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Because Every Child Needs OneHome

Posted by Alan Budd

There are some things every child should be able to count on.

A place to feel safe. Someone who knows where they are at the end of the day. A family who celebrates the good days and stays close through the hard ones. A place to belong.

In other words, every child needs OneHome.

That simple conviction is at the heart of New Life's OneHome Ministry—our orphan care ministry focused on building stable homes through family preservation, foster care, and adoption.

And it's a ministry deeply connected to the heart of the gospel.

Scripture tells us that we were once spiritual orphans—lost and separated from God. But because of His incredible love and mercy, God came after us. He rescued us, welcomed us, and made us His children.

We didn't earn a place in His family. He chose to give us one.

That changes the way we see children and families around us.

Across Ohio, thousands of children are waiting for safety, stability, and someone to call family. Some families are struggling and need support to stay together. Other children need a safe home for a season through foster care. And some are waiting for a forever family through adoption.

The need can feel overwhelming.

But here is something we believe deeply at New Life:

OneHome can make a difference.

You don't have to solve the entire foster care crisis to change a life.

One family can say yes to fostering.

One family can open their home through adoption.

One person can provide a meal.

One person can offer childcare or transportation.

One person can mentor, pray, give, encourage, or provide respite.

Every home is called to respond, and every home can have an impact.

Sometimes we look at a need this big and convince ourselves that what we can do is too small to matter. But God has always had a way of taking ordinary acts of obedience and using them to accomplish something much bigger than we imagined.

At the same time, there is another truth we believe just as strongly:

OneHome shouldn't do it alone.

Recently, OneHome helped make a short-term hosting possible for a child and family. But it wasn't just one person or one family who made it happen.

A host family said yes.

A coach said yes to walking alongside both the host family and the child's mom.

People on our HomeSupport Team said yes to babysitting, rides, and meals.

Our HomeResource Team helped provide groceries and basic needs—from a toothbrush to back-to-school clothes.

And when the hosting ended, the relationship didn't. Ongoing mentoring was put in place, along with rides to church.

That's OneHome.

It's not one family trying to do everything. It's a church family coming together, each person doing their part, to surround a child and family with hope, stability, belonging, and care.

That's why OneHome isn't just a ministry for people who foster or adopt.

It's a ministry for all of us.

Some serve on HomeReceive Teams, opening their homes to children through fostering, adoption, short-term hosting, or respite.

Some serve on HomeSupport Teams, surrounding children and families with practical care—meals, transportation, childcare, mentoring, encouragement, and prayer.

And some serve through HomeResource, helping provide the tangible things families need along the way.

Different roles. Different gifts. Different levels of involvement.

But one church, with one heart, helping create OneHome at a time.

Jesus said, "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me." — Mark 9:37 

What an incredible picture of the opportunity God has placed before us. Find out more about how you can be involved below!