Have you ever read a book where the author had such passion about a subject that you felt compelled to care a little more than you ordinarily would? Todd R. Chipman created one of those moments for me in his book, "Until Every Child is Home."

You see, Chipman is passionate about orphans, because he was one. He ended up in a good home with a family that loved and protected him, but that isn't always the case. Chipman uses this book to make us aware of the realities of the orphans in our communities. The need is great and the workers are few. 

The great thing about this book was all the real examples used. Adoption didn't seem like this impossible and foreign thing. Anyone can do it. Ordinary people do it all the time. Arguably, Christians are called to take care of the orphans. It's surprising to me how little we see true adoption services taking place in the church. This critique is brought up and Chipman gives some clear guidelines on how a church could effectively start and foster and adoption ministry.

I think the biggest problem is how large this problem feels. When an issue feels insurmountable, it's intimidating. Chipman does good work in this book bringing the problem down to the small scale. And often his examples show when we start small big things can happen.

I have enjoyed this book and it's given me a lot to think about. Whether adopting in the future or making sure a family who does it well supported, this book is for everyone and anyone.

I am an adoptive parent and it feels like sometimes the church wants to just push us aside especially if you have adopted children from the foster care system. I really enjoyed how this book pushes churches to come beside adoptive parents and support them while explaining that is not an easy road. I highly recommend this book.

Until Every Child is Home - Todd R. Chapman

I received this to my Kindle free for the purpose of review.

It is not surprising to me how many children in the USA are in foster care. I work with a group who helps provide clothing to teenage girls in foster care and we share Christ with each one. We have been blessed with many donations and people to help and to pray. We are but a small group of
five leaders with many many volunteers to help, donate and give of finances.

All that said, this book factually is heart wrenching to know that 450,000 children are in foster care and there are 400,000 evangelical churches that could take care of this number. Mr. Chapman gives personal stories from couples who have fostered and they are priceless.

More importantly he gives the biblical mandate to, "care for orphans and widows" James 1:27.
While there is tremendous need and it is biblical to foster, somehow the heart of men and women has to change to take up this charge.

Mr. Chapman is totally honest as he also tells the challenges and difficulties that can arrive in the process. In addition to the process being a slow moving process, there are the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of the child that are in many cases deeply scarred.

I encourage everyone to read this book and think: Could I save a child from a brutal death, brutality or worse, being trafficked. These children/preteens/teens are the most vulnerable to the trafficking perpetrator. So many of these young members of our country have nothing permanent in their life and the trafficker becomes a "friend, father, boyfriend" and sets the stage for this awful habit to begin and continue. The people who do these things are all around us, men, women, other teens, relatives.

Worth the read, worth your time and worth your prayer to evaluate how you can help. A mission field right in your own community.

As a Christian adoptive mom myself, I have many opinions of why and how church as an organized religion should be answering the call to help kids in foster care. There are so many ways outside of being a foster and adoptive parent to support the children and their families. I hoped that this book would highlight the need, reference our doctrine calling us to help, and then layout a plan for the church to use as a guideline.

However, this book focused mainly on the doctrine quoting A LOT of scripture. More so than I think was needed to support the claim that as Christians we should care for orphans. Most atheists and agnostics would agree that we should help orphans - spiritual beliefs aside. This book was written by a pastor, and it felt obviously so. Start with a personal antidote, relay a full bible study, close with reiterating the connection of the antidote & scripture.

I found myself more interested in reading the adoptive memoirs the author referenced than the book in my hands. I even skipped over much of the Bible lessons, because I’ve read them many times already, they were long sections, & I didn't need convincing that this is a mission field with biblical backing. I’m already in it.

I’d recommend this book to pastors who are struggling with delivering a message to their church regarding the call to help orphans and who need help with their sermon. That is the only audience I see truly loving this book.

What a fantastic book! Although Until Every Child is Home does contain some theological insights on adoption, it is primarily practical and profoundly personal. Todd Chipman knows first hand both sides of the adoption saga, having been adopted himself, and now being an adopted parent. The book is filled with personal stories of Christian families who participated in the life-changing experience of adoption.

Chipman definitely doesn't shy away from the difficulties inherent in adoption, but he also chronicles the joy that it can bring to children, parents, and families. The book is helpful in the many angles it takes to view adoption. Chipman considers the role that the local church can have in adoption. He talks about the racial implications of adoption and the way that adoption can be a part of the Great Commission. In probably the most heart-breaking section, he discusses the tragic fact that many foster care children graduate into sex trafficking.

If you want to know more about adoption- the need, the biblical imperative, or the process- I highly recommend this book. It has been thought-provoking, maybe life-changing, for my family. I received a digital copy of this book for free from the publisher and was not required to write a positive review.

Until Every Child Is Home
Why the Church Can and Must Care for Orphans

by Todd R. Chipman

Moody Publishers

Christian , Parenting & Families

Pub Date 06 Aug 2019

I am reviewing a copy of Until Every Child Is Home through Moody Publishers and Netgalley:

Your Church is probably doing a lot already so trying to convince people to either take part in Foster Care or to Adopt can seem like a daunting and impossible task. It can be hard to get volunteers for Children’s church let alone to foster or even to adopt a child.

What if we are thinking about this in the wrong way though? What if caring for Orphans actually has a positive impact not only on the adopted or Foster Parents life, what if in fact increases your churches ability in various ministries? What if this one Ministry can help open the door for many others?

In this book you will discover how Orphan care can impact six key aspects of ministry. We will meet dozens of families and churches who have experienced the transformative power of orphan care, and learn how you can get involved even if you’re not ready to foster or adopt.

I give Until Every Child is Home five out of five stars.

Happy Reading!

This book!
This book needs to be read by everyone who cares about answering the call to care for the "orphan and the widow."
Though this book is not deeply eloquent or entertaining, it is powerful!
So much truth packed into this short book that is a call to arms on the behalf of the vulnerable.
My family has adopted and been involved in housing children of families who are in crisis. This book addresses so many of the issues we have faced and encourages me to keep going.
Definitely a must read!

I received an arc of this book on netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

It was kind of interesting, I'm interested in adoption and stuff, but it just dragged on too long.