It’s been almost 10 years since Dr. Bob Griffith and his wife began their fostering journey. It was a decision that launched a movement in their church to obey God’s calling in James 1:27 to “look after orphans,” and eventually led to the couple adopting three children. But it never would have happened if God hadn’t miraculously answered the pastor’s prayer all those years ago.
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“I was busy working… I had three other children and so I just didn’t know how I could possibly [adopt],” Dr. Griffith recently told The Washington Times’ Higher Ground about being asked to legally adopt the three foster kids in his care. “But I did tell God… ‘Lord, if you really want me to do this then You’ve got to make way because I cannot see how it’s gonna happen.’ And so I gave Him a little crack, a little window into my life.”
Little did the Griffiths know that within the next 24 hours, God would take that little window and blow their entire house open — literally.
“Within 24 hours of praying that prayer, we had seven different confirmations,” Dr. Griffith revealed. “When I gave God a little bit of room there, He said, ‘Game on. I know how to do that.’ God made it happen. You know why? Because He loves kids that much.”
The pastor, who currently leads Christ Chapel in Virginia and who recently released his first book “Fostering Jesus: Answering the Call to Foster Care in the Home and Church,” said the biggest confirmation came when God provided the family with a larger house with the help of an old acquaintance who approached them out of the blue.
“Within 24 hours, we had… sold our house and bought a new one,” Dr. Griffith said. “The price I sold my house for was the exact same price I bought this new home in the same neighborhood, same school district, nothing changed, but I got two new bedrooms from that whole deal. So we had two new bedrooms for all the kids to be able to stay in.”
And the Griffiths weren’t the only ones answering the call. As more church families began to step out in faith and open their homes to foster kids, and it soon launched a movement to create a whole support system for foster kids and foster and adoptive families.
“Not everyone can be a foster parent or even should be, but everyone is called according to the Scripture to support and care for the widows and the orphans. So that’s what our church did,” Dr. Griffith said, noting that at one point 30% of all foster families in the county attended his church because of the love and support they received.
And while the ultimate goal was to answer God’s call and help kids in need, Dr. Griffith soon learned that getting involved in foster care gave the whole community a chance to experience the heart of Jesus in a deeper, more meaningful way.
“Every single foster parent I have ever talked to says that when they get into it, they see a different side of God that they have never seen before. They have seen His compassion and they’ve seen the vision that He has for people in a way they just have never experienced,” he said. “When you help support foster families and vulnerable kids, you’re able to see the heart of God just in a way you never otherwise would.”
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Marissa Mayer is a writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her work has been featured in Christian Post, The Daily Signal, and Intellectual Takeout. Mayer has a B.A. in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing from Arizona State University.