“Stepping In and Stepping Back”

Meet Opal. Opal suddenly found herself raising her two six-year-old grandsons alone. When the boys first moved in, her husband, Gerald, was by her side. They were determined to raise the boys in a loving home. Tragically, Gerald was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2021 and passed away three months later. Opal needed help. In January 2023, Opal …

OCA Volunteer Spotlight: Derrick and Amanda Singletary

Get to know our newest Connect Group leaders Derrick and Amanda Singletary! They are serving as leaders for a new connect group in Jefferson County. Q: Tell us about yourself…. A: We became foster parents in Feb. 2012 and adopted three siblings in Dec. 2015 (now ages 13, 11, and 10). We have four biological children ages 19, 15, 8, …

Orphan & Stand Sunday

This is how the story begins for many foster children. They enter the foster care system later in life when their birth parents are unable to care for them at the present time. They need someone to care for them for a week, a month, a year, or permanently. Some have been abused or neglected, but others have birth parents …

Christina’s Story-How Being the Village Can Keep Families Together

Christina has battled with addiction. She has suffered domestic violence. She has experienced the profound tragedy of losing a child. She has struggled with navigating life as a single mother. Through all the pain, hardship, and trials she is raising her three boys with unrelenting love.  We met Christina through OCA’s Family Preservation Ministry as a Restore client. This ministry …

Serving Families with Both Hands

Pam lost her husband at the early age of 44. Amidst that deep loss, she was left with five children to raise.  Jackie, a widow, struggled for three weeks simply trying to trim her outside bushes with a pair of scissors.   Stella suffered the loss of her daughter in 2019. Two years later, she lost her husband. During her loss, …

Church on the RISE

Our God is the “Father to the Fatherless” (Ps. 68:5; 146:9) and as God’s people we are called to love the vulnerable (Is. 1:17; James 1:27). Many of us may not be called or able to foster or adopt. However, we can still participate in God’s work of caring for hurting kids and families. God Has Adopted Us to Be …