The problem…
There are about 13 million* single parent families in our nation today. The reality is God intended for family to be the place where healthy, well-adjusted people are created. The family is where God intended the values of faith, hope and love to be established in the minds and hearts of children. However, for a variety of reasons this is NOT the reality for many.
Single parenthood is NOT a sin. However, single parenthood is usually the result of a series of bad decisions or tragic circumstances or both. In some rare cases single people choose the road of single parenthood by adoption or foster care. In every case single parenthood is challenging and at best, forces struggling parents to make necessary compromises to make ends meet and still raise children. Often single parents live under a cloud of guilt and shame because they know they just can't do it alone.
Our heart and passion is to see this reality addressed through the strength of the church. Imagine if we, that is those who claim the name Christian, decided to view single parents not as people desperate for a handout, but as family. What if we looked not so much at the circumstance but the opportunity to contribute to building faith, hope and love in single parent homes? What if we replace judgment with generosity? What if we refused to let the guilt and shame win? What if we got involved? What if we repeated Christmas?
The solution…
Christmas in a Red Bag is one piece of the solution. We are well aware that filling Red Bags with Christmas gifts does not fix the problem. We do believe it’s a start. It’s one way to begin to treat single parent families like they are family. It’s one way to look beyond what we do for ourselves and bless someone else. It’s one way to deliver faith, hope and love.
The plan…
1. Adopt. Make the decision to adopt. You simply pick up your CRB adoption kit, which includes the names, ages and wish lists of the family you selected.
2. Shop. Take some extra time and extra money and go shopping for the family you adopted. Don’t be shy – go all out…remember we treat single parent families like family.
3. Deliver. Contact your single parent and set up a delivery day, time and location. ALL deliveries should be set up by December 20th, please don’t wait until the last minute. Offer to get to know the family, and be sure to bring your friends or family if possible. Take some pictures or video (please ask their permission). Pray for them while you are there.
A few delivery tips…
-Some single parents are simply not comfortable with you visiting their home – please show respect for this and be flexible regarding where you make the delivery.
-Let the parent know that you would like to meet them and their children and ask their permission to bring along all those involved to meet them (i.e. your friends, family or Connect Group).
-Give the parent the option to keep the gifts hidden from the kids until Christmas morning.
-Take pictures/video – please get their permission; but know this is an important part of the process. We must be sure we document generosity.
-Be sure to pray. You will be tempted to avoid this step…don’t! It is always a privilege to pray for someone. Try to mention every name in your prayer – you may be the only one who has ever prayed for them by name.
*According to Families and Living Arrangements: 2006, there were 12.9 million one-parent families in 2006 — 10.4 million single-mother families and 2.5 million single-father families.
Christmas in a Red Bag Adoption