The Every Child Initiative exists to glorify God by envisioning, equipping, and empowering disciples to have gospel impact in the lives of vulnerable children.
Our desire is that everyone who calls Summit Church “home” will partner with us in this gospel-motivated initiative and act on behalf of the vulnerable children who live in our communities and around our world. Please take a few minutes and read through the various ways you can partner with us below.
Foster Care
Although Foster Care is different from adoption in that it is not designed to be permanent, it is, however, still an active response to the Gospel. A Foster Parent is given the opportunity to display the love of Jesus as they feed, clothe, care for, and welcome the vulnerable into their home and heart.
"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me."
Similar to adoption, foster care is not an easy road. The foster care system is primarily designed to reunify children with their biological families, however there are instances when children become available for adoption. Foster care is an incredible opportunity to share the love of Jesus with foster children, their parents, and the foster care system.
We have chosen to partner with One More Child because they are a gospel-centered organization and because they care for and fight for the highest possible good of foster families and the foster children in our community.
Interested in finding out more about fostering? Click below.
Adoption
Adoption is first and foremost a response to the Gospel: the loving Father who sought us, adopted us, and invites us to live as his sons and daughters. When you choose to adopt, you choose to emulate the heart of the Father.
"In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ,
according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace..."
The decision to adopt, the adoption process, and post-adoption life are not simple or easy. It must be a calling from the Lord. Often times adoptive children have been wounded deeply. Therefore adoptive families must be willing to support, care for, and provide continued care to their adoptive child so that they may experience the wholeness and healing available to them in Christ.
Many families within our church have chosen to adopt, and many of them have gone through the agencies listed on our resource page. These agencies are gospel-centered and we are thankful for our partnerships with them.
Interested in finding out more about adoption? Click below.
Wrap Around Care
Over the past several years, the Lord has been faithful to call many people from Summit Church to care for vulnerable children. As people continue to step out in faith and participate in foster care and adoption, some significant needs have arisen. Foster and adoptive families are in need of resources and strong support systems. These needs present opportunities for the rest of the church to participate in helping to care for vulnerable children. The Wrap-Around ministry of Summit Church exists to equip and empower God’s people to come along side of adoptive and foster families through prayer, care and service.
Wrap-Around care provides tangible ways of coming alongside foster and adoptive families. The hope of wrap-around care is that as the church comes around these families with support and care, the community will be strengthened and the calling on the adoptive and foster families will be sustainable.
We know that not every Christian is called to become a foster or adoptive parent, but we do believe that every Christian is called to care for the plight of the orphan.
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
The Wrap-Around Ministry provides various avenues for any individual or family to be able to participate in the Every Child Initiative. But more than anything, the Wrap-Around Ministry is a clear example of the members of the body coming together to carry out God’s redemptive mission.
There are many ways to care for vulnerable children. Stepping into wrap- around care is a great way to get involved. We have quite a few families at Summit who have adopted or are currently fostering. Check out below for all of the opportunities to serve our families. Some of the greatest current needs are:
Prayer Team- 1x a month
Serve Team- 4x a year
Meal Team- as available - meals for a when a new child is placed in a home - meals for our ECI cohort meeting twice a month
Mentoring/Support for our ECI teens- 1x a month
CHILDCARE
One of the most significant needs in the area of foster care is free childcare. Foster families have unique and extensive demands on their time. Obligations such as court, Judicial Reviews, WIC appointments and staffings put financial strain on foster families as they pay for childcare in order to attend these appointments. Being a childcare volunteer would help minster to these families as they manage these responsibilities.
(Requirements: Background check, Staff/Elder reference, attend orientation)
Interested? Next steps below.
service Projects
With so many various and specific needs this aspect of wrap-around care is really wide open. Service projects could range from mowing lawns, helping with cleaning or laundry, handyman help around the house, or even assisting with construction for those needing help to make their home more functional as they bring in vulnerable children.
(Requirements: Background check for Service projects)
Interested? Next steps below.
meals
Bringing in a new child can be a hectic occasion. Something as simple as having dinner provided can help to ease the transition of adding in a new family member. The support a meal offers cannot be overstated. Sending/bringing/ordering out for a family communicates that their church family is with them and loves them.
Interested? Next steps below.
mentoring /tutoring
Mentoring involves spending quality time with a foster or adoptive child; building relationships, discipling, and working with the foster/adoptive family to be an additional support to them. Many children who come into care (adoptive or foster) are behind in school, making tutoring a vital need. Often these children have not had proper attention and care. They may also have been moved around a great deal and therefore have significant gaps in their education.
(Requirements: Background check, Staff/Elder reference, attend orientation)
Interested? Next steps below.
RESOURCE COORDINATOR
Volunteering as a resource coordinator involves organizing, caring for, overseeing, and advocating for families that have brought in a vulnerable child. Resource coordinators work on behalf of the foster and adoptive families within their designated region. When a family takes a child in, their resource coordinator is notified. The resource coordinator then does the work of finding out the family's needs (crib, clothes, booster seat, meals) and works towards collecting all that they can in order to meet the needs of that family. Resource Coordinators are also responsible to continue checking in with the families and making sure that the families feel cared for and supported. This is a year-long volunteer commitment.
Interested? Next steps below.
RESpite care
This ministry involves helping out foster families who are in need of an extended break or are traveling. These homes can also serve as temporary placement while DCF looks for a more permanent home.
(Requirements: Background check, Staff/Elder reference, attend orientation)
Interested? Next steps below.
Interested in finding out more about serving opportunities? Click below.
Other opportunities
SERVicE project TEAM
At Summit, we partner with a number of wonderful, hardworking ministries and agencies that care for vulnerable children. We want to be a place that encourages and blesses the organizations in our community. This group strategizes ways that we can care for the workers who are serving day in and day out. This volunteer opportunity would mean blessing one ministry/agency a quarter.
PRAYER TEAM
Serving and caring for vulnerable children can be a difficult calling. It’s essential to have this work undergirded by prayer. The prayer team is a group that is committed to praying for our ECI families as well as vulnerable children in our community and world.
This team meets once a month on Sunday evenings to pray together for ongoing needs as well as specific circumstances in the lives of our families and our community.
Care Portal Team Member
This online platform brings the needs of hurting children and families in your community to your attention. It notifies local churches of community needs, giving them a real-time opportunity to respond. We are excited to link arms with other churches in our community to show the love of Christ to those in need right here in SWFL. Whether you simply want to keep one child out of foster care, help one family in crisis stay together or rally your community, Care Portal connects you. It is an immediate and tangible way we can help combat the foster care crisis in SWFL. We offer training on this tool.
(Requirement: Training)
Serve Project Team for our Local Partners
At Summit, we partner with a number of wonderful, hardworking ministries and agencies that care for vulnerable children. We want to be a place that encourages and blesses the organizations in our community. This group strategizes ways that we can care for the workers who are serving day in and day out. This volunteer opportunity would mean blessing one ministry/agency a quarter with a special project.
Support/Hospitality Team for our ECI Events
This team helps with the planning, set up, and hosting of our events, including the Every Child Collective conferences for other churches.
Interested in finding out more about serving opportunities? Click below.
Giving Opportunities
FISCAL DONATIONS
There are a number of ways that financial gifts help foster and adoptive families. The Every Child fund helps with the cost of adoption for families trying to adopt. It also provides a gift card to foster families when they receive a new child into their home. This gift card helps with all of the immediate needs of the new child. The fund can also assist with counseling needs for foster and adoptive families. If you would like to contribute to the Every Child fund, click here to donate.
PHYSICAL DONATIONS
Have items that you could donate for use by a family that is caring for a vulnerable child? Please bring items to Hope 4 Kids located at:
16440 South Tamiami Trail
Fort Myers, FL 33908