THOMASVILLE, N.C. – Janina DeHart had a dream that she was at a party, celebrating the adoption of two boys into her family. That dream came true when the Lord brought together the DeHarts and two brothers who needed a family.

I’ve long thought adoption was a beautiful picture of the Gospel – that it showed the love of Jesus in a unique and profound way. I thought the call to adopt was among the most significant people could respond to. And I was happy to watch other people fulfill it.

With more than 400,000 children reportedly in the foster care system in the United States, and 100,000 of them available for adoption, experts in these fields say the COVID-19 crisis has opened up more opportunities for families to explore ways to help vulnerable children.

WASHINGTON (BP) – The U.S. Supreme Court gave hope Wednesday (Nov. 4) it will uphold the freedom of religiously based adoption and foster care agencies to carry out their ministries according to their beliefs.

With such a large emphasis on serving widows and orphans this month, here are three ways a believer can be mindful of them throughout the year.

NEW YORK CITY (BP) -- A federal appeals court decision in support of a Christian adoption agency has garnered excellent reviews from religious freedom advocates. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City reversed July 21 a federal court opinion that would have required New Hope Family Services to shut down if it maintained its policy of refusing to place children in the homes of same-sex and unmarried couples. The appeals court returned the case to the lower court and kept in place its November 2019 decision that blocked enforcement of that court's ruling.

WASHINGTON (BP) -- The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has commended President Trump's new executive order to bolster the country's child welfare system.

BRIDGETON, Mo. (BP) -- Religious liberty can seem an abstract concept, but consider Kevin. Kevin is one of more than 13,000 children in Missouri's foster care system. Kevin has been waiting for adoption since he was 6. That was 10 years ago. Back in December, Kevin appeared on KOLR Channel 10 in Springfield, Mo. In a weekly segment, the station features foster kids like Kevin, who are in search of a home and forever family.

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Tennessee state senators approved legislation Jan. 14 that would prohibit the state from forcing Christian or other faith-based adoption agencies to place children in homes that would "violate the agency's written religious or moral convictions or policies." Senate Bill 1304 passed the Senate by a margin of 20-6. Sen. Steve Dickerson of Nashville was the only Republican voting against the bill, joining the chamber's five Democrats, according to an article in The Tennessean.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (BP) -- Much of Shaq Hardy's childhood is a blur. For the first 10 years of his life, he moved from foster home to foster home, never able to put down roots. Hardy longed for a sense of home, a place where he belonged. But what Hardy does remember during that frantic decade in foster care is where he learned John 3:16 and how much Jesus loved him. Although he wouldn't come to faith in Christ until five years after he left his last foster home, this last family introduced him to Jesus. For the last several years he was in foster care, the family took him to church just about every week and even involved him in Awana. That's where he learned John 3:16.