Only Because of the Gospel

Easter Sunday is the most fundamental, essential, and important day in the life of any Christ-follower.  We acknowledge this fact each year on Easter Sunday when churches all throughout the nation recruit child-care workers, put out metal chairs, increase the amount of ushers, and find more parking attendants.  Easter Sunday is by far the high watermark for church attendance throughout the US.

However, do we live with the victory of Easter and the battle of the cross stamped on our foreheads and burned in our hearts the weeks after?  Or do we move on with life, business, and pleasure?  Do even ministries and churches, move on to programs, aid, and social justice apart from the Gospel which was so plainly profound from Good Friday to Easter Sunday?

May it not be so, may we realize that, "Proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus is the foremost, fundamental, necessary, nonnegotiable way to address evil and suffering in the world.  To work against evil and suffering in the world apart from proclaiming the gospel of Jesus will ultimately be futile."

Furthermore, the book of Malachi says in Chapter 3:5-7, "Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.  For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.  From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts..."  

If we want to evil purged from our world, we must return to the Lord, we must return to the Gospel.  It is this Gospel that is the heart of the mission at Lifeline.  We cannot avenge the evil that has placed over 500,000 children in US foster care just by putting them into good foster families.  We cannot begin to right the atrocities that have left over 143 million children orphaned around the world devoid of the Gospel.  We cannot make a dent in the epidemic that creates so many fatherless children until we return to Yahweh - the Lord of Hosts.

Two weeks ago, a sibling group of 3 children were ordered by a judge in Alabama to be returned to their biological family, a family they had been removed from in November for many issues.  These children had been in one of Lifeline's growing number of foster homes.  Because these homes aren't for mere altruistic or humanitarian purposes, each family agrees to proclaim the Gospel to these children and invest in their lives no matter how short or long the child's stay might be in the foster home.

As this particular family was preparing these children for their return home, the foster dad asked the oldest, a 9 year old boy, what he had learned and what he’ll remember from the time he lived with them.  He answered, "to love Jesus with all my heart and to read my Bible."  Then his 7 year old brother chimed in that he had learned, "to be a good boy so I can help my parents."

At Lifeline we praise the Lord for godly foster parents like the Lawsons, who are providing their home to Alabama's foster children because they embrace the Gospel and want to see it proclaimed, viewed, and lifted high.  As the apostle Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:2, may we, "preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching."

The heart of Lifeline's ministry is to proclaim the Gospel to the nations through care, compassion, rescue and discipleship of the fatherless.  Please pray for Lifeline that the Gospel will always be central in everything that we do.  Pray that the Lord will continue to open doors for his name to be proclaimed, not only to those children in US foster care, but also to the street orphans in Puerto Plata, DR; to the institutionalized orphans living in Odessa, Ukraine; to the orphan vulnerable deaf children learning to communicate through the deaf school in Busenga, Uganda; as well as to the 143 million orphans in every hamlet, village, and people group which is representative of every tribe, tongue, and nation.

May our heart be for the great city revealed to John on the isle of Patmos, which Revelations 22:23-26 proclaims, "the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.  By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day-and there will be no night there.They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations."  This day will be realized beloved, only because of the Gospel which we celebrate Easter Sunday, and every day the Lord gives us breath.

Has the Lord put your family in a place where you could adopt or foster a precious child in need and in so doing disciple them in the Gospel of Christ?  Has the Lord burdened you with his command in James 1:27 to care for orphans in distress?  If so, partner with Lifeline today. Visit LifelineChild.org to donate to the cause, to apply to adopt, to sign up for a trip through our (un)adopted ministry by visiting orphans in need, to apply to be a foster parent for a child in US foster care, to volunteer in one of many ways for the sake of orphans, and ultimately to partner with us as we seek to take the Gospel to the fatherless.

"He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.  Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.  You shall fear the LORD your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear."  Deuteronomy 10:18-20

Oh beloved, will you allow God to use the Gospel through you to impact the life of a child? Please do not hesitate to give Lifeline a call because we are here...

On behalf of the orphans and fatherless.

Herbie Newell, Executive Director

Twitter: @hmnewell

Dr. King's Dream and the Fatherless

As we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today we are reminded of how far we have come, but yet how far we still have to go.  Dr. King was a principled man and a deeply devoted follower of Christ who had a simple dream, that the Word of God would be realized and that the Glory of God's reign would be seen on earth as is it is heaven. 

The truth of the matter is that Dr. King’s dream is the echo of scripture and a reiteration of John's prophetic vision in Revelation.  While that fateful day, August 28, 1963, in Washington, D.C. will be entrenched in the annals of American History, and rightfully so, let us not ignore that Dr. Kings message should not become antiquated in secularism, but be praised as a call to seek the Lord of Hosts. 

John says in Revelation 7:9-10, "After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands and crying out with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'"

And then the words of our Lord in Matthew 24:14 resounds, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."

Watch how those themes reverberate through these 2 sections from Dr. King’s message:

"I have a dream today! I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of 'interposition' and 'nullification' -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers..."

"From every mountainside, let freedom ring. And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last!  Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Dr. King understood that no matter the inexcusable inequality here on earth and specifically in the segregated South, God's rule and reign would be of all people and that God's adoptive family isn't colorblind, but a beautiful tapestry of skin tones and melanin.

One day we all will bow a knee to our creator, one day we will all praise the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and one day we will truly join hands with brothers and sisters who might not look like us, but are more apart of us than if we were born into the same family. 

In Genesis after the terrible flood that covered the whole face of the land, God told his people to once again be fruitful, multiply, subdue the earth, and go forth making the Glory of God known. It was a fresh new beginning and an opportunity for God-fearing man to make the glory of God known. Instead they collaborate to build a tower that will reach heaven.  They scoff at God's command and the first true undertones of our racist and prejudice heart is discovered.

Genesis 11:4 says, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."

Someone who does not learn from history is doomed to repeat its mistakes.  Let us not fall into the trappings of the past but seek to take God's glory and Gospel to the uttermost parts of the Earth. And how can we see this accomplished, "Adoption!"

How can one follow James 1:27 and experience pure and undefiled religion if they don't embrace the beautiful landscape of all the people God has created? How can one love orphans around the world or foster kids at home if they judge them by the content of their character or the tone of their skin?  To love orphans as God loves orphans, to adopt a child, meams embracing the sanctity of every human life.

To adopt or foster or support those families who do, means throwing away old ideas, mis-conceptions, or prejudice about inter-racial marriage and inter-racial families.  It means that embracing the notion that if you are in Christ you have more in common with the believer in the bush in remote Uganda than with your lost suburban next door neighbor - because you have the same Abba, Daddy, Father.  Our skin may be different hues, but we are all created equal, not because the preamble of the US Constitution says so, but because our God says so.

So on this Martin Luther King Day, will you consider doing something for the fatherless?  Will you consider seeing Dr. King's dream and that of John, while on the isle of Patmos, realized in your family as you seek to adopt, foster, or support someone who is on the journey?  Has the Lord put your family in a place where you could adopt or foster a precious child in need and in so doing meet their biggest dream?  Has the Lord burdened you with his command in James 1:27 to care for orphans in distress?  If so, partner with Lifeline today. Visit LifelineAdoption.org to donate to the cause, to apply to adopt, to sign up for a trip through our (Un)Adopted ministry by visiting orphans in need, to apply to be a foster parent for a child in US foster care, to volunteer in one of many ways for the sake of orphans, and ultimately to partner with us as we seek to meet the dream of the fatherless.

"For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me in."  Psalm 27:10

Oh beloved, will you allow God to use you to impact the life of a child? Please do not hesitate to give Lifeline a call because we are here...

On behalf of the orphans and fatherless.

Herbie Newell, Executive Director

Esperanza – The Hopes and Dreams of the Orphan

Bogota, Columbia - On a nondescript street in the heart of Bogota stands 6 individual housing units scattered within the neighborhood. To a casual observer, you may believe that these units contain single families or a few multiple families, until you walk inside. Once inside, you find that these units are the homes of some 25 to 30 children who are being protected from the streets; from hunger, abuse, and the plague of being without a family.


Each unit is home to an age-segregated gender of children and within each unit is a small, dimly lit closet which contains all of the clothing, shoes, sheets, and worldly possessions belonging to these clusters of 25. Each child is relegated to a cubbyhole of about 4 cubit feet, and within these cubbies, each child has their own handmade, colored, wooden box.

This was the scene I experienced last week on the final day of our 6 day trip to Columbia. This was the very last orphanage we would visit before flying back home to the states, and we had almost canceled this stop for the sake of time. As I stood in this small closet, I couldn't take my eyes off of these multi-colored boxes. I was intrigued as to their purpose.

Raul, our trusty teammate, asked the director of the orphanage to please explain the meaning of these boxes to our team. She walked back into the closet, removed one of many boxes from a shelf, and clutched it in her hands. She explained in a soft Spanish the significance of these boxes.

"This is the only thing that truly belongs to our children. These boxes are the only thing they will keep. They are intensely personal to each child, and we have a rule that no one but the child who owns this box may ever open them or examine the contents inside until and if that child is adopted. Inside these boxes contain their most important trinkets and inside these boxes contains their hopes and dreams written upon slips of paper."

As I stared at the small box, possibly 8 inches long, 5 inches wide and 3 inches deep, I couldn't help but wonder what the owner of this box had written. What were the hopes and dreams of these little boys that filled the four walls of this home? Did they hope to sail the seas or climb mountains? Did they hope to play sports, to have a career, or to have a family? Did they dream that they could have a car, travel the world, or conquer battles? I was mesmerized by the contents of these precious boxes.

We asked the director, what - in her 12 years - had been some dreams she had discovered placed within the boxes. Were there certain hopes or dreams that seemed to be common or seemed to stand out? Then she told us, the number one dream in all of the boxes, for all the kids, no matter age or gender, was to have a family or to restore their broken families.

"O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more." Psalm 10:17-18

May the Lord fulfill the dreams of these orphans to not only have an earthly family, but may these children find the hope of a Father whose adoption is perfect and eternal. May these children know the love of a God who allows our spirit's to cry out Abba, Father. May they come to know the Savior who says in John 14:18, "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."

Over 150 small boxes, on a nondescript street in Bogota, Columbia contain the hopes (Esperanza) and dreams of a fraction of those orphans living worldwide, but they poll the hearts of the 143 million orphans better than the Barna group, Gallup, and Rasmussen could do collectively. They show us that children were meant for families.

But it also shows us something about our own orphaned hearts. We were meant for a family. Our true dreams should not be for riches, wealth, prominence, power, or recognition, but for the fellowship with a Father who does not disappoint and for a life built upon displaying His glory to the world around us.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." Isaiah 29:11-13

Has the Lord put your family in a place where you could adopt or foster a precious child in need and in so doing meet their biggest dream? Has the Lord burdened you with his command in James 1:27 to care for orphans in distress? If so, partner with Lifeline today. Visit LifelineAdoption.org to donate to the cause, to apply to adopt, to sign up for a trip through our (un)adopted ministry by visiting orphans in need, to apply to be a foster parent for a child in US foster care, to volunteer in one of many ways for the sake of orphans, and ultimately to partner with us as we seek to meet the hopes and dream of the fatherless.

"For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever." Psalm 9:18

Oh beloved, will you allow God to use you to impact the life of a child? Please do not hesitate to give Lifeline a call because we are here...

On behalf of the orphans and fatherless.

Herbie Newell
Executive Director
Lifeline Children's Services
giving children a hope and a future
twitter: @hmnewell

Take Courage - Be Courageous

It is one of the most decaying, pervading, afflicting and destructive epidemics and diseases that our world has ever known. Currently well over 300 million people in the world have been ravished by its effects. It has ravaged 79% of African American households and currently grips 30% of Caucasian households in the States. It’s most devastating effects are those seen in children and as it is highly contagious, and spreads to over 80% of its victims to their offspring. So what is the pandemic outbreak that is destroying our world? Fatherlessness!

Titus 2:2, 6-8
Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

Various studies have shown that 70% of juvenile murderers, delinquents, teenaged mothers, drug abusers, dropouts, suicides and runaways come from fatherless homes. More than 80% of fatherless homes are homeless and on welfare. 85% of abused, neglected, and children killed in their homes are a result of fatherlessness. In the United States if crime rates were adjusted by removing those crimes committed by the fatherless, the crime rates don't differ between races or socio-economic levels.

Worldwide, the epidemic has left 143 million children as orphans and another 100 million or more living in poverty or on the streets. Men have abandoned the family, left their responsibilities, and overall have become cowards.

We need Godly Christian men who will stand for principles and values, who are self-controlled and worth of respect, and who have integrity. We need men who heed the words of Paul to Titus and invest their lives in younger men, teaching them what manhood really means - submission to God. We need men who have courage like Joshua who are willing to stand passionate before a generation of Godlessness and paganism and say, “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:14-15)

The Word of God says in Micah 6:8, "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"

As men we are standing on the sidelines as the family slips away. We corrupt our minds with vile images, we become armchair warriors more interested in sports and gadgets than in the spiritual condition of our families, and we are far too easily pleased and wooed away by meaningless affairs. Where are you men of courage?  You were made by your creator for so much more. We need to get on our knees and take our stand and be courageous in the battle of the heart and the battle of the mind - let's take a stand and lead the way.

What would it look like if men discipled men, if men defended women, if men loved their wives and children, and men took a stand for the fatherless, the downtrodden and the orphan. What if it was the men going to their wives and asking if she would pray about adopting or getting involved for the orphan. What would it look like if Godly, passionate men, followers of Christ took a week of vacation to disciple an orphan in another context, or took out time each week to invest in a foster child, or led the charge in their community to say for me and my house we will serve the Lord!

On September 30 a new movie will be released by Sherwood Pictures and Provident Films called Courageous and it is an awesome opportunity to awaken men to what God has called them to. Visit www.courageousthemovie.com to see how you can join the movement and be a part of this very powerful film. Encourage your church, your small group, and your co-workers to see and support this needed film.

“How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked."

So lastly, are we ready to be men of courage. Are we ready to be families of principle and influence? Men will you lead your family to defend the fatherless, the widow, and the downtrodden. If so, partner with Lifeline today. Visit LifelineAdoption.org to donate to the cause, to apply to adopt, to sign up for a trip through our (un)adopted ministry and visit orphans in need, to apply to be a foster parents for a child in US foster care, to volunteer in one of many ways for the sake of orphans, and ultimately to partner with us as we support the family and restore fathers.

Oh beloved, will you allow God to use you to impact the life of a child? Please do not hesitate to give Lifeline a call because we are here...

On behalf of the orphans and fatherless.

Herbie Newell
Executive Director
Lifeline Children's Services
giving children a hope and a future
twitter: @hmnewell

A Note from the Director - It Doesn’t Make Cents (or Sense)

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.’ Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” 1 Corinthians 1:18-20

Earlier this week a 23 year-old young man, a stand-out running back from the University of Alabama, and a current member of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers retired and walked away from the game of professional football. Reportedly, Glen Coffee walked away from a contract set to pay him upwards of $1 million over the next three years, not to mention a lucrative $828,000 signing bonus.

When interviewed by Matt Barrow’s a Reporter for the San Francisco Bee, Coffee said, “It was a struggle for a long time… football was no longer my dream. I found Christ in college (and) it changed my views on everything.” ESPN.com reporter Mike Sando commented on Coffee’s sudden retirement, “if he does have regrets years later, he will have missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

As believers so much of what we are called to do is seen as radical, crazy, insane, and even demented to the world in which we live. Everyone has an opinion, and most aren’t too shy to share it with you, especially when you’re a making a decision that seems like a radical abandonment.

Reading the Bible, we soon learn that a life devoted to Christ is a life that looks foolish to those who don’t know him. Isaiah was asked to prophesy to a people who would not listen or change their hearts. Hosea was asked to marry a harlot. Moses, slow in speech and despised, was asked to speak for and lead his people to a seemingly impossible task. The disciples were asked to lay down their nets, to leave their jobs and family and follow the Messiah. Jim Elliott was asked to go to Ecuador to a savage people whom later killed him, but received the Gospel in part to the faithfulness of his wife Elizabeth and their children. Glen Coffee was asked to leave football and millions of dollars. Countless numbers of families are called to rearrange their families, to travel to far off lands to graft orphaned children they’ve never seen into their families. Foolishness... Radical…

Meanwhile, the world exclaims, it doesn’t make cents – why throw away money, the American Dream, your life? The opinions and comments come from every direction urging you, pleading with you, to follow the path of the world. It can be deafening… I urge you brothers and sisters, listen to the still small voice of your Savior who pleads I have something so much better.

So the questions you must ask yourself are, “do you believe that Jesus is worth abandoning everything for? Do you believe him enough to obey him and to follow him wherever he leads, even when the crowds - and even your church - turn the other way?”

Adoption and orphan care are hard. They are life altering and life changing. Caring for orphans challenges your faith, yet strengthens your resolve and hope in your creator. Parents, friends, co-workers, and even those within your church will challenge you and question you on your commitment. It doesn’t make cents or sense at times, unless God calls you to it and then you have more cents and sense than ever.

In a recent article Dr. Russell Moore, the Dean of Students at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, likens adoption and orphan care to spiritual warfare. And the analogy is true. Satan does not want Christian involved in taking care of impressionable foster children who need stability, love, care, and Christ. Satan doesn’t want a radical Christian family impacting an orphan not only for today but for an eternity. Satan detests when Christians organize to spread throughout the world training orphans with life skills and the Gospel. It is a war, but we serve a victorious God.

“On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. In that day they will say, ‘Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.’” Isaiah 25:7-8

So the last question, since we are fighting a war, “Will you join the ranks?” We need families to help us rescue children from literally perishing at home and around the world through adoption and foster care. Any good army enlists many volunteers and we need people to stuff packets, answer phones, recruit families, mentor birthmothers and orphans, etc. And lastly every good army is well funded – can you share the resource of Heaven with Lifeline as we seek to eradicate the word “orphan.”

Partner with Lifeline today. Visit LifelineAdoption.org to donate to the cause, to apply to adopt, to sign up for a trip through our (un)adopted ministry and visit orphans in need, to apply to be a foster parents for a child in US foster care, or to volunteer in one of many ways for the sake of orphans.

Oh beloved, will you allow God to use you to impact the life of a child? Please do not hesitate to give Lifeline a call because we are here...

On behalf of the orphans.

Herbie Newell
Executive Director
Lifeline Children's Services
giving children a hope and a future
twitter: @hmnewell

A Note from the Director - A Prayer for Families in the Process

This was my prayer for the hundreds of family at our church who are following the Lord's call to adopt or foster...


"'O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.  Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.  When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?  Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.  You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.  O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!' Psalm 8

Father we dedicate the families who are waiting to adopt or who are awaiting a foster care placement.  We thank you for their faithfulness to answer the call to foster or to adopt and now we come with confidence knowing the you will equip them for the journey ahead.

We pray for them as they prepare their homes, their families, their lives, and their resources.  We pray for them as they prepare to make disciples in their homes.  Lord give them hope as they wait, give them perseverance when what they have been called to seems to become a struggle, give them boldness to proclaim the mystery of the Gospel to all those who question the call you have placed on their lives, and give them wisdom when the adversary begins to tempt them to question you!

Lord, today I pray for the extended families of these families, that you would prepare their hearts for new family members who won't look like them, won't sound like them, or who won't come from a similar background.  Father, prepare these families for the roller coasters ahead, for the changes that will come, and for the possible disappointments.

Father give them a strong resolve to weather storms ahead; and, Lord to become more committed to the call today and tomorrow and the next day, more than they were the first day!  Lord, strengthen these families as you commission them to do your work and to be your hands and feet to the orphans and foster children.

Remind these families that your heart breaks more for the orphans, than theirs ever will!  Remind them that the hope is not in America, the hope is not in their state, the hope is not in their homes, the hope is not in their families, but that the hope is found only in you and your Son, Jesus Christ - the hope of glory.

Lord may your Gospel be made known to the children who will be placed in these homes, that little boys and girls who are adopted from Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, South and Central America, North America, and from foster care will one day be the greatest evangelist the world has ever known, spreading your fame to every corner of the earth.

May the implications of physical adoption remind these families daily through the wait, and daily through raising these kids, of their spiritual adoption in Christ.  May the help for these families come from you, a God that neither slumbers nor sleeps.  We lift our eyes to you.  Arise, O Lord, O God, lift up your hand, forget not the afflicted!  O Lord, our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth."

Beloved, will you allow God to use you to impact the life of a child? Please do not hesitate to give Lifeline a call because we are here...

On behalf of the orphans.

Herbie Newell

Executive Director

Lifeline Children's Services

giving children a hope and a future

twitter: @hmnewell

A Note from the Director - Easter is not about comfort

“But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:5-6

Comfort. That word has been a word that I have been ruminating on quite a bit lately. As I returned to the United States from our recent trips to Liberia and Hungary – I found myself captured once again with the comfort of home; the comfort of a country; the comfort of a language, a food, a people that you know; the comfort in a clean warm shower; the comfort in clean water…

As I think even now on “comfort” my mind goes not to my easy chair at home, but the lack of comfort of our brothers and sisters who will meet in secret in Asia in just mere hours to worship a risen savior – risking limb and life to gather in community, to gather in worship.

As I think of “comfort” my mind goes to my brothers and sisters in Liberia who will rise tomorrow from a slumber after a 110 heat indexed night in electricity-less homes, will drive on dirt roads to fan out and gather tomorrow in “comfortless” churches to worship a risen savior. I pray for the strength of Augustine, Wonderful, Destinee, Ben, Edwina, and all of the Youth for Christ Liberia staff as they praise God not for their “comforts”, but for their salvation and His glory.

As I think of “comfort” I think of the 143 million orphans in our world – whether in US foster care, in orphanages overseas, on the streets, or squatting in abandoned buildings. My mind is immediately drawn to the 3 year old little girl, the same age as my daughter, who reached out her dirty, dusty, and tiny hand to be held while I visited her orphanage in Liberia. Her belly was howling for food, her heart begging for loving touch, and her eyes were telling a story of rejection - far from "comfort."

If we are believers in Jesus Christ then why are we drawn to “comfort?” As we look to Easter, the most important time of the year for believers, we look to a God who sent His Son Jesus, not to be comfortable, but to seek and save that which was lost. As Isaiah says, “He was wounded… He was crushed… Upon Him was chastisement.” These words don’t necessarily indicate comfort; they aren’t words that give the connotation of “safety.”

To save, rescue, and reach orphans God does not call us to be comfortable, but to go through the lack of some comfort. I have spoken with several families over the years who were called to adopt older children. They have poured out their hearts as they detail the pain and hardship their families experience as their new child has wreaked havoc upon their home and their other children. While this process is usually short lived as the child acclimates to their home and tests the boundaries and depth of love, it is still not without its "lack" of comfort.

To save, rescue, and reach orphans many times means entering into hostile lands or parts of our world that know nothing but poverty, it many times means leaving behind the modern “comfort” of home, and many times if called to adopt it means risking the “comfort” of your family and spending the “comfort” of your vacation time to spend weeks in another land.

Rejoice today beloved that Jesus was willing to risk all “comfort” for our sake…

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20-21

As ambassador for Christ, join Lifeline as we risk our “comfort” for the sake of knowing Jesus Christ our Lord and making him known to the more than 143 million orphans of the world. This Easter may we celebrate, not for ourselves, our salvation, nor our “comfort,” but in the power of salvation to reach the lost and lonely of our world. Will you be an ambassador of Christ for an orphan this Easter?

Partner with Lifeline today. Visit LifelineAdoption.org today to donate to the cause, to apply to adopt, to sign up for a trip through our unadopted.org ministry and visit orphans in need, to apply to be a foster parents for a child in US foster care, or to volunteer in one of many ways for the sake of orphans.

“And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’” Isaiah 6:8

Oh beloved, will you allow God to use you to impact the life of a child? Please do not hesitate to give Lifeline a call because we are here...

On behalf of the orphans.

Herbie Newell
Executive Director
Lifeline Children's Services
giving children a hope and a future
twitter: @hmnewell

A Note from the Director - giving children a hope and a future

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

The mission of Lifeline Children's Services is simple. "Lifeline exists to provide a hope and a future for children around the world by bringing families together through God's call to minister to orphans."

As Christians, God calls us to care for orphans. Many families answer this call by choosing to adopt, foster, or care for a child in need. They give a child a home... a home that provides shelter, love, and nurturing; a hope... true hope found in the opportunity of a relationship with Jesus Christ; and a future... a future that can be used by God for unimaginable purposes.

As the Executive Director of such an incredible ministry, I have had the opportunity to see the impact of love, hope, and the Gospel impact children in astounding ways. I have held children in orphanages in China who were afraid, lonely, and lifeless. Later I have seen those same children, adopted into some of the most incredible foreveer families, blossom into daughters and sons who show warmth, love, and energy.

I remember a certain night in Uganda when we ventured into the most dangerous slum, past 8:30 p.m. The children we were there to visit were children who had lived on the streets, but were being provided for by the humblest of facilities. The children were a bit lifeless and they were gaunt from malnurishment. As we visited the cramped rooms that slept at least 20, we realized that these children's first meal of the day had yet to be served - a mixture of flour, water, and corn meal. Still we were allowed to invite the children into a meager courtyard to present them with soccer balls and clothing.

We stood there that tepid Ugandan night, far from home, but close to the heart of God. The children filed out from their hiding places to receive the gifts we had brought. Then it was my turn to make a speech. What do you say to a group of 60 children ages 4 to 18 who have just had their earthly possessions multiplied exponentially?

And that was when I remembered... the hope is not in America, the hope is not in all the stuff we have accumulated, the hope is not in our homes, the hope is in Jesus Christ. Jesus in us is what a child orphaned in this world needs more than anything else.

So I spoke of God's love. I spoke of God's great HOPE. And then we all saw sparks of life enter into their eyes as we sang... "How Great is our God." That night I was reminded that giving children a hope and a future isn't about me; it isn't about Lifeline; it is about the hope of glory - Jesus Christ.

This same hope of glory impacts the foster children of our own country when we reach out to them. Recently I received an email from one of our foster mothers who currently fosters an 11 year old boy, who entered her home a month ago with many emotional, physical, spiritual and physical issues. This was not an easy placement, but this family was committed to showing this young man the love of Christ.

The email contained this quote from the little boy's teacher that exemplified what it means to give foster children a hope and a future.

"I am so proud of him this week. We have not had any accidents and he is aware of this and proud of himself as well! I am so very thankful for you and your husband. Ya'll are doing an AMAZING job in his life. He absolutely loves you and said he would prefer to live with you forever rather than going back home to his own mom... because you are fun, you take him places, do things with him, and he never goes with out food. His behavior has literally changed drastically. It is so incredible to see what a little love, support, consistency, rules, and safety can do for a child. He is a completely different child..."

Oh beloved, will you allow God to use you to impact the life of a child? Please do not hesitate to give Lifeline a call because we are here...

On behalf of the orphans.

Herbie Newell
Executive Director
Lifeline Children's Services
giving children a hope and a future

A Note from the Director - When Statistics Aren't Statistics

There are 143 million orphans in the world by conservative standards and every 18 seconds a new child is orphaned somewhere in the world. There are at least 500,000 children living in US foster care today. Every 14 seconds another child is orphaned because of HIV/AIDS. And every 2.5 seconds a child dies in the world because of vaccine preventable disease or malnutrition.

In our isolated, insulated world these statistics sting until our mind wanders somewhere else or to something else. We tend to believe that those children are in a place we will never see and it is so easy to forget, but for three special Lifeline families these statistics aren't numbers anymore; these statistics have names, faces, and a place in their heart.

The picture attached to the post is the picture of a little boy from Ghana. He is a victim of the HIV crisis, losing parents to the disease. He is an orphan. His picture and his story found its way into the hearts of some of mine and Ashley's dearest friends last Saturday. His eyes pierced their hearts, his story became etched in their mind, and their journey to adopt became defined by pursuing this child.

It was Tuesday when they called me at 11:00 in the morning to tell me about how the Lord had opened up their hearts and taken them on a journey - they were ready, willing, and even excited to add a child with HIV to their family. Just a mere 2 hours and 15 minutes later, little Sampson became another statistic. He died of a vaccine preventable disease - malaria.

Although the quest for Sampson had only lasted for 4 days, my friends will never look at numbers the same. Every 2.5 seconds - another Sampson passes away; every 14 seconds another Sampson loses parents to AIDS. For them there are 143 million Sampsons who need a home, who need to be loved.

My friends wrote this week, "Sampson will forever be with us. His life has forever changed us. His life was not lived in vain, God has a purpose for him, just like He has for ALL of us, and that purpose was fulfilled, and now he is resting in our Father's arms."

At least two other Lifeline families are no longer living in a world of full of meaningless and cold numbers. Last Thursday, we had the honor of seeing our first set of foster children placed through our new partnership with DHR. One family saw abuse and neglect in the eyes of seven and nine year old sisters - the youngest, whose hair was matted with worms and roaches while the oldest was scared and afraid of what could happen to her next. The other family brought home an 11 y/o young man whose hurt runs so deep that he knows of nothing else to do but to inflict pain on others.

For these families there are no longer just 500,000 children in US foster care, there and 500,000 who are just like those eating at their dinner table, sleeping under their roof, running around their homes, and hurting with real hurt and pain in their arms.

May God fill us all with His Love this Valentines weekend for His beloved - orphans like Sampson and foster children like these. "You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more." Psalm 10:17-18

LOVE - unending; HOPE - sustaining; FAITH - unshakeable: Orphan you are pursued by God physically and spiritually! His PRESENCE fulfilling!

After putting a face to the numbers if you feel led to pursue a child through adoption or foster care or to sacrifice your time and treasure on their behalf - please do not hesitate to give Lifeline a call because we are here...

On behalf of the orphans.

Herbie Newell
Executive Director
Lifeline Children's Services
giving children a hope and a future

A Note from the Director - Proposal to Eliminate the Charitable Deduction

"I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip - he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you - the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm - he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." Psalm 121


Recently President Obama sent his fiscal year 2011 budget to Congress. A traditional, post State of the Union, function of the executive branch. It is from this budget that we learn so much of the agenda of each administration.

For the second year in a row, the Obama administration’s fiscal 2011 budget proposes eliminating the deduction for charitable donations for those Americans earning over $250,000. Obviously this is alarming to churches, ministries, and non-profits across the country.

Congress eliminated this proposal from the 2010 budget, but the Obama administration claims that if enacted in 2011 the projected savings to the US government would be $291 billion over 10 years.

While we definitely appreciate that the US needs to reduce spending and cut out pork, it is important to recognize that the savings non-profits and ministries provide the US government will far exceed the $291 billion projected to be saved through this measure. Also, if this measure were to be enacted, it would could cost non-profits at least $830 billion over the next 10 years, 3 times the savings to the US government. (This is figured conservatively with the limitations placed on the current highest tax bracket at 35%, Over $357,700 annual income.)

Ministries like Lifeline rely on the support of generous donors who give from their time, talents, and treasure. The Lord provides for the work of Lifeline, churches, and other ministries through the generosity of His people. While our compulsion to give should not be based on a tax credit, the tax credit enables us to give more.

Please join us in praying for our nations leaders as they debate and decide on this very important measure, that at least in Lifeline's case could grately impact the 143 million orphans at home and around the world. If you will please write your Congressmen, your Senators, and our President and ask them to consider cutting spending, but not on the backs of our nations non-profits.

The purpose of this post, is not to direct negativity to any particular party or to any particular representative of our great nation, but to stir us into prayer and action over this issue. Edmund Burke is quoted as saying, "all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." As men and women called according to the purpose of God, let's fall to our knees over this issue, but remember, as Psalm 121 states, our hope is not in a tax credit or an earthly government, but in the Lord.


On behalf of the orphans,

Herbie Newell
Executive Director
Lifeline Children's Services
giving children a hope and a future

A Note from the Director - the orphans of Haiti

"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you..." John 14:18

It's always hard to watch the news, but the last week has been especially excruciating. It is hard to sit idly by and watch the horrible pictures pass by of the desolation and destruction that has overtaken the already impoverished nation of Haiti.

It's almost impossible to read the stories of week old infants left alone on the streets or to imagine children, much less adults, wandering the streets lost, alone, afraid, forgotten and homeless.

So as believers what is our adequate response? How do we provide help, when it seems so helpless? What can we practically do for orphans?

The first thing we need to do is understand who is speaking in John 14:18. We need to rely upon the power of prayer and the intervention of the Lord in the lives of those children orphaned before the earthquake and those orphaned by the earthquake. The all-surpassing power to intervene in their lives is from God and not from us (2 Corinthians 4:7).

Pray Psalm 82:3-4 to God on behalf of those orphaned in Haiti, "Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked."

Second get involved with the movement of the local church. If you are moved by the Lord through prayer then get involved with what local churches are doing on behalf of the orphans of Haiti. That may mean going on a trip, it may mean providing tangible support, or it may mean giving financially. Whatever the call, the local church is equipped to respond adequately to the needs.

With the current crisis in Haiti, Lifeline has had many requests concerning information on adopting children from Haiti. The Department of State has said adoptions from Haiti will most probably not occur for new family applicants until the Haitian government is able to stabilize the environment enough so that an orphan’s status can be legitimized. Thus meaning an organized system must be established to verify that the each child truly has no family unit who has a claim to that child. Lifeline is monitoring the situation and plans to move to action as soon as things are more organized and the environment is such that legitimate orphans can be identified and become available for adoption.

Until then, besides being moved to prayer and getting involved with a local church, Lifeline suggests the following organizations to get involved with because of their intentionality to help orphans. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, nor is this list meant to imply that organizations omitted are not helping Haiti or helping orphans. There organizations are merely those that have come to our attention as those who are intentionally focusing on orphans through their aid: Samaritans Purse, World Orphans, Global Aid Network (GAiN), Hopegivers, and Orphan's Promise.

Lastly, while we may not understand why this tragedy has occurred, let us trust that the Lord will protect His children in Haiti and let us praise the Lord that the world's attention has been focused on a nation that needs the Gospel and that needs the radical attention of the Body of Christ. If you have any questions, please feel free to call our main office at 205.967.0811.

On behalf of the orphans,

Herbie Newell
Executive Director
Lifeline Children's Services
giving children a hope and a future