The Search Is On: Helping Families Say Yes

When children enter foster care, they are walking through a season of uncertainty. Each one needs a safe place to belong during their hardest season: a home where they can be known, supported, and begin to heal while their families work toward what comes next.

That is where The Search Is On begins.

Across Arkansas, we believe God has already stirred the hearts of families who can open their homes and churches who can surround them with care. The Search Is On is a new statewide foster care campaign from Arkansas Baptist Children & Family Ministries (ABCFM) designed to help find those families and equip the Church to help them say yes.

Foster care is a bridge between crisis and what is possible. When the Church steps into that bridge through fostering, supporting, or sharing, children find safety and families find hope.

A Solvable Problem

In his report to the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, ABCFM Executive Director Dr. Derek Brown reminded messengers of the remarkable potential within the Arkansas Baptist family:

“There are 116 Arkansas Baptists for every one child in foster care,” Brown shared. “And there are 8 Arkansas Baptist churches for every one child waiting for adoption. This is a solvable problem.”

The need is real, but it is not beyond reach. If just 1% of Christ-followers in Arkansas said yes to fostering, every child in care could have a safe place to belong while their family works toward healing.

Why It Matters

Foster care is not easy, but it is life-changing for children and for the families who open their doors. For a child in their hardest season, one family’s yes can be the place where steadiness, healing, and hope begin.

This mission belongs to the whole Church. Every congregation has a part to play. Some will open their homes. Others will support those who do. Some will give. Others will pray. Together, the Church can ensure that no child walks through crisis alone.

How Your Church Can Join the Search

ABCFM is equipping churches across the state with the Search Campaign Kit, including bulletin inserts, prayer guides, presentation slides, digital resources, and more that make it simple to introduce this mission to your congregation. Churches can also request coffee sleeves, table tents, and social media graphics to help raise awareness in their communities.

As families step forward, ABCFM is ready to walk beside them with Christ-centered casework and equip local churches to surround them with prayer, encouragement, and practical support.

Whether through a missions emphasis, a family ministry spotlight, or a simple conversation, your church can help identify and support families who are ready to say yes.

Visit abcfm.org/thesearch to request resources, download materials, or connect with the ABCFM team.

Join the Search. Change the Story.

The need is real, but it is not beyond reach. When the Church responds with compassion and faith, families are equipped, and children find safety and stability during their hardest season. The Search Is On, and we believe the families and the churches who will make the difference are already here.

About the Map.

This map highlights the current foster care need across Arkansas, showing the number of foster beds still needed in each region compared to the number of Arkansas Baptist State Convention (ABSC) churches located there.

Each statistic represents a local opportunity for Arkansas Baptists to help meet the need, by helping families say yes to fostering and surrounding them with the care of the faith community.