Why Adoption?

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1. We should desire to model the character of God, who "executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing" (Deuteronomy 10:18).


2. All through the Bible we see that vertical realities (spiritual) between God and his people have horizontal implications (physical). One way we can live this out is through adoption of needy children. The gospel shows us that Christians are those who have been adopted into the family of God (Ephesians 1:3-10). And by adopting children, God draws a picture for them, for us, and for the world that points to the spiritual reality of salvation and adoption offered to all who trust in Christ.


3. We should desire to live out James 1:27 by caring for orphans and widows. Why not care for an orphan by adopting them and giving them a new life in a family that loves the glory of God, the gospel, and the church? Perhaps you do not feel called to this. If that is the case, then in what ways are you living out James 1:27? If you are a Christian, how does your life demonstrate that you have taken this command seriously?


4. Because God is a global God, and orphan neglect is a global problem, we want to be a part of the global solution, and in that, reflect the diversity that will one day be on display in the New Heavens and the New Earth (Revelation 5:9).


5. Consider the need:
   
   
   • The most recent estimate is that there are approximately 145 million orphans in the world (UNICEF 2008). For this number, an orphan is defined as a child who has lost one or both parents.
   
   
   • More than 15 million children have lost one or both parents to AIDS, over 11.6 million of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa.
   
   
   • In 2007 67.5 million children in South Asia and East Asia had lost one or both parents due to all causes.
   
   
   • Included in the 2008 estimate of 145 million orphans are more than 92 million that have a surviving mother – with whom they most likely live.
   
   
   • Another 38 million have a surviving father.
   
   
   • Approximately 15 million children are "double" orphans – growing up without either mother or father. That's about ten percent of the whole 145 million.
   
   
   • The UNICEF orphan numbers (145 million) are only for deceased parents. If you were to factor in single parents in general, the number is many times higher.
   
   
   • The UNICEF orphan numbers do not include abandonment (millions of children) as well as sold and / or trafficked children. Are the millions of kids abandoned in China not orphans?
   
   
   • The UNICEF orphan numbers do not include many non-reporting nations (namely, Middle Eastern Islamic nations) where shame and divorce abandonment are rampant. 200,000 + orphans in Iraq, for instance, are not part of the count.
   
   
   • We think we are looking at a number quite higher than 15 million "double orphans." We often communicate that the real number of kids that fall into our care categories is somewhere around 40 or 50 million.
   
   
   • According to data released in 2003 as many as eight million boys and girls around the world live in institutional care. Some studies have found that violence in residential institutions is six times higher than violence in foster care, and that children in group care are almost four times more likely to experience sexual abuse than children in family based care.
   
   
   • As of 2002 in Europe and Central Asia, over one million children lived in
     residential institutions.
   
   
   • Worldwide an estimated 300 million children are subjected to violence, exploitation and abuse, including the worst forms of child labour in communities, schools and institutions, during armed conflict, and harmful practices such as female genital mutilation / cutting and child marriage.
   
   
   • In the USA there are approximately 500,000 children in foster care (based on data submitted by states as of January 16, 2008).
   
   
   • 130,000 of those children in foster care are waiting and available for adoption. Children waiting to be adopted include children with a goal of adoption and / or whose parental rights have been terminated. Children whose parental rights have been terminated, who are 16 years old and older, and who have a goal of emancipation are excluded from the "waiting" population. An individual child is included in the count for each year that he or she has these characteristics on the last day of the year.
   
   
   • Approximately 51,000 children are adopted from the foster care system each year.
   
   
   • That leaves 79,000 children annually in the USA needing an adoptive family.
   
   
   • Each year, an estimated 20,000 young people "age out" of the USA foster care system. Many are only 18 years old and still need support and services. Several foster care alumni studies show that without a lifelong connection to a caring adult, these older youth are often left vulnerable to a host of adverse situations.
   
   

   Outcomes
   Earned a high school diploma: 54%
   Obtained a Bachelor's degree or higher: 2%
   Became a parent: 84%
   Were unemployed: 51%
   Had no health insurance: 30%
   Had been homeless: 25%
   Were receiving public assistance: 30%
   

   
   

In light of the reasons listed above answering the question, "Why adoption?", we believe that the question quickly turns to, "Why not adoption?"