Read The Commercial Appeal’s Faith & Values story about how the gift of adoption changed the life of one family forever.

Go to www.AgapeMeansLove.org to read the full story.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., congratulated Agape Child & Family Services of Memphis and Jackson on being recognized as a 2011 Angel in Adoption for their advocacy of adoption and foster care issues.

The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI), which orchestrates the Angels in Adoption program, honored Agape, along with more than 140 other “angels,” at an awards ceremony and gala event in Washington on October 5th.

“I was proud to nominate Agape Child & Family Services for this award,” said Corker. “For over 42 years they have been committed to serving thousands of children and families in West Tennessee. Their good work serves as an example to us all.”

Agape Child & Family Services, a Christian-based organization with locations in Memphis and Jackson, is being honored for their commitment to providing children and families with healthy homes through community restoration, homeless services, mentoring, foster care, adoption, maternity services and counseling. Agape will serve more than 18,000 children, adults and families this year through its services.

The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) is a 501(c)3 nonpartisan organization dedicated to raising awareness about the tens of thousands of orphans and foster children in the United States and the millions of orphans around the world in need of permanent, safe, and loving homes through adoption.

The Angels in Adoption program is CCAI’s signature public awareness campaign and provides an opportunity for members of Congress to honor the good work of their constituents who have enriched the lives of foster children and orphans in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit http://www.ccainstitute.org/.

Almost 50% of pregnancies in the United States are unintended. Of those, over 40% end in abortion. The purpose of adoption is to give a parent facing an unplanned pregnancy an opportunity to give their child life and plan for their future by placing them into a loving, Christian home.

Adoption ministers to everyone involved. For a birth parent, it provides the chance to make a loving, responsible, and painful choice. It allows them to put the needs of their child before their own wants or desires. They are able to choose a family to raise their child, entrusting them to love and nurture the child as much as the birth parent does.

Adoption allows adoptive parents to grow or create their family. It also allows families to be obedient to the call of the Lord in James 1:27 to care for the orphans. Adoption lets adoptive parents be a part of the Lord’s plan to “set the lonely in families” (Psalm 68:6). Adoption is the framework through which the Lord ensures that family-less children find families.

For children, adoption provides a Christian family. Families are God’s perfect design. Through a family, children find love, nurture, and healing. Families provide the foundation of faith. Children are able to grow up in the optimal environment for success when they have a Christian family.

Adoption matters to us because it matters to God. What a blessing it is to be part of God’s plan for all children to have families. At Christian Services of Oklahoma, we have the opportunity to help create families through domestic adoption, international adoption support services, and foster care. I invite you to join us in this special ministry.

1.AdoptionWorks is a ministry under ChritianWorks for Children, formerly known as Christian Services of the Southwest.
2.The AdoptionWorks ministry has placed over 800 children with Christian families through foster care and Adoption since 1967.
3.The maternity social worker is available for Adoption related questions 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Please contact Charvette Simmons @ (214)-952-7421 with your adoption related questions or concerns.
4.The AdoptionWorks ministry hosts, an annual family picnic for Adoptees, Birth Parents, and Adoptive Parents.
5.AdoptionWorks in conjunction with CounselingWorks now provides low-cost, adoption-related counseling for the members of the adoption tirad: Birth Parents, Adoptive Parents, and Adoptees. Please contact Heather Ellis: heatherellis@adoptionworks.org or Kristina Stephens: kstephens@christian-works.org, or call (972)960-9981 for more information.
6.The AdoptionWorks staff has a combined 32 years of adoption-related experience.
7.The AdoptionWorks ministry offers post adoption services, such as searches, and counseling for families that have an adoption, consummated through Christian Works for Children. For more information please contact Charvette Simmons @ csimmons@adoptionworks.org.
8.AdoptionWorks can provide International adoption home studies, and post-placement services
9.The AdoptionWorks ministries consist of a small staff, with big hearts for Children.
10.AdoptionWorks has finally joined the world of social media! Don’t forget to, “Like” us on Facebook www.facebook.com/christianworks or Follow us on Twitter @ christian_works
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At Adoption Option Training workshops, Christian Homes provides lunch along with take-home materials, talking points and DVDs. The Adoption Option Training Program is made possible through the Pat Meleen Vaughn Celebration of Life Fund at the Community Foundation of Abilene. If you or someone you know are interested in scheduling a free Adoption Option Training Program, please contact Shaylee Honey at shoney@ChristianHomes.com.

It is too awesome for words. Meeting her adoptive parents was a beautiful, almost spiritual experience. We were all at peace and totally connected. But when you think about it…there is nothing more special that we could have had in common than a child.

I just wanted to thank you for all the help you’ve given me over the last couple of months. You have been very supportive. It has really helped ease some of the pain. You’re such a blessing to so many women in my position. It’s nice to know that someone is looking out for the best interest of the mother, as well as the child.

Thank you so much for helping me place my baby with a loving Christian family. You all have been so wonderful to me. I don’t know what I would have done if it weren’t for you all.

Eighteen years ago we came to CFS and brought this precious baby home. As everyone said, the years have passed unbelievably fast! He will graduate from high school in two weeks. He is an honor student who will be attending college on a scholarship. He loves the Lord and has brought many of his football buddies to the Lord. Thank you for the work you do in changing lives for eternity.

AGAPE will co-sponsor this Family & Children’s Service event to create awareness of the children in our community who need families. Inspiring stories, music, games, food and much more. Register by November 4 to receive a free gift! Contact Jocelyn King at 615 340-9737 to register, or go to www.agapenashville.org for more information.

Agape’s 3rd Annual
Adoption Celebration

An event for the entire family!

Saturday, November 5
11:00am-2:00pm
Vaughn Park Church of Christ
3800 Vaughn Road
Montgomery, AL 36106
www.agapeforchildren.org
272-9466

FREE! Lunch included.
Please register by Nov. 3!
A Registered Play Therapist will be in attendance.

Search and Reunion

The term “search and reunion” refers to the efforts of adoptees, birth parents or their family members to seek some kind of contact with a blood relative touched personally by adoption. An adopted person may wish to seek contact with a birth mother. A sibling of an adopted child may wish to seek contact with an adopted sibling. A birth mother may wish to seek contact with a child she placed for adoption.
Search and reunion efforts usually involve those who were part of adoption plans which included little, if any, openness. Current adoption practices involving a significant level of openness often negate a need for search and reunion.
Each state has laws regulating the requirements for search and reunion. Some are more restrictive than others. Some state laws give rights to adoptees and birth parents to do a certain level of searching. Prior to openness in adoptions becoming the norm in adoption practices, there were over 500 search support groups in the United States. There are also a few national search services.
There are several reasons why people decide to search and there are many emotional and social dynamics involved which can get fairly complicated. It often requires much sensitivity, diplomacy and cautious judgment to handle these situations well.
As can be anticipated, searching is viewed from many perspectives. Some view having information about, and contact with, their birth families as being a moral right of theirs. Some are open to having contact while others are hesitant. Some refuse to allow contact while others go overboard and force themselves on the other party. Some say searches should only occur after an adopted child reaches a certain age. Some put off searching in fear of appearing disloyal to their adoptive parents.
Yes, there are many dynamics involved. AGAPE provides help and support through this process with those whose adoptions occurred through our agency. Counseling prior to embarking on a search is recommended and can be very helpful. All of this underscores the value of working with an agency that will be around for many years to come in order to be available to help with this process.
This is a very important topic with much at stake. Because of this, birth mothers considering adoption would do well to anticipate their situation and consider the factors involved as they choose an agency to work with for an adoption placement.

1) African American homes who are interested in adopting African American children – Call us at 272-9466 or e-mail info@agapeforchildren.org if you would like to discuss the possibility of opening your heart and home to a child in need. We’d love to talk with you!

2) Foster homes for every age and race -If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to take care of one of the 500,000 children in foster care, we’d like to invite you to our Informational Foster Care Dinner on May 26. You’ll hear real-life experiences from some of our current foster parents. It will be a casual and non-threatening way to learn more and to ask questions of the ones who really know what it’s like – the foster parents!