More than 143 million children in the world today have lost one or both parents. That figure equals nearly half of the U.S. population. What is God's plan for these children?

Several places in the Bible, God gives us an earthly model of a heavenly or spiritual reality to help us understand something that’s really beyond our limited comprehension. We have the analogies drawn through Jesus’ parables. We have the model of marriage between husband and wife as applied to Jesus and the church. And how did God chose to identify Himself to us but as God the Father. Having lost their earthly father, the orphan no longer has that model God set up for them.

The first Sunday in November is nationally recognized Orphan Sunday where TCBC, along with churches across the country, celebrates God's great love for orphans and vulnerable children in our community and around the world. God calls us to make the Gospel visible to the world through:

• adoption and supporting those who are adopting, such as through TCBC's partnership with LifeSong for Orphans to provide an adoption fund
• foster care and supporting those involved in foster care, such as through The Forgotten Initiative and it's Project Sunshine
• supporting vulnerable children, such as through the Living Alternatives
• and supporting orphans such as through our partnership with Rafiki.

No matter what level of involvement you think is right for you, there are multiple ways you can start heeding God’s call to care for the orphan. Contact us via the contact link link below to learn more about you can get involved.

Check out the following reports on how we celebreated Orphan Sunday in recent years:

• 2011, where we challenged the congregation to bring in packages of diapers and the result was blessing several local agencies with dozens of packages each!!
• 2010, where we outlined how TCBC can become involved in adoption, foster care, and orphan care around the world.