This week, a mother who had aged out of foster care was preparing to give birth. She was escaping domestic violence and facing the unthinkable - her own children entering foster care because she had no safe person to care for them when it was time to deliver her baby.
We had first entered her story through a referral from one of our community partners, Healthy Blue. Her urgent call was fielded by one of our faithful Support Line Volunteers from East Charlotte Presbyterian Church.
Our Intake Coordinator sent a request to volunteers serving through our partner churches. Volunteers from Christ Covenant Church graciously stepped in to care for her children during several prenatal appointments, ensuring she could receive the medical care she needed.
Then came the call that it was time for her to go to the hospital for her induction, a decision she had delayed longer than medically recommended because of her lack of childcare.
If no one stepped forward, she would face an agonizing separation: surrendering her children at the shelter, knowing they would enter foster care while she gave birth.
A Host Family from StoneBridge Church said "yes" to the need and was ready to serve. However, we still needed a Family Coach to meet everyone at the hospital, help complete the arrangement details, and ensure the family and volunteers were supported throughout the hosting.
Time passed, and we waited and prayed. Minutes remained before the children would have to be surrendered.
Then, at the last minute, a Family Coach from Bethel Church said "yes".
Because so many members of the local Church were willing to step in, these children went to a safe and loving home. They did not have to enter foster care. Their mother did not have to face childbirth wondering where her children were or whether they would be returned to her.
Alongside Families staff lovingly ensured oversight throughout the arrangement,
but the Church provided the care at every turn.
The next morning, several members of our staff simply looked at one another, overcome with gratitude for what we had witnessed.
Family Care Manager Kathryn Kiker shared, "When I told her we had volunteers step forward to serve, she shared, “God always comes on time. I am forever thankful - thank you guys so much.”"
Kathryn went on to say, "It was such a reality check for me for the days that I feel like God is running late. But this mom whose family was on the line, still found it in her heart, to have faith that God would come through."
It felt as though God had drawn a golden thread of care through our community. The thread moved from a referral partner at Healthy Blue to a Support Line Volunteer at East Charlotte Presbyterian Church. It continued through prenatal support from Christ Covenant Church, into the home of a Host Family and their community from StoneBridge Church, and through the faithful presence of a Family Coach from Bethel Church. Alongside Families staff held the structure around it all.
Each person and church held only one part - no one could see or carry the entire story. But God took every individual act of obedience and wove them together into a strong covering of care around one mother and her children.
What appeared to be separate responses from separate people became one
beautiful expression of the Body of Christ and a family remained safely together.
This is family preservation.
It is the Church arriving in the gap between a family’s crisis and an unnecessary separation. It is ordinary people offering their homes, relationships, time, and presence at exactly the moment they are needed.
Scripture reminds us: “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” 1 Corinthians 12:27
This week, we watched the Body of Christ work exactly as it was designed to work: many people, many churches, and many different roles, all woven together by God to surround one vulnerable family with hope.
Alongside Families helped make the arrangement possible, but the Church provided the care.
And there are families throughout Mecklenburg County waiting for the Church to do it again.