It is our hope that Journey to the Fatherless will reinforce how important the Church and each member of the body of Christ are to the children of the world, and especially to the needs of the fatherless.

As the Church awakens to the cry of orphaned children on her doorstep, may she dispatch the vast resources entrusted to her; acting as agents of Christ’s righteousness, justice, and mercy on this earth.

For years, a small and persistent band of people within the Church have accomplished much, with very little, for the orphan. They are radical in their passion. Their numbers are growing and they are making an incredible difference worldwide. May the emergent power and beauty of the Church validate and encourage these defenders of the fatherless who adopt, who provide foster care, who care for orphans and who help vulnerable children – over and over again.

This book was not written as a theological treatise on the biblical basis for adoption, as there are excellent texts already available. It is also not a handbook covering adoption questions, orphan care or foster care training per se as again, there is ample material which has been published.

My purpose in writing this book is to help the Church both awaken and prepare her people for the journey to the fatherless. Both of these actions are important. If all the Church does is awaken her members to the need, the full potential of her power will not be realized. Without proper preparation, those who venture out can be blindsided and easily disillusioned. Until local churches are able to begin this process however, may they encourage those who are caring for the least of these.

Note from the author: Throughout the book, the words adoption, orphan care, foster care or humanitarian relief are used interchangeably. Using one of these words alone does not diminish the importance of the remainder. Some thought has been given to using the term OVC, meaning orphans and vulnerable children, to represent the breadth of the need.

"Journey to the Fatherless will not leave us or the world unchanged."

– Jedd Medefind, President of Christian Alliance for Orphans

"Journey to the Fatherless will not leave us or the world unchanged."

– Jedd Medefind, President of Christian Alliance for Orphans

"Journey to the Fatherless will not leave us or the world unchanged."

– Jedd Medefind, President of Christian Alliance for Orphans

A Troubling Story

The orphan does not need the church as much as the church needs the orphan…

DOES THE CHURCH CARE FOR THE WORLD’S CHILDREN? Yes – some local churches do! The evidence on display however, tells a troubling story with an ever-increasing number of orphans in the world, kids aging out of foster care, AIDS babies in Africa, and toddlers in Haiti whose hair has turned orange from severe protein deficiencies. Given her wealth, talent, and worldwide resources, the Church can be a powerful agent of change—and she has the biblical mandate to do so.

Do Christians have a responsibility to intercede for and sacrifice their resources for vulnerable children? What happens to the Church when we do? And when we don’t? How do we begin?

The Journey to the Fatherless is written by a former agnostic, corporate executive and inventor who was chased down by the Hound of Heaven.

God then took him to the “fields of the fatherless” so he could experience what breaks the heart of God. What he discovered in serving the least of these has been captured for the Church to use to prepare others for their journey.

The Journey takes the reader beyond Fields of the Fatherless and The Hole in Our Gospel into a deeper understanding of the problem and the biblical call to action.

What may be a troubling story in the beginning turns out to be a story of glorious redemption!

The Cover Story

Several have asked about the people on the cover and about the significance of the scene. They are a special family photographed by Monique Sady in Reno, Nevada and ironically the author or the publisher team of Journey to the Fatherless has never met them!

They have been gracious enough however, for their personal portrait to be used for the Journey cover.

What I am about to describe may have nothing to do with the family but is my portrayal of the scene.

As you look at the photo there are several important aspects that I would like to highlight for you. Clearly, the mother and father have three children with them. I envision the boy on the left as being of African descent – an orphan perhaps from Ethiopia. The girl in the middle is Asian – perhaps an orphan from India, China or Vietnam. The boy on the right could be a fatherless child from Russia, the Ukraine or another eastern European country. He could as well be a boy from the U.S. foster care system.

The parents have been on a long and arduous journey bringing these orphans and vulnerable to their forever family. And finally, they are climbing the last hill before they arrive at their intended destination – home! The journey has been hard for them at times, and as you observe the sky there are storm clouds symbolizing difficulties and hardship. Those clouds are now moving to the right with the sun beginning to reflect upon the landscape. For those who have trusted the Lord for His provision and promise on the journey, the sun is the Son of God, Jesus Christ, emanating His brilliance on the final stretch.

You will notice a large, tall tree that has grown for generations at the crest of the hill. The parents and their adopted children are bringing their children home from the journey to graft them permanently into their family tree that basks in the glory of the Son.

And so God’s design for the family continues – as He draws people of all nations to His family tree.

Lawrence E. Bergeron

Lawrence and Elizabeth Bergeron are the founders of A Child’s Hope International.

Their individual faith stories are different yet equally valid. Larry’s story was more turbulent as he was an agnostic for many years of his adult life.

He earned three degrees in electronic engineering; was awarded twelve patents; invited to speak at international conferences; wrote numerous journal articles and published a book on digital communications.

Jokingly (although probably very serious), several have cursed his pioneer work in the development of voice mail systems which are so prevalent today.

As he climbed the corporate ladder, becoming a vice president for a large, well known American company, his agnostic views and attack on the veracity of the Bible were frequent. He was driven by power, prominence and prestige – and money. As many know firsthand, the drive for success can be a destructive force and it was for him as well.

Although wealthy and successful (by the standards of many), there was a growing sense of emptiness in his life. As he strove for even more power, he was becoming more of a driven person at the same time. He viewed Christianity as a crutch for weak people and cursed those who would try and reason with him. About 25 years ago, through a strange and fortunate set of “circumstances”, he eventually stopped running from the Hound of Heaven and gave his life to Jesus Christ. For the next several years, as he learned what the Bible said about life and the pursuit of happiness, worldy success became less and less important.

A few years later, Larry, Elizabeth and two of their daughters traveled on their first mission’s trip to a former communist training camp in Russia which was being used for orphan children. Little did they know then, that the heartache of the orphan would eventually become their life’s work. In the years following, he resigned from his corporate position, received a master’s degree from seminary and served as a pastor at churches in Connecticut and Ohio.

All throughout these changes, the cry of 143,000,000 orphans became louder. The hopelessness of 500,000 kids in U.S. foster care became more pervasive. And the reality of 30,000 children perishing from hunger related causes every day became an ever present “thorn in the side”.

From those life experiences, A Child’s Hope International was formed in 2008 – to bring hope to the helpless children in desperate need here, there and everywhere.

Today, Larry still dreams with others – not about success but about significance. He is not afraid to ask the tough questions, especially with those who, like he was, are running from God. This inventor, engineer, corporate VP and pastor experienced the amazing forgiveness of God and he wants others to know that they can as well. For that reason, he will share his testimony with volunteers at the Hope Factory™. He will ask the Lord to bless them for what they have sacrificed in time, talents and treasures to help the least of these.

His message is always the same.

With gentleness and respect, he encourages people to ask him to give the reason for the hope that he has. He readily admits that he is far from perfect – just forgiven. It was from his work with the least of these, that the Journey to the Fatherless was written.