Foster Church Ministry

Citipoint Church | Mount Vernon, WA
Initiative: Program Replication & Community Support Events
2023 Grant: $25,000

Uniquely Supporting Children, Families, and Organizations Involved in Foster Care

When Brent Kimball became lead pastor at Citipoint Church in 2017, he met with local leaders to learn more about how the church could fill gaps in the community. One issue that surfaced repeatedly was the need for support in the foster care system. Foster families, social workers, and leaders of child protection agencies were overwhelmed on all fronts. Pastor Brent and his wife had adopted three children through the foster system, and they saw how their heart for supporting the system aligned with the needs in their community.

Pastor Brent created a volunteer position at Citipoint Church to head up an all-new Foster Church Ministry, which would serve as a support ministry for local foster families, children in the system, and organizations working to protect them. Dani Needham stepped into the role, using her 20+ years of experience as a social worker to grow the Foster Church Ministry into a thriving program. Dani now works in a part-time, paid position as the Missions and Foster Church Team Lead.

“This program came from just a vision,” says Dani. “We started out by doing a Foster Family Night Out event to support local families. From there, we worked to build strong relationships with foster parents, the state, and other churches.”

Citipoint Church was awarded $25,000 through the Kingdom Advancing Grant to expand the Foster Church Ministry. Funds will be used to add staff hours to support replication in other churches and host local events for teens in the foster system.

About the Foster Church Ministry Initiative

Of the 10,000 foster children in Washington state, more than 2,100 are legally free to be adopted, meaning their biological parents no longer have parental rights. Nearly half of the children who age out of the foster system become homeless—which is why providing early support to them and the families who care for them is so important.

“Pastor Brent developed the idea of a four-legged stool model in foster care,” says Dani. “A typical foster care unit is a three-legged stool, made up of the state and social workers, the parents—both biological and foster—and the children. As the church, we want to provide added stability as a fourth leg. We don’t want to replace the work that’s already being done. Our role as a church is to really listen and ask where the gaps are and add sustainability as the fourth leg of support.”

Through the Foster Church Ministry, local foster families are paired with dedicated Look-Out Teams who commit to praying for foster families and providing meals, childcare, respite care, transportation, and more. Families also receive support from frequent events and care packages throughout the year.

In her time as the program lead, Dani has built relationships with leaders at local Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) offices to identify the biggest needs of children and teens in their community. The opportunity to work with DCYF allows volunteers in the Foster Church Ministry to reach teens and families who may not otherwise have the support of a Christ-centered church family. Through the volunteers, children and their families see the gospel in action.

Funds from the Kingdom Advancing Grant will equip the Foster Church Ministry to expand their offerings and continue to partner with DCYF. One way Dani hopes to expand the Foster Church Ministry is to provide more support for teens in the foster system. DCYF has even approached her about partnering to host a workshop that will focus on helping teens build independent living skills, like creating a resume, managing finances, and applying for jobs.

When the Foster Church initiative launched, Citipoint Church created a Foster Church Playbook explaining the steps individual churches can take to build their own Foster Church Ministry, such as identifying key leaders, establishing Look-Out Teams, and connecting with the local offices of child and family services. Leaders at Citipoint have set a goal to replicate the Foster Church Ministry in their community and beyond by adding 30 new churches in Washington to the Foster Church initiative by 2030. As of 2023, seven churches have been added.

“I believe there is always some way a church can get involved in foster care ministry, whether it’s small acts of kindness for local families or a full-blown Foster Church Ministry with events,” Dani says. “We hope our initiative can lay the groundwork for other churches to get involved, so that no one is working as a silo but as part of a larger community. The only way we’re going to make the impact we have the capacity for is if we’re working together as the ‘capital-C’ Church.”

 www.citipointchurch.com/foster-church.html