Categories
adoption college ministry

College Ministers and Adoption

As many of you have read, my wife and I have really been praying through adoption and how God would have us advocate for orphans in our city.  Connecting with another college minister (Michael Mears at FSU) via Twitter who was in the adoption process got me to thinking…

For many college students, there perspective of normal family life is driven by the foundation laid by their parents primarily, but secondarily by the relationships they see closest to the time when marriage and family becomes a reality.

There is enormous potential for college ministries to create a culture of adoption which shifts the coming generation’s perspective of “normal family planning”.

Reflecting on my own journey, I didn’t really consider adoption honestly because I had never really thought about it.  I had no real example of adoption as a tangible display of the gospel, and at best in my mind it was an alternative for people who could not conceive naturally.  I’m wondering if I had encountered it in college, when the idea of family became somewhat of a reality in the not-too-distant future, if I might have considered a different path for our family (sovereignty of God issues aside…).

All this to say that people ministering to college students have an enormous potential to create a gospel culture in an emerging generation preparing to have families, and I hope and pray that God would use men like Michael to cultivate a heart for the orphan amongst students.

Pray with me that God would breath a spirit of adoption into the hearts of college ministries across the globe!

By Todd Engstrom

Although I was raised in the church and had a knowledge of God, I didn’t embrace Jesus until I heard gospel preached and lived out by some Young Life leaders. God has proven faithful and good to me since that day, even in great suffering and loss. I have learned to treasure Romans 8:28 as a wellspring of hope and truth.

God has blessed me with an amazing wife (Olivia), three sons (Micah, Hudson and Owen) and a daughter (Emmaline). Growing up in the northwest, the thought never crossed my mind that I would have four children who are native Texans. Despite landing in the south, I still watch Notre Dame games with my children every Saturday in hopes they will land at my alma mater.

6 replies on “College Ministers and Adoption”

Todd,
Thanks so much for the prayers and encouragement. This who process has been a challenging journey that keeps bringing me back to the gospel. It has been really amazing to see how our “kids” at the college ministry have responded and they are praying with us and so excited for the addition to not just our family but the ccf family. Your blog was a huge encouragement as I got home today to look at it. Thanks so much and keep me posted on your end.
michael

Todd,
14 months ago my wife and I adopted our son. This was a local or a domestic adoption. We now have two children. Our first was conceived naturally (by my wife and I). The decision to adopt was originally driven by the struggle we were having to have another child. Once we started the process of adoption and meet the birth mother, our motivation began to shift towards helping a young woman that wouldn’t be able to care for the life growing in her body. We’ve had an amazing experience (not that it was easy) and now several other couples in our community are looking into adoption (and not because they can’t have children).
May God bless your family.
Grace & Peace,
Ian

Ian,
Thanks so much for sharing your story, and I am very encouraged to see how it has affected your community around you! May God continue to raise people up to care for the orphan!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.