National Foster Care Month is a reminder that every child deserves to feel loved, cherished, and protected in a safe home. Across the country, children in foster are waiting for that kind of care—and the Church has an opportunity and responsibility to respond.
For some, that response may look like welcoming children to their home as foster parents. through foster care. For others, it may mean providing wraparound support to foster families, advocating for vulnerable children, or simply taking the first step to learn more. Every act of compassion matters because the need is real.
Based on the most recent data available from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), there are currently 331,747 children in foster care and 70,418 children waiting for adoption in the United States.
Now imagine if just two families from the approximately 187,000 churches in the U.S. chose to foster, there would be enough homes for every child currently in foster care—with thousands more ready to welcome the next child in need, according to the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO).
This month, One More Child invites you to take the next step in your foster care journey and witness the love, healing, and redemption God can bring through foster care.
Seven years ago, the Pearson family chose to trust God and say “yes” to foster care—a decision that would forever change their lives.
Making Space for Love
With four children between the ages of 2 and 9, the Pearson* home was constantly bustling with activity. Still, Hope* and Tom * Pearson felt God tugging at their hearts to care for more children through foster care.
Hope and Tom became licensed foster parents with One More Child seven years ago, planning to foster one child at a time. Evan* was their first placement. Coming to them two days before his first birthday, he stayed with the Pearsons 13 months before reunifying with his family. A few weeks after accepting a new placement, they learned Evan needed to reenter foster care—and immediately welcomed him back into their home.
Evan spent the next two years as their foster child until adoption became possible. Hope and Tom joyfully made it official, welcoming him forever into the Pearson clan.
Now, with five children, the Pearsons continued fostering, seeing many children through to reunification. One day, they received a call about twin babies, asking if they could care for one. There wasn’t a home that could take both. Hope and Tom were heartbroken at the thought of separating them, so they decided to foster both babies.
After the twins reunified, the Pearsons continued fostering sibling sets of two. Then came a call about a group of three siblings: a baby girl, a 3-year-old boy, and 6-year-old girl. The licensing specialist asked if they could take the two youngest, while the oldest was placed elsewhere. They agreed, but as they loved and cared for these two children, the thought of the separated older sister weighed heavily on them.
The next morning, they asked to foster the 6-year-old sister as well—making space in their home and hearts for all three siblings. That space remained open. Less than a month after these siblings reunified with their mom, two more foster babies arrived. The 3-month-old twins tragically suffered physical abuse before entering foster care but are now experiencing extraordinary love and healing in the Pearsons’ care.
Over the past seven years, Hope and Tom have fostered 19 children, including six sibling groups, and adopted their son, Evan.
They began their foster care journey to help one child at a time—but along the way, their yes to one more became a yes to many more.
*Names changed for privacy.
Start Your Foster Care Journey Today
Fostering is a labor of love—it often means making room for more beds, more clothes, and more mouths to feed. But more than anything, it is an invitation to make space for something deeper: love, redemption, and healing in a child’s life.
Foster care is both an honor and a calling—an opportunity to love, a responsibility to respond, and a tangible way to reflect God’s care for the vulnerable.
Start your foster care journey today!