Church Support for Foster Care Crisis Orphans
We help you and your church share the love of Christ with all those impacted by foster care, adoption or kinship care





- Does the foster care system seem confusing?
- Do you think the only way individuals in your church can serve is by fostering or adopting?
- Do you know families in your church that are fostering, serving as kinship caregivers or have adopted?
- Do you wish you knew how to best support them?
Christians share a call to serve abused and neglected children.
The Alliance Strategy
Get Your Whole Church Involved
BUILD THE CORE
Your Church Engagement Specialist will help you Identify families and individuals in your church that are actively serving or impacted by the foster care system.

EMPOWERING CHURCHES FOR THE CORE
1. DISCOVER YOUR CORE
Find out which families in your church and/or community are actively involved in foster care and adoption via email, social media, church bulletins, announcements and community groups.
2. GATHER YOUR CORE
Start with an initial meeting and begin to identify the experiences and needs of one another. Use this meeting to begin forming a database of families involved in direct care as well as those with the desire to serve and assist.
3. SERVE YOUR CORE
Meet the needs of current foster, adoptive and kinship families. Many churches do meal trains, meet tangible needs, prayer, babysitters, lawn care or needed home projects.
GROW THE CROWD
Your Church Engagement Specialist will help you share about the crisis and ways they can serve. Churches often share from the stage and host informational meetings.

GET INVOLVED TODAY
1. ACTIVATE YOUR CROWD
Your Church Engagement Specialist will help you share the crisis with your whole church family.
2. GATHER THE CROWD
We help your church do this in a variety of ways through sermons, info meetings, small group presentations, videos and panel interviews.
3. CROWD IN ACTION
Your church family can serve their fellow families in the church through lawn care, transportation, house cleaning, car maintenance, and providing meals and groceries.
SERVE THE FOSTER, ADOPTIVE, KINSHIP COMMUNITY
Your Church Engagement Specialist will help you find your piece. Alliance Prevention Network, Babysitting Collaborative, KinMart, GrandMart, Caring for Caseworkers, Build a Bed and many more ways to mobilize your church to serve those impacted by the foster care system.

A COMMUNITY THAT CARES
1. DISCOVER THE COMMUNITY NEED
Your Church Engagement Specialist will help your leadership identify needs in the community near your church and any training or equipping needed to start serving.
2. GATHER THE COMMUNITY
The Alliance has a variety of programs, projects and connections with local non-profits to help your church mobilize and serve the community. The Alliance can host trainings for those interested in serving: Trauma informed care training, Alliance Prevention Network Response Team Training.
3. COMMUNITY-WIDE SUPPORT
Many opportunities exist. The key is working with your Church Engagement Specialist to focus ones that fit your church. Some options include: Building caseworker kits, foster family kits, meeting needs through Alliance Prevention Network, hosting a parents’ day out and prayer.
Jocelyn Wilson
Director of Church Engagement
Lauren Nanney
Church Engagement Specialist
From a young age, Lauren felt God calling her to motherhood in a way that stepped outside the traditional path. She always knew adoption would be a central part of her story and in 2019, God made it abundantly clear that He was calling The Nanneys into foster care. In December they were placed with their first foster child. Since then, they have fostered three children and had the joy of adopting their daughter Hannah. After a short pause in foster care, Lauren and Justin adopted their son, John Luke, through domestic adoption.
Lauren currently leads the Children’s Ministry at Mission Community Church. She also helps facilitate a support group for women in the adoption and foster community. Her heart for service also led her to previously create a "foster closet" to provide tangible resources for local families and her church. She also serves as a mentor through Don’t Go Alone.
After much prayer, Lauren is thrilled to see God open the door to join the team at STAFO. As a Church Engagement Specialist, Lauren is dedicated to fostering deep partnerships between the local church and the foster care community. She believes that when churches are equipped with the right tools and vision, they are uniquely positioned to serve vulnerable children and families well.
Katie Devine
Church Engagement Specialist
Brittany Flournoy
Church Engagement Specialist
Catalina Almanza
Church Engagement Specialist, English/Spanish
Catalina has been married to her native San Antonian, Robert, since 2006. They have one beautiful daughter, Melodie, who is now 14 years old. She is a testament to God’s blessings and miracles in their lives as they were told by many doctors that they would not be able to have children on their own.
Catalina's family has a love for animals and currently has 3 Lhasa Apso dogs named Fluffy, Mocha, and Chanel. Their family lives in Bulverde, TX and enjoys spending time with family, friends and serving their community.
Their foster journey began with a yearning to serve God and the community in a different way. They worked on getting their certification back in 2021 and have since received two different placements. They were able to see God's hand through it all with a beautiful reunification and keep in contact with the family. They also have served through babysitting and respite care for other foster families.
While praying and asking God for direction, the amazing opportunity to join the Alliance was presented. Catalina is looking forward to step into the calling from God during this season and to serve the Hispanic Churches and Community of San Antonio by bringing more awareness of the needs in the foster care system.
The Alliance Team would love to come to your church. Hosting a church information meeting is often the first step to activating your church.
You are invited to an Alliance Gathering where we engage and equip ministry leaders who share the love of Christ with those impacted by foster care, adoption or kinship care.
- HEAR FROM LOCAL LEADERS INVOLVED IN THIS SPACE
- LEARN ABOUT THE CURRENT STATE OF CHILD WELFARE
- LEAVE WITH PRACTICAL TOOLS AND THE SUPPORT YOU NEED TO START OR LEAD
Alliance Gatherings are for Pastors, Church Leaders, Ministry Leaders, Foster/Adoptive Parents, and anyone within your church that wants to hear how to strategically engage TOGETHER as the Church and make an impact on the Foster Crisis in our community!
Jocelyn Wilson Church Engagement Specialist
TBD
Registration Link:
North – Brittany Flournoy, Church Engagement Specialist
July 22nd
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM @ Emily Hlavinka’s Home
Registration Link:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/alliance-gathering-north-tickets-646303429957
Northeast – Alex Wallendorff, Church Engagement Specialist
July 8th
9:30-11:00 AM @ the Wallendorff home
Registration Link: https://AllianceGatheringNorthEast.eventbrite.com
Jocelyn Wilson (Church Engagement Specialist)
TBD
Together we can solve the problem through prevention, provision and protection, we can help break the foster care crisis cycle.
- 115 Churches Actively Playing Their Piece
- 91,475 People Made Aware Through Sermons & Info Meetings
- 677 Families Started the Process to Become a Foster Parent
- 5,624 Volunteers Activated to Play Their Piece
It takes dozens of pieces to bring healing to children and families. No one church, person, or family can fill all of the roles needed. It requires an Alliance of everyone playing their piece to bring restoration and healing to families.
Through our experiences, we’ve discovered which organizations are essential in providing support and resources to children, youth and families impacted by the foster care system.
Our goal with this guide is to help you find the right fit for your passion and skill set so that you can make a meaningful impact in the lives of children and families in need.
Connect with an Alliance Engagement Specialist
Play your “piece” and contact us today!