.png)
In 2001 while working at Brownwood High School, bi-vocational pastor, Aaron Blake, Sr. met Melvin Johnson, a Brownwood High School student in foster care. After developing a relationship with Melvin and seeing the need in his life for a family, Aaron and his wife Mary were licensed to be foster parents and invited Melvin to live with them. In the following months, Melvin invited more of his foster friends whose placement were disrupted and for whom CPS needed placement. Soon four more young men joined Melvin in the Blake home. With six young men living in the Blake’s home and the state’s continual calls to place more children in their home, Aaron turned to his church family to help care for the children in the foster care system right there in their community.
One Sunday morning, impressed by the Holy Spirit, Aaron changed his sermon and prepared to share with his congregation. With both humility and unwavering resolve, Aaron asked his church family,
.png)
Although Pastor Blake was not expecting anyone to respond, one woman courageously stood and said, "Pastor, I will stand with you." One after another, more stood with them and soon fifteen families had committed to becoming foster parents for the 39 children in need at that time. That one day led to an annual day of observation and prayer for orphans, now known to be “Stand Sunday.” As of today, Stand Sunday, along with its international focus day, Orphan Sunday, is observed in churches in over 120 countries.
At the end of 2023, there were 31, 475* Texan children in state conservatorship (foster, kinship, rehabilitative care). Across the US, there are over 365,000** children in foster care. What would happen if every church proclaimed the call to care for widows and orphans and each church took in even just one child a year? What if the church was committed to going upstream to address some of the poverty related issues that cause children to enter foster care? This dream is why we will continue to observe Stand Sunday in 2024.
Do you, your small group, or your church want to observe Stand Sunday this year with groups around the world? Click here to learn how.
*Texas data is based on 2023 and can be accessed via the DFPS Databook: https://www.dfps.texas.gov/About_DFPS/Data_Book/default.asp. National data is based on 2022 and can be accessed via the Children's Bureau: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/report/afcars-report-30.
