Christian Adoption, Foster and Orphan Care Exploding
CAFO2014 Summit to draw multitude to Chicago -- Interview Availability
 Contact: Sandra Flach,
518-779-2279,
OSMedia@cafo.org
CHICAGO, April 25, 2014 /Christian Newswire/ -- Adoption and foster care can be lightening rod issues, but May 1-2, Christians from all 50 states and 25+ countries will join in Chicago for the CAFO2014 Summit. It will be what many regard as the largest and most diverse gathering in history focused on the Bible's call to "defend the cause of the fatherless" (Isaiah 1:17).
From the New York Times to Bloomberg, commentators observe a surge in Christian engagement in caring for orphans - from local foster care and adoption to support of orphan care worldwide. Last month, Barna Research highlighted this theme among 2014's three most notable vocational trends. ECFA reports that giving by Christians to the categories of both "adoption" and "orphan care" grew faster last year than any other ministry category.
Over the past ten years, the annual CAFO2014 Summit has served as a catalyst to what Christianity Today has called "the burgeoning orphan care movement." The conference offers training, resources, and much more -- equipping adoptive and foster parents, church ministries, pastors and others from across the U.S. and the global Church.
CAFO2014 presenters will include unlikely collaborations. Both Republican and Democrat members of Congress, the Southern Baptist Convention's Dr. Russell Moore and UNICEF's Susan Bissell, Ivy League professors and developing-world pastors, critics of the movement and strong proponents, adult adoptees and orphans who've never known family, beloved veteran Christian leaders like Dennis Rainey, Gary Smalley and Wes Stafford alongside emerging leaders from Ukraine, Costa Rica, Uganda and urban America.
More than one hundred workshops at CAFO2014 offer instruction from top national experts on topics ranging from parenting and bonding in difficult adoptions, to church-state partnerships in foster care, to building global church-to-church partnerships to enable local orphan care.
CAFO2014 also features concerts, film screenings, special resources for adoptive and foster families, 80+ booths and exhibits, a marketplace of global arts and crafts, bookstore, and a host of other opportunities. Ultimately, it all is designed to inspire, connect and equip families and churches to become communities known for adoption, foster care and global ministry.
Learn more about the CAFO2014 Summit at www.cafo2014.org.
About the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO)
More than 150 respected organizations unite through the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) in a model of uncommon unity, working together to ignite and equip Christians to care effectively for orphans. CAFO members include ministries as diverse as Bethany Christian Services, Show Hope, Family Life's Hope for Orphans, Compassion International and Focus on the Family. Many CAFO members are located in the Chicago region. Also central in CAFO are many of the nation's strongest church-based orphan ministries, from Saddleback and Bethlehem Baptist to The Moody Church. See more at www.cafo.org.
Interview Opportunity: CAFO President Jedd Medefind
Jedd Medefind serves as President of the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO). The impact and thought leadership of CAFO is recognized in both Christian and secular circles, and in the past year Jedd has been quoted in outlets ranging from the Wall Street Journal and New York Times to Al Jazeera and NPR. Previously, Jedd served in the White House leading the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives for President George W. Bush. Jedd has worked, studied and served in more than thirty countries. His most recent book released in January, Becoming Home: Adoption Foster Care and Mentoring, Living Out God's Heart for Orphans (Zondervan). An adoptive father, Jedd and his wife Rachel live in California with their five children.
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