I first learned about Safe Families when they became partnered with my church back home.  In their mission statement, Safe Families for Children shares that they are  “rooted in faith, fueled by radical hospitality, disruptive generosity, and intentional compassion, to build a network of caring and compassionate volunteers to support families facing social isolation.” Established in 2003, Safe Families was built to minister to families who are at risk of being broken apart and their children sent into the foster care system. Created to bring the Church into the gap, Safe Families places children with church families so that the struggling parents of these at-risk kids can receive the help and intervention they need.

In 2023, Safe Families celebrated 20 years of Kingdom Impact. Living out God’s call to care for the marginalized, the poor, the broken, and the disenfranchised, Safe Families celebrated 70,000 hosting arrangements with a 98% reunification rate rooting from a network of 5,000 churches.

Dave Anderson, the founder of Safe Families, shared that as he intently listened to where God was calling him, “the Lord birthed a powerful vision for the Church to answer the call to support vulnerable children and families through biblical hospitality.”

From this vision flowed a crystalized vision statement, mission statement, set of core values and a detailed strategy for accomplishing it all.  With over one hundred offices across the U.S., Safe Families encourages volunteers to offer their support with whatever capacity they have.  This means that you don’t have to commit to hosting a child to be a part of preventing more children from entering the foster care system.  Safe Families encourages people to volunteer as Host Families, Family Friends, Resource Friends, Family Coaches, and Safe Families Churches. Through these categories a sustainable circle of support is formed. And through this network, at-risk children are brought to stay with host families on a short term basis (an average of 45 days) while their parents also receive the support they need so that when parent and child are rejoined, their family is better equipped to thrive. Most of the children are young (70% of under six years old) and most of their families are facing a housing or economic crisis. However, many of the children also come from homes that are suffering from abuse, neglect, or addiction.

Safe Families is a ministry that works to prevent and restore.  They accomplish this by rescuing crumbling families from being forced down the path of foster care. In doing this, Safe Families brings the Church into the equation and invites the Body of Christ to imitate the hospitality Christ showed us at His incarnation. This innovative organization merges entrepreneurial vision with Biblical principles in a fashion that radiates the kind of love that dies to self and leaves the ninety-nine to go after the lost sheep.