New Life Care Ministry
New Life has partnered with Promise 686, which is a non-profit ministry committed to seeing vulnerable children get the care they need by partnering with local churches and state agencies. The stated goal of Promise 686 is to see every child in a safe, loving family. Their name comes from Psalms 68:6, “God sets the lonely in families.”
How It Works:
Our local Montana Department of Family Services (DFS) will identify a child who is at risk for entering foster care, in foster care, or reunited with their family. They will send out a need the child or family has, and our Family Care Organzier, Erynn Chrisman, will forward that need to the volunteers on our Care Ministries Team. If they can assist with that need, they will email Erynn of their willingness and ability to help meet that need. The DFS case worker will be notified, and the New Life Care Ministry team will deliver the needed items to the DFS office or to the family directly, depending on the situation. Commonly needed items include food, clothing, beds and bedding, baby supplies, school supplies, and assorted toiletries. Financial help may also be a need to be met, but this will only happen in closely supervised situations. New Life has an online giving option that allows you to donate money that can be used to also meet those needs.
Are you willing to serve on this important team?
If you’d like to join our New Life Care Ministry, then simply click to join, Sign Up.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How many needs will I be required to fill? In our partnership with Promise 686 we are expected, as a churh, to fulfill one need per month. There could be some months we would have no needs to fill.
Who are the kids in foster care? Children are in foster care for a variety of reasons. Some families have no other family or friends to care for their children when they are sick, ill, or deployed. The parents in some families are deceased. Some children have been removed from their families because of abuse or neglect. Regardless of the reason for the removal, we are here to help and show them Christ's love.
What are examples of needs? The needs are carefully vetted by DFS before coming to us. Sometimes the request will come from DFS for the child that is living with birth parents, but it may also come for children living with foster parents. Children entering foster care take only clothes they are wearing. When they are united with their family, they only take the clothes they are wearing. That alone is traumatic. An example is a foster family may need a gently used bed, or when reunited with families, the family may need a gift card for a birthday present or a deposit to get their electricty turned on. The needs are not great, but when met, they are great to the families who are receiving them.
Can we spend time with the children or families? DFS has the discretion to let us deliver needs directly or drop them by the office. If we personally deliver the need to the neighbor, we NEVER go alone. We always go in pairs. Children in foster care have experienced traumatic events, including just being in foster care, and sometimes that means loving them from afar.