first Sunday in November every year. 11 years ago in a small church in Zambia  Pastor Billy Chondwe pleaded with his congregation to provide for the orphans in their community which was ravaged by AIDS and poverty. His plea was so passionate that one by one the people came up giving what they could....some giving the shoes off their feet because that was all they had. An American visitor, Gary Schneider, was so moved by Pastor Billy's passionate plea that he began helping other Zambian pastors do the same and eventually brought Orphan Sunday to America. What is so moving about that first Orphan Sunday in Zambia was the response of the people in the congregation that really had nothing to give....but they gave anyway. Isn't that a beautiful picture of sacrificial giving? Isn't that what we are all called to do? Are we not to turn away from this world and give to the needy and provide for orphans and widows?

"learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause." Isaiah 1:17

On Orphan Sunday we are all called to respond to God's call to care for the orphan. There are 42 countries now participating in OS and 145 U.S and 111 International Orphan Sunday Coordinators. All working toward the same purpose to present the opportunity for believers to care for the fatherless. Emails will be sent, Pastor Packets will be delivered and visits will be made by coordinators to churches worldwide as God's "workers" enter the fields for the fatherless.  There are 163 million orphans across the globe and there are an estimated 2.1 billion professing Christians across the globe. That doesn't seem right does it?  Could there really be that many Christians....if so why are there so many orphans when God clearly commands us in scripture to care for orphans?
 
"Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute." Psalm 82:3


 So when we are given the chance to respond, will we?  Will we feel the weight of that command in scripture or will we ignore it? Will we be obedient?  God isn't "asking" us to care for His orphans He is commanding us to care for His orphans. How can we, those who have been adopted into God's family as His sons and daughters,  turn a blind eye to orphans? We were all orphans...until God adopted each of us into his family...not because He had to but because He chose to. Shouldn't we show the same mercy, grace and love to orphans and those in need just as God has done for us? Shouldn't our lives be a reflection of the gospel that saved us? We can't pretend we don't know...we can't turn a blind eye to the injustices of this world and live the way we want to live anymore. If you are a Christian and you are reading this you know we can't let children die of preventable diseases and starvation every single day while we sit back in our comfortable Christianity....we just can't.

"Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered." Proverbs 21:13

 

Orphan Sunday does not have to be celebrated in a church it can be anywhere...your work place, your small group, your kids sports teams, your classrooms...anywhere. I just pray you will chose to stand for the orphan. It doesn't have to be adoption or foster care it can be a myriad of other things. If you have questions and you want to know what you can do please contact me at oscoordinators@cafo.org. I would love to help you learn more about orphan care, foster care, respite care and more. There are so many things you can do you just have to do something.

"If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?" Proverbs 24:12

Please Pray for Orphan Sunday November 3, 2013.
Blessings....