“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” - James 1:27
Many churches across our nation set aside one Sunday in November to bring awareness to the world orphan crisis. Orphan Sunday was this past week, so I sat down with our Minister of Missions, Makenzie Magnus, to discuss innovative ways Oklahomans can care for families connected to foster care and adoption.
Makenzie has been in a full-time staff position at CRBC for over a year. In that time, the connections and partnerships she has made across our state are amazing. She recently explained our church’s emphasis on missions and the different ways we seek to impact, saying our local focus includes children in the schools near us, partnerships with DHS, mentoring programs, and so much more.
As a woman who is passionate about local missions, talking about reaching our community makes Makenzie smile ear to ear. Prior to that she went to school at Wheaton and interned in downtown Chicago, where she worked with marginalized and impoverished families. She is intimately familiar with the struggles poverty creates and the uphill climb it takes to break the cycle, many times involving children. That same understanding and passion fuels her as she now has the opportunity to serve Oklahoma City.
Of course the biggest need regarding the orphan crisis is for families to respond to the call of fostering or adopting. As a church, we continue to offer support to foster and adoptive families by partnering with organizations like Karis, whose mission is to bring families together by making orphans sons and daughters.
Other suggestions Makenzie and I talked about require nothing more than thinking about things we do on a regular basis, like donating gently used items or providing food to a family. As Makenzie explained the many (even small!) things we can do to specifically help families connected to foster and adoption, I couldn’t help but make a mental list of practical steps I could take. I left the conversation with Makenzie encouraged and challenged to be more intentional about making a difference in the lives of the foster and adoptive community.
I hope you’ll listen to the entire interview and then pass the link on to someone else who wants to make a difference in the life of a child.
What ways are you reaching others in your community? Are you a part of fostering or adoption? Please share what has been helpful for your family!
Click the podcast link to listen:
Uniquely Beautiful Stories with Heather McAnear
Ep. 22: Makenzie Magnus
Meet the Author!
Heather McAnear is a wife, mom, author and speaker with a passion for sharing God's truth to help women understand their uniquely beautiful design and how to use it for God's glory! In fact, Heather hosts the Uniquely Beautiful Stories podcast on iTunes in hopes do just that! She loves teaching young married couples with her husband, homeschooling their three children, traveling the world, enjoying good chocolate and long conversations in coffee shops. CRBC has been her church home for two decades and she is thrilled to be part of the Women's Ministry team, helping women connect with each other and grow in their walk with Jesus!