Empowered To Connect Live Simulcast

A Live Simulcast of the Empowered to Connect Conference will be presented only in churches... streamed from the live conference in San Antonio on April 10-11, 2015! This is a first... and is an opportunity for your church to host this simulcast and provide the invaluable content that, until this event, has only been available in person. Dr. Karyn Purvis and her team from the TCU Institute of Child Development, along with the team from Empowered to Connect and Show Hope, will be sharing and presenting information that will help families and professionals in nurturing and caring for children. Professionals can also earn CEUs by attending the simulcast.


 
New Life Family Fellowship in Asheboro, NC will be hosting the simulcast along with churches from all over the country. Please reach out to your church staff today about registering for and hosting this tremendous conference.

Dr. Karyn Purvis has devoted the past twelve years to developing research-based interventions for at-risk children. She and her colleague Dr. David Cross co-authored the best-selling adoption book,
The Connected Child (2007). You will also hear from Show Hope board members, Dan and Terri Coley. The Coleys have served as foster parents for more than 40 infants and birthmothers, and have adopted children domestically and internationally. Their family is multi-racial and includes children with special needs. It is their heart’s desire for every child to have a family, but through personal experience they have come to know the importance of understanding the challenges and needs of children from “hard places.” Dan and Terri are committed to help educate and prepare families for the adoption journey and empower them with the tools to help children heal while maintaining healthy families.

Lifeline Children's Services

To go along with my investment business and ABBA Fund commitments, I have recently taken a position with Lifeline in Birmingham, AL to establish an office here in North Carolina!  I'm excited to be part of an organization that is growing and thriving as we work together to serve children. The ultimate solution is for a child to come to Christ and to grow up in a loving Christian home. We are also helping orphans through our (un)adopted programs around the world.  Please let me know if you have any questions about Lifeline and my work. Read more on this recent Lifeline blog post. 

Irving, Texas Adoption and Foster Care Conference

Michael and Amy Monroe are doing wonderful work providing resources for families and this conference is at their home church where they lead Tapestry. I'll be stopping by on Friday on my way to the Chosen Marathon near Austin, TX!

 The 2012 Tapestry Adoption & Foster Care Conference is only two weeks away, but there is still room for more -- so make plans to attend on Saturday, October 27, 2012, at Irving Bible Church.

This year’s Tapestry Conference offers several unique opportunities!  In fact, the conference actually consists of three separate events — and you are invited to attend any or all of them.

On Friday, October 26, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, Tapestry will host an Attachment Workshop led by Dr. Curt Thompson, author of Anatomy of the Soul.  The workshop is ideal for adoptive and foster parents, professionals, ministry leaders, and others who desire to pursue lasting change in how they relate to the children they love and serve.  Training credits for foster and adoptive parents will be available, as well as CEUs for Texas licensed social workers and counselors.  Due to the tremendous response, only 20 spaces are still available for the workshop -- so register today!

On Friday evening, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, Tapestry will host Listen To Our Hearts.  This unique presentation will focus on the experiences, stories, and perspectives of adopted persons, and will feature Carissa Woodwyk, speaker and author of Before You Were Mine.

And last but not least, on Saturday, October 27, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, Tapestry will host the 2012 Tapestry Adoption & Foster Care Conference, featuring Dr. Curt Thompson as the general session speaker. 

The 2012 Tapestry Conference will feature 18 new breakout sessions covering a wide range of topics relevant to adoptive and foster parents, those considering adoption, adopted persons, professionals, and ministry leaders.

As in year's past, the Tapestry Conference is completely free, and includes a light breakfast, lunch, conference materials, and training credits for adoptive and foster parents.

You won't want to miss the 2012 Tapestry Conference and pre-conference events.  Visit http://tapestryconference.org/register to register online.

Columbia, South Carolina Adoption Conference

Please join ABBA Fund at the Finding Families Adoption and Foster Care Conference. Learn more about how you and your church can have an impact in the lives of families and children. 

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

CHRISTIAN LIFE CHURCH
2700 Bush River Road, Columbia, South Carolina
Hosted by
U.S. Senator Jim DeMint

Empowered To Connect Conference coming to Nashville, TN

Brentwood Baptist Church and Show Hope will be hosting the Empowered To Connect Conference September 14-15, 2012 in Brentwood, TN, just south of Nashville. Register by July 15th and save $10.

Dr. Karyn Purvis, Michael and Amy Monroe, and Dan and Terri Coley will equip families, churches, and professionals to bring hope and healing to children from hard places. This conference has changed many lives over the years and I've hear families say that they wish they had know this stuff before they dealt with sensory and attachment issues and didn't know what to do. If you are involved in any way with orphan care, adoption and caring for the least of these, then this is much needed information. Show Hope is passionate about sharing this training with you and has made the conference very affordable (only $50 per couple through July 15th and $60 after July 15th).

I would try to say more but I'll let Michael and Amy do it. They have written this letter to ministry leaders:

Dear Church Ministry Leader,

We want to invite you and others from your church ministry team to join us for an upcoming Empowered To Connect Conference hosted by Show Hope. You can find out more about the upcoming conference dates and locations at www.etcconference.org.

As leaders of a church adoption and foster care ministry for the past eight years, we’ve had the privilege to walk alongside hundreds of families as they travel the adoption and foster care journey. During this time we have learned so much and have witnessed more blessings than we can count. At the same time, however, we’ve come face to face with many of the challenging realities that adoptive and foster parents encounter. As adoptive parents ourselves, we have dealt with many of these same challenges, and we know just how difficult, and even painful, they can be. But we also know that although the adoption and foster care journey is not easy, it is worth it – and we also know there is hope and help for every child and every family!

This is why we are excited to be part of the Empowered To Connect Conference. The conference is ideal for anyone interested in adoption or foster care, and will be especially valuable for those involved as church adoption, foster care or global orphan care ministry leaders, whether volunteer or staff.

The Empowered To Connect Conference features the insights, experience and wisdom of Dr. Karyn Purvis, who is the Director of the TCU Institute of Child Development and co-author of the best-selling adoption book, The Connected Child. For more than a decade, she and her colleagues have been developing a more complete understanding of the unique challenges that adopted, foster and orphaned children face, as well as a wide array of tools and strategies to help parents and caregivers form lasting and healing connections with their children.

Over the years the families in our church ministry have benefited greatly from Dr. Purvis. The Empowered To Connect Conference provides us with a great way to share this same help and hope with you so that your families can benefit as well. During the conference, Dr. Purvis offers helpful presentations on a wide range of topics that are highly relevant to all adoptive and foster families. In addition, Amy and I share how our ministry has incorporated these principles and resources into the way we educate, support and equip parents. And throughout the conference we highlight the biblical principles that serve as the foundation for the approach and interventions that Dr. Purvis advocates.

We hope that you will make plans to join us for an Empowered To Connect Conference, and we pray that God will continue to bless you and your efforts to serve children and families in Jesus’ name.

In Him,

Michael & Amy Monroe

April and May 2012 Conferences

April 20-21, 2012
Empowered to Connect
Denver, Colorado
Mission Hills Church in Littleton
Future ETC Conference dates - September 14-15, 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee
A two-day conference designed to help adoptive and foster parents, ministry leaders and professionals better understand how to connect with “children from hard places” in order to help them heal and become all that God desires for them to be.

April 28, 2012
Together For Adoption Regional Conference
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Calvary Baptist Church - West Campus
A one day conference that will focus on God’s work of adoption within the story of redemption and its implications for adoption, foster care, and global orphan care.

May 3-4, 2012
Summit VIII - Christian Alliance For Orphans
Lake Forest, California (Southern California)
Saddleback Church
The Christian Alliance for Orphans’ annual Summit has become the national hub for what Christianity Today recently called, “the burgeoning Christian orphan care movement.” Summit VIII on May 3-4, 2012 at Saddleback Church in Southern California is expected to draw 1,800 to 2,000 pastors, grassroots advocates, organizational leaders and church ministry heads. Alongside more than eighty workshops, the unforgettable plenary sessions will include Francis Chan, Rick and Kay Warren, Crawford Lorritts, Dennis Rainey, Steven Curtis Chapman, and other global leaders. Summit inspires, equips and connects for adoption, foster care and global orphan ministry.

Shepherd's Field Children's Village

Tim Baker and his family have been doing amazing orphan care work in China for two decades. This video shares some of the work at Shepherd's Village. I've been there at least four times and both of our girls have their hand prints on the Hands of Hope wall that you will see in the video. Thankful for the impact over the years in the lives of special needs orphans and the families that have adopted them.

Children's hospital in the Philippines

Everyone has been following Tim Tebow because of his public faith and because the Denver Broncos are winning their division over the Raiders and Chargers with Tebow as their QB. In his post game interview after a win over the Jets, he mentioned that even though he loves football, what is most important is his platform as an NFL player that allows him to help children and to build a hospital in the Philippines. He is only 24 years old and already has a desire to be generous and to live out James 1:27. It is great to see a young man who could be using his platform to build himself up, but instead lives out the Gospel for the world to see. Here is a short video about his partnership with CURE on the children's hospital in the Philippines.

Tim Tebow Announces the Tebow CURE Hospital from CURE Video on Vimeo.

video h/t: The Gathering Newsletter

Tony and Lauren Dungy on the orphan crisis

Tony Dungy Wants You to Consider Adoption from Bethany Christian Services on Vimeo.

Help ABBA Fund win a $50,000 grant!

Giving of Life is a new organization that is giving $50,000 to one of the top 20 organizations based on your votes. We really need your help! Details here and please help get the word out! Voting ends tomorrow.

Hope For Orphans Institute

Join Paul and Robin Pennington along with other great speakers, including Dr. Karyn Purvis, at the Hope For Orphans Institute! Coming up September 16-17 in Plano, Texas. This conference will prepare families for adoption and encourage them with the resources that are available. Thankful for the work that Hope For Orphans is doing!

Adoption and Orphan Conference in North Carolina

The Pure Religion Conference hosted by Colonial Baptist Church in Cary, NC on August 12-13, 2011. Great lineup of speakers including Geoff Moore and Dan Cruver. Hope to see you there!

Adoption interview with Craig Juntunen

House Conference I (Part 3) from Together for Adoption on Vimeo.

Both Ends Burning is a movement to reform the adoption process. Watch the interview and sign the petition on their website. Craig is a former professional quarterback whose life took an unexpected turn as a result of a trip to Haiti. Since that trip to Haiti, Craig has become an adoptive father, founder of Chances for children (which has placed over 100 Haitian children in adoptive families), and now the founder and president of the Both Ends Burning Campaign. Although adoption, whether domestic or international, is not the answer to the global orphan crisis, the adoption process certainly needs to be reformed for the sake of children who are waiting for families. Through the Both Ends Burning Campaign, Craig Juntunen and his team are working tirelessly to make this a reality.

HT: Together For Adoption

Hague credit hours at Summit VII

You have the opportunity to earn 4+ Hague credit hours at the Christian Alliance for Orphans’ national conference, Summit VII, in Louisville, KY on May 12-13.

These courses will be taught by national experts on key issues of significance to adoptive families, including Dr. Karyn Purvis and they will be provided at no cost beyond conference registration.

Alongside these sessions and more than 70 other workshop options, Summit VII offers an opportunity to interact with families committed to adoption and orphan care from across America and beyond. Keynotes will range from Dennis Rainey and Dr. Russell Moore to former NFL Pro Bowl football player Luther Elliss and Carolyn Tweitmeyer. Music will include Sara Groves, the Desperation Band, the Robbie Seay Band, and Nicol Sponberg.

Learn more about Summit here!

Topics will include:

Attachment and Trauma I (Karyn Purvis, TCU Institute of Child Development) Understand the significant emotional, social and other issues faced by orphans and what it takes to build lasting, loving connection with them. (Adoptive families receive 1 Hague Hour)

Attachment and Trauma II (Karyn Purvis, TCU Institute of Child Development) Understand the significant emotional, social and other issues faced by orphans and what it takes to build lasting, loving connection with them. (Adoptive families receive 1 Hague Hour)

Becoming a Multicultural/Multiracial Family I How does race, culture and ethnicity affect a child that becomes part of your family through adoption? How does it effect the other members of a family once you become a multicultural/multiracial family. This interactive workshop will challenge how you think about the impact of race, culture and ethnicity on everyone in your family. (Adoptive families receive 1 Hague Hour)

Becoming a Multicultural/Multiracial Family II Attendees will be able to ask questions of transracially adopted adults in a forum setting. Through this vulnerable and intimate experience, attendees will gain a sensitivity to the adoptee perspective while gaining awareness of lifespan issues in adoption. (Adoptive families receive 1 Hague Hour)

Depression after Adoption "How can I feel so down when I've waited so long to bring this child home?" What is depression after adoption, how do I recognize it and what can be done about it? This workshop will explore this surprisingly frequent experience of new adoptive parents. (Note: Is not approved for Hague credit, but many adoption agencies will approve for training credit)

Practical Realities of Parenting Children from Hard Places (Michael and Amy Monroe, Tapestry Adoption and Foster Care Ministry) Additional practical insight for parents and church ministry leaders who want to better understand the "how and why" of connecting and correcting strategies for children with trauma backgrounds. This session will further illustrate the principles and strategies taught by Dr. Purvis using a variety of everyday situations for parents of children of all ages. (Note: Is not approved for Hague credit, but many adoption agencies will approve for training credit)

In addition to these sessions, more than 70 breakouts (not offering Hague credit) will include special sessions on pre- and post-adoption issues including:

* Creative Fundraising for Your Adoption
* Keeping Marriage and Family Strong on the Journey of Adoption (Taught by Dennis & Barbara Rainey)
* Adoption from the Inside Out
* Building Church Orphan Ministries 201: Adoption
* Help Wanted: Providing Real Support, Help and Answers for Families in the Adoption Process
* How to Launch a Church Adoption Fund & Funding Solutions
* International Adoption 2011: Challenges, Changes and Difficult Questions (Lunch Session)
* Supporting Families in the Post-Placement Adoption Journey
* Tools and Resources for Families and Church Ministries
* Caring for Siblings: Practical Steps for Easing Transitions
* Practical Realities of Parenting Children from Hard Places
* Straight Talk about Disruption
* Supporting Families in the Post-Placement Adoption Journey
* Tools and Resources for Families and Church Ministries
* Adopting and Advocating for Children with HIV
* Adopting the Deaf Child
* Wrapping Around Adoptive Families
* Full list of all breakout topics

Adoption tax credit helps foster family with $54,000 tax refund

Really nice story about the Ward family from Smithfield, NC who were caring for children through foster care and ending up adopting five! "We didn't get into foster care to adopt anyone, but when we started being foster parents we couldn't let a child leave us without a place to call home," said Thelma.

Read more of their story on CNN Money here.

Jason Kovacs recently posted a comprehensive article about the adoption tax credit on our ABBA Fund website. Everything You Want to Know and More about the Adoption Tax Credit

Support adoption during March Madness!

ABBA Fund has teamed up with Good Brackets for March Madness. It is a great way to have some fun competition with family and friends and at the same time to raise funds for ABBA Fund and T4A. We will receive your donation when you fill out your bracket, but if we have the most brackets signed up to support ABBA Fund/T4A then we will also receive $500 or more! Visit www.goodbrackets.com for more details on how ABBA Fund and T4A will benefit and be sure to fill in your brackets before the Thursday games begin.

1. Visit www.goodbrackets.com
2. Click create new account and complete your profile
3. Click get a new bracket
4. Name your bracket, choose your donation amount, choose ABBA Fund as your non-profit and select direct donation.
5. Click complete your transaction
6. Choose group: ABBA Fund/T4A 2011 NCAA Challenge
7. Let your friends know about it and have fun while supporting ABBA Fund and Together For Adoption!

HIV Adoption and the Twietmeyers Project Hopeful

My friends Carolyn and Kiel Twietmeyer from Chicago were recently featured in People Magazine. Their amazing testimony was also captured by Jena Bush Hager on the Today Show last week.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Another interview from last week on Canadian 100 Huntley Street



Thankful for the work that the Twietmeyers are doing to create awareness about HIV and adoption and the testimony they have about how God has provided!

Empowered to Connect Conferences and the Christian Alliance For Orphans Summit VII

I'm looking forward to seeing many friends in Louisville, KY for Summit VII! Dr. Karyn Purvis and many others will be there.



Here is the audio from Karyn's main session at Together For Adoption in Austin, TX last fall. She will be speaking at Summit VII as well as two Empowered to Connect Conferences in April (Denver) and September (Nashville).

Videos from Tom Davis and Steven Curtis Chapman

The Christian Alliance for Orphans is doing a great job getting the word out about adoption and orphan care. Here are a couple of videos they have put together from two of my favorite orphan advocates. Steven Curtis Chapman and Tom Davis!

Christian Alliance for Orphans from New Vision Productions on Vimeo.

Christian Alliance for Orphans from New Vision Productions on Vimeo.

Steven Curtis Chapman and family on ABC!