The church decided to create DC127, and hired church member Chelsea Geyer as its full-time director. “We quickly realized that most people in our church are single and not in a position to foster, but we realized that a lot of people have a heart to help,” he says. More than 100 people showed up, a third of their entire church at the time, and Graham saw the stirrings of a potential new foster and adoption ministry. Graham invited Lawson to speak at District Church. “We knew that in order for us to get a lot more support, that maybe if we had another pastor working with us, and really speaking to other pastors, that might be able to really make a difference,” Lawson says. Then Regina Lawson, director of recruiting for DC’s Child and Family Services Agency, heard from a colleague that the Grahams had a passion for adoption advocacy, and she quickly arranged to meet them. Graham, 33, and his wife Amy, 36, who adopted their two young children from South Carolina, felt God calling them to focus their attention on foster care, but they were not sure what that meant. The Foster the City concept started over a year ago.

The group’s name comes from a verse in the New Testament, James 1:27, that reads, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” DC127 has already worked with thirteen churches in the District, including Nineteenth Street Baptist Church, National Community Church, and Asbury United Methodist Church, as well as government and community agencies, to begin to shift the adoption numbers. His church helped sponsor a citywide event, “Foster the City,” a special initiative of the National Council for Adoption and DC127, District Church’s new organization that recruits and supports foster and adoptive parents. It’s an interesting proposition, and on Saturday afternoon-the day before churches across the country celebrate Orphan Sunday-Graham had his first real chance to put the proposal into action. “We thought, wow, if one in two churches helped support a family, there wouldn’t be any children on a wait list to be fostered or adopted but rather there would be families who are waiting to foster or adopt,” Graham explains. But the nation’s capital also has something else, says Graham, pastor of District Church: 600 churches. Washington, DC, has more than 1,300 children in the foster care system, and 300 children waiting for adoption. 21.Follow can be seen as a math riddle, and Aaron Graham aims to solve it. No guarantee, warranty or representation of any kind is made regarding the completeness or accuracy of descriptions or measurements (including square footage measurements and property condition), such should be independently verified, and Compass expressly disclaims any liability in connection therewith. and/or other countries.Ĭorporate Responsibility, Privacy & Legal Notices: Compass is a licensed real estate broker, licensed to do business as Compass RE in Delaware, Idaho, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, Compass Real Estate in Washington, DC, Wyoming and Idaho, Compass Realty Group in Missouri and Kansas, and Compass South Carolina LLC in South Carolina. Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Responsible Disclosure, Compass is an E-Verify employer, Notice for California Applicants, and California COVID-19 Rules of EntryĬOMPASS, the Compass logo, and other various trademarks, logos, designs, and slogans are the registered and unregistered trademarks of Compass, Inc.

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