Dear Church Family and Friends of Mark and Michelle Hahn

Dear Family and Friends of Adoptive Couple (first names),

The Bethany Fellowship of Churches is actively obeying the call of God in Scripture to care for the fatherless and the orphan. To facilitate this, Bethany has formed the “Open Hearts, Open Homes” orphan care ministry to assist families who are pursuing adoption or foster parenting in response to God’s call to care for these children. To assist the ministry, Bethany is partnering with Lifesong for Orphans (www.lifesongfororphans.org) a non-profit Christian ministry dedicated to obeying God’s call to “visit the fatherless… in their affliction” (James 1:27).

God’s word tells us that He hears the cry of the orphan and abandoned children (Psalm 10:17-18) and He has made a way for them to be cared for through adoption. As believers, He has adopted us into his family through Jesus Christ, and did not leave us as spiritual orphans.

We believe adoption at its core is evangelism and a vital part of the Great Commission is bringing the mission field home. God desires orphans from all nations to be adopted into Christ-honoring families so they may ultimately be adopted into His eternal family through Jesus Christ. God calls all of us to care for orphans but He has not called all of us to adopt. Some are called to pray, some to give financially, some to visit orphanages on mission trips, and some to adopt.

The Adoptive Couple (last name) have sensed God’s call to adopt… and have joyfully stepped out in faith and obedience. As you may know, adoption can cost $20,000 or more and prevents many godly families from adopting. Bethany and Lifesong for Orphans believe God has raised up the Adoptive Couple (last name) family “for such a time as this” and we have committed to helping them in a variety of ways, including financially.

One of the ways Bethany is helping them is by setting up a fund to which their family and friends can contribute. Additionally, Bethany has partnered with the Hodel family by providing a $ (Grant amount) matching grant for their adoption. If you would like to partner with Bethany to help this family raise the funds necessary to complete their adoption, please follow the instructions on the accompanying letter. All donations for the Adoptive Couple (last name) adoption are tax deductible and the contribution amount is kept confidential. 100% of all funds raised will go directly to cover adoption costs; nothing will be taken out for Bethany Fellowship of Churches administrative costs. If you would like to contribute by check, please mark “Preference Adoptive Couple (last name) Family” on the memo line of your check.

Will you invest financially in the life of this child? It will be an investment with an eternal return.

God bless you for laying up your treasures in heaven.

Respectfully,

Lisa Schwarz for the Open Hearts, Open Homes Committee