Christian Services of Oklahoma

We have a few quick updates for you about upcoming events.

Pregnancy Counseling

We have seen a large increase in the number of referrals we receive for pregnancy and adoption counseling. Many of these referrals are coming from individuals or churches familiar with our agency. If you know of someone in need of our birth parent counseling services, please have them contact Brittany at 405-216-5240 or by email at brittany@christian-adoption.org. You can also visit our website to find out more about what we offer to women who are in an unplanned pregnancy and considering adoption. We also serve women who wish to place their older children or toddler for adoption. 

Foster Care

The pas few months have brought our agency the wonderful blessing of meeting with many families interested in foster care. If you or someone you know is interested in this ministry, we would be happy to come visit with you personally. We are also available to do presentations to your small group or at churches. Contact Holly Edwards at 405-216-5240 or by email at hollyedwards@christian-adoption.org to get a meeting set up. 

We continue to recruit a foster family for our transitional care program. We have been contacted by more and more birthmothers wanting assistance in placing their older children for adoption. We need a special transitional care family willing to provide temporary care for children ages birth-12 years of age. Typically our transitional care families care for one to two children per year for short periods of time until an adoptive family is identified and able to take placement. Theses temporary placements last from 5 days to a few months. If you are interested in joining our ministry in this way, please contact Brittany Orr at 405-216-5240.

Tot Trot

The 2012 Tot Trot is scheduled for May 11, 2012 at Stars and Stripes Park at Lake Hefner. Come join us for an evening of fun and activities! Information and registration are available online. 

Adoption Training

The Oklahoma Adoption Coalition is hosting a training on special needs adoption for adoptive and foster families, as well as professionals.The training will  be held April 20 in Oklahoma City. Information can be found on our website. Christian Services is a member agency of the OAC and we are pleased to help present this training. Please pass the information along to families who might be interested. 

Our $13 a Day Campaign is going strong, but we still need more monthly sponsors! The more sponsorships we receive, the more children we can provide with loving foster homes. Consider joining us in this endeavor. 

Christian Services of Oklahoma is excited to announce the launch of our newly designed web page, www.christian-adoption.org. This re-designed site is user friendly and designed to provide extensive information to potential clients, donors and volunteers. The site features extensive information on our program for birth mothers, adoptive parents and foster parents. The site contains information on two of our new programs, our Older Child Adoption Program and our Post Adoption Counseling Program. Our waiting families can still be viewed online. 

 New information is available on this site regarding our agency’s history, staff and mission. Additionally, prospective or current donors and volunteers can find out about specific volunteer opportunities, our annual events, current needs and ways to donate either to our general fund or specifically to our foster care program.  

Copies of our newsletters are also available as well as various photo galleries of events throughout the year. We hope our website can help become more acquainted with the work we are doing at Christian Services of Oklahoma.

Occasionally I am asked by someone to explain the purpose of our ministry. The easy answer is that we exist to find families for children in need — whether through adoption or through foster care.

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.

What a wonderful Thanksgiving season, where we can reflect on the blessings of our ministry!

We are so appreciative of the help and support of our donors and volunteers this year. Here are a few things are are thankful for as we plan to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow.

• For our 8 foster families who are caring for 10 young foster children tomorrow. We are so thankful that these 10 children will have a safe and happy Thanksgiving with their Christian foster families who love and cherish them.
• For our waiting adoptive families-both international and adoption-who will spend this Thanksgiving praying for and thinking of the children they are waiting for.
• For the three new foster family inquiries we received this week! How encouraging to see hearts being moved to care for even more children.
• For the birth mothers and children we are currently serving in our adoption program.

And we are so thankful for our faithful friends. Thank you for making our ministry possible! We would not be able to serve these children and families without you. We wish you a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving!

If you would like to make Thanksgiving gift to Christian Services of Oklahoma, you can donate online.

We have several current volunteer opportunities. Call us if you are interested in partnering with us as a volunteer!

• Respite workers for the maternity home: We need female volunteers able to stay 1-2 nights a month at the maternity home to give our house mother a much needed break.
• Office help: We need volunteers to serve in our office 1 or 2 afternoons a month to help with filing, copying and special projects.
• Meals and snacks: We need volunteers to provide meals and snacks for foster and adoptive parent trainings, and foster families when they recieve a new placement.
• Supply Drive: We need small groups or individuals to host supply drives for hygiene and cleaning items for the maternity home.

For more information on these or any other volunteer opportunities, call the office at 216-5240.

 

We are excited to announce the 2011 OKC VIP Card. Christian Services of Oklahoma is honored to benefit from locally owned businesses through this special partnership. The OKC VIP Card provides a 25% discount at all participating stores from May 14-25. The cost of the card is $25 and 100% of the proceeds benefit Christian Services of Oklahoma. The cards will be on sale at the Tot Trot on May 13, the Spring Creek Kid's Festival on May 14 and at participating stores. Below please find the list of participating businesses.

Pickles & Ice Cream Maternity Apparel
Lil Dudes and Divas Children’s Boutique
Ladybugs and Lizards Children’s Boutique
Funky Monkey
Uptown Kids
Storkvision
Bella Blu Maternity & Baby
USA Baby
Learning Tree
Cupcakes to Go Go
Supper Thyme
Marcy & Abbey’s
The Ritz
Simpson Brachous Jewelry
Optique
Chiropractique Family Wellness Center
Panthera Gift Boutique
Simpson Brockhaus Fine Jewelry
Silver Leaf Gems

Here are a few updates to our work:

• The Tot Trot is scheduled for May 13, 2011 at Mitch Park. Details are below. May is National Foster Care Month. Participation in this event is a great way to help children and foster families! We hope you will make plans to join us or sponsor a team.
• There is still time to register for our upcoming seminar entitled "Parenting Children with Prenatal Substance Exposure" on April 2 at Memorial Road Church of Christ. Registration is online. Cost is $10 per family and childcare is included.
• We are currently looking for respite workers for our maternity home. This is a volunteer position that comes with a stipend. Most respite workers serve two days a month. Please call our office at 216-5240 for more information.
• We continue to recruit foster families. We will be having an orientation next week. If you are interested in learning more about how you can change the life of a child, contact Ashley at 216-5240 or by email ashley@christian-adoption.org.
• Your small group or Bible class can get involved in our maternity home by holding a "supply drive" to collect household supplies. Email hollytowers@christian-adoption.org for more information.

We look forward to seeing many of our at one of our upcoming events! Thank you for keeping our ministry in your prayers.