To my delight, I find that people who walk with God begin demonstrating that same surprising goodness. The better we know them, the more goodness we discover\u2014not that they\u2019re perfect, but actually Christlike: compassionate, thoughtful, forgiving, serving with joy. They offer sanctuary from the cruelty and hurt of the world, giving a glimpse of what the wholeness of God and His Kingdom are like.<\/p>\n
I had the privilege of discovering unexpected goodness when I visited Tom and Rhonda Pittman\u2019s small group and Family Advocacy Ministry (FAM) care team. FAM, the local church expression of Commission 127<\/a> at Grace, wraps around foster and adoptive families by providing practical help like meals, babysitting, mentoring, and prayer.<\/p>\n With laughter and some German chocolate fudge, I spent an evening getting to know the small group and being delightfully surprised by the goodness of God revealed through His people.<\/p>\n How did you come to be involved with FAM?<\/b><\/p>\n We learned about FAM at one of the launches for new small groups. After our group got to know each other a little better, we invited Bill Behr [a FAM volunteer] to come talk about FAM. We watched some videos, and our whole group said, \u201cYes!\u201d<\/p>\n How did you say yes so easily?<\/b><\/p>\n We wanted to love people in our community in the name of Jesus, and this opportunity was already set up for us to do as a group. We know God is concerned for the orphan and the widow, and we are too. We wanted to show others how much God loves them by how we love them.<\/p>\n So you\u2019re a group\u2014coming together for Bible study, community, and prayer\u2014and also a care team\u2014wrapping around a foster family. What does doing these two things together actually look like?<\/b><\/p>\n Bondedness. We\u2019re friends! FAM gives us an opportunity to serve outside the four walls of the church. We have a shared goal and shared joy through service.<\/p>\n How is caring for a family going?<\/b><\/p>\n We\u2019ve just gotten started, but one of the best parts so far was visiting the foster family\u2019s home. They were so grateful for the meal and gift basket we brought. We were amazed at how at ease the parents were with chaos, how welcoming they were to the twelve of us, and how even their biological child\u2019s friends were helping change diapers. We left encouraged and joyful. That was a good night.<\/p>\n What have you learned about yourself in this process?<\/b><\/p>\n Assorted Responses from Different Small Group Members:<\/em><\/p>\n What keeps you going?<\/b><\/p>\n We like that FAM gives us the opportunity to serve families and kids locally. We can see the kids, talk to them, and hug them. We want to have a long-term connection with them, and we\u2019re looking forward to more interaction, like mentoring. In our training, we learned that foster families with support are 90% more likely to keep fostering. We want our family to keep fostering.<\/p>\n With FAM, the systems were already in place, the groundwork was already done, and the expectations were clear. FAM lives out Grace\u2019s core value of wow-making excellence. <\/i>Great tutorials and great support from [FAM ministry leader] Becky Robey make being a care team plug and play. Not only are we supporting a family\u2014the church is supporting us!<\/p>\n How else have you seen God work in this process?<\/b><\/p>\n Scott Sherrer:<\/em> My wife and I recently bought a new mattress. I made a few visits to the same store, trying out different mattresses, and got to know the manager. He grew up in church but disconnected at some point. I invited him to church, and he said he\u2019d think about it.<\/p>\n A little while later, when we were taking a meal to the foster family\u2019s home, I accidentally parked in their neighbor\u2019s driveway. It was the guy from the mattress store! When he asked me what I was doing there, I told him I was bringing back my mattress. Then I told him that my small group from Grace supports his neighbors as they foster. Turns out, he grew up in foster care himself. How cool is it that God orchestrated that connection? We got to represent Grace and Jesus in a way that immediately resonated with that man\u2019s story.<\/p>\n What advice would you give to a group considering becoming a FAM care team?<\/b><\/p>\n Just do it! This is a super easy way to volunteer. Having a good leader to coordinate and organize makes a big difference, but there\u2019s a way for everyone to serve. I can\u2019t imagine why every small group doesn\u2019t adopt a family. If you\u2019d like to get involved as an individual, FAM can also connect you with others.[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”Small Line” line_alignment=”center” line_thickness=”2″ divider_color=”accent-color” animate=”yes”][vc_column_text]\n [vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” gradient_type=”default” shape_type=””][vc_column column_padding=”padding-10-percent” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":109865,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,96,98,46,106],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-109863","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-christian-life","8":"category-family","9":"category-grace-church","10":"category-magazine","11":"category-spiritual-growth"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nServing Joyfully: A FAM Interview<\/h4>\n
\n
Looking for a place to call home? We\u2019d love to meet you! Click here<\/a> to introduce yourself and learn more about Grace Church, or click here<\/a> to find a campus near you.<\/h4>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"