Including adoption in the work of the church is limited only by our creativity and resolve. Birth parents can be offered career counseling, tutoring and material support. Individual church families can involve themselves in supporting the lifegiving option of adoption by becoming a shepherding home. Shepherding homes are usually families who invite a young woman in crisis pregnancy to live with them. This provides a young woman with a mother and father role model, and is also a good way to build partnerships with local agencies and pregnancy centers.
Churches can also support or even start maternity homes.
Many maternity homes are staffed by married couples who model a godly marriage and the importance of fathers to young women. Adoption rates at maternity homes are usually higher than the national average, due in part to the continued counseling and support young women receive. Pastors can play a key role in providing important counseling during this time of decision-making. Churches can play a key role in supporting families who adopt children with special needs. One Presbyterian pastor and his wife adopted a daughter with physical disabilities that confine her to a wheelchair.