Slideshow from Korea

http://snack.to/oanR71

Click the link to start the slideshow.

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Paul and Robin on FamilyLife Today!

Hope for Orphans founders, Paul and Robin Pennington, will be interviewed today and tomorrow on the FamilyLife Today radio show. We covet your prayers that the interview will be helpful to individuals hoping to start an adoption/orphan ministry in their local church.

Paul and Robin will be discussing…

•  How the church can support adoptive families
• How the church can get involved in orphan ministry

Find a radio station near you.//Listen online.

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Anniversary of Haiti’s Earthquake: Join the Virtual Prayer Gathering. Written By: Jedd Medefind

January 12th will mark one year since the devastating earthquake in Haiti.  Those few moments and their aftermath took hundreds of thousands of lives, left many more homeless, and affected countless children in profound and permanent ways, including leaving many as orphans.  The eye of the media has largely moved on to other stories, but the need in Haiti remains as pressing as ever.

Of course, there are as many unique callings and places to serve as there are Christians in the world.  We certainly should not feel guilty that we can’t all focus on Haiti.  But still, if we felt ache and anguish in the days following the earthquake, we would do well not to quickly forget.  To do so merely mirrors the world’s sad and harmful pattern: to feel deeply yet act little and persevere even less.

The true disciple of Christ consistently matches compassionate emotion with both loving action and loving perseverance, just as the Good Samaritan both cared for the wounded traveler and also promised to return later to cover his future medical bills.  Even if our primary calling is to Russia or Cambodia or foster youth in the U.S., we can remain faithful in prayer to Haiti.

I’m tremendously thankful that Scott Vair and the others at World Orphans felt a desire to gather Christians virtually on the earthquakes’ anniversary to pray for Haiti.  We invite you to join with us and others members of the Christian Alliance for Orphans community on January 12th, 2011 at 4:00pm EST for one hour via “webinar.”  Led by a number of orphan advocates, we will be praying together for the country of Haiti, for stability and integrity in its government, for ongoing relief and rebuilding efforts, for the Haitian church, and for the children of Haiti we all care about so much.

Registration is required, and you can do so today here.

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FOX Family Movie Night – Saturday, January 8th

This Saturday night, at 8 PM Eastern, 7 Central, Fox Television will air Change of Plans, a pro-family, pro-adoption movie presented by Walmart and P&G as part of their Family Movie Night Series. Immediately following the movie, there will be a special LIVE 45-minute webcast, sponsored by Chik-fil-A’s WinShape Foundation, in which viewers can submit their questions about adoption, and a panel, which includes Hope for Orphans’ Paul Pennington, will respond.

To learn more about the movie, please click here. To learn more about the webcast, please click here. To share this with your friends on Facebook, please paste this link (http://on.fb.me/FamiliesForAll) to your profile page.

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One Church Can Make A Difference: Answer the CRY

…They began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Acts 2:45

“If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Matthew 19:21

From the beginning of the church, there has been a connection between the Good News and loving those in need. That connection usually means sacrifice. North American Christians as a bunch are not quite as keen for sacrifice as those in the early church, perhaps because there has been a drift in teaching away from Biblical truth and grace. The new direction has been towards more motivational and frankly “me-centered” teaching. However, as we approach the annual Cry of the Orphan Campaign and Orphan Sunday, we are seeing churches all over America who are launching lay-led, people-to-people orphan ministries, in which there is not only sacrifice but a laying out of lives for the fatherless. The impact, not only on orphans, but on churches, has been amazing.

At the beginning of Hope for Orphans, we worked with a small church in South Texas — a fledgling orphan ministry started by two adoptive moms who had a vision and conviction that loving the fatherless was not optional. This led in fairly short order to 29 kids coming for a summer hosting program. The Russian-speaking kids who came had an impact that reached much further than a handful of kids getting families. This church had a revival of sorts through the love of these orphans that introduced the entire congregation to a country most had probably never heard of. The Lord used orphan ministry to give this church a new passion for missions, evangelism, reconciliation and the Gospel that was truly supernatural. 29 kids became 41 and from there this church and its orphan ministry has helped mentor churches in many places to similar results. The compounded impact for children in foster care and around the world is wonderful. The transformation brought about by seeing the visible gospel by the whole congregation has been priceless.

The point is…One Church Can Make a Difference…a difference that impacts generations for God’s glory. Will you be an orphan ministry leader in your church? One way to give a vision to your church in these next few weeks is through the Cry of the Orphan Partners’ one-hour content-on-demand video special Answer the Cry. This free resource can be used in Sunday schools, small groups, youth groups and even in a special worship service to introduce your church to God’s heart for orphans. This and other resources will be available at www.cryoftheorphan.org. This special program will also be available on DVD in limited supplies at Family Christian Stores locations across the country.

We even have a promo video that you can show leadership in your church or maybe use to promote your own event. You may watch the preview now by clicking here.

Also, at Hope for Orphans, we have a new video that speaks to how God is using the church. You may see that video by clicking here.

So this Orphan Sunday week, consider a sacrifice of your time to give voice to those kids who have none. Consider how God wants to use your Church for loving orphans and waiting children.

Blessings
Paul

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When the World Throws Rotten Tomatoes …..Which Side Will You Be On?

NOTE FROM PAUL PENNINGTON
Executive Director and Co-Founder, Hope for Orphans

When the World Throws Rotten Tomatoes …..Which Side Will You Be On?

“But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name.”

And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.  But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” ACTS 4:17-20

Over 30 years ago, Robin and I heard an older man speak in Houston who said much the same.  In Swiss mountain attire and with a stylish goatee, we heard him say these words: “If there are no absolutes by which to judge society…..then society will become absolute”. Of course that prophet was Dr. Francis Schaeffer. Now, as we live in a post-Christian 2010 America in which zealous religious secular humanists spread their gospel through almost every means possible, we see the vision of what Dr. Schaeffer warned us about. In Barbara Rainey’s soon to be released devotional book, Growing Together In Courage, she says this:

“To be countercultural means to go against the flow. It means that you will do what is right and true no matter what others are doing, even if you are the only one. You recognize that just because something is the popular thing to do does not necessarily mean that it is the right thing to do.”

“Courage goes against the flow. It is countercultural.”

In March of 1861, in Austin, Texas, there was a large meeting, a convention no less, to decide whether Texas would secede from the Union and its leaders swear an oath to the Confederacy. The Governor of Texas, Sam Houston, was a man almost bigger than life. In fact, he is the only man in American history to be the governor of two different states. He lived much of his early life with Native Americans. His father was a close friend of President Andrew Jackson. He was a Senator, a General; he was the George Washington of Texas independence as both Commander of the Texas armies during the war with Mexico and then as the first President of the Republic of Texas.  Few men in Texas stood as tall as Sam Houston.

But in the days leading up to March of 1861, Governor Houston campaigned against secession. He thought it was unimaginable that Texas would leave the Union. This was not a popular position. It was, by all means, countercultural. But of course, he stood for what was right….

As the votes were counted, it was easy to see that it was to be the Confederacy. Not far from the capitol was the Governor’s mansion where Houston and his family waited for the inevitable results. Crowds stood outside the mansion waiting to see if Houston would pledge his allegiance to the Confederacy. Instead, in dramatic fashion, he addressed the crowd from his balcony and stated that he would not and that instead, effective immediately, he would resign as Governor.

In fairly short order, Houston’s family loaded their wagons to leave Austin for their home in Huntsville. This man who had led the armies of Texas to victory and freedom, road out of Austin with his family through streets of angry people screaming insults, and in some parts bombarding his family with rotten tomatoes.  “Courage goes against the flow.”

This story has always fascinated me because this man’s conviction was put to action when the response was sure to be painful. Peter and Paul lived this life. They understood that there are two different kingdoms in conflict. Each of us, with our actions, serves one or the other.

Another large meeting will be held in Austin, Texas this October, when our friends at Together for Adoption hold its 2010 National Conference.  We at Hope for Orphans are privileged to be a partner in this event. This meeting will not be about secession, but instead, it will be about the sanctity of human life. In particular, it will be about the love of God for orphans. Though much of the church has lost interest in orphans in the last 100 years, there is a movement of God in which thousands are standing up for that which concerns the heart of God.  The world continues to devalue, traffic, commercially exploit and suppress even the conception of children. The Bible sees children very differently than today’s world, saying that each child is valuable and made in the image of God, and we should as well.

Children who have no family should compel us even more to understand how we and our churches can be used by God. At Together for Adoption’s conference on October 1-2, you will be taught by some of the most knowledgeable leaders in the country how you and your church can be used in the lives of orphans. Even if those in your own church don’t understand orphan ministry….and even if they toss a few rotten tomatoes around…..will you come to Austin and stand for the pure worship that is found in loving and caring for orphans?

If you are able, please join us in Austin as we gather to grow and be inspired by those whom God is using in the Orphan Ministry movement. Join us in taking a countercultural stand by saying that all children have value because they are made in the image of God.

Blessings,

Paul

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