James 1:27 in Action

Churches to the rescue
Groups actively support families that adopt

Some conservative Christians say an intense focus on hot-button issues such as abortion and gay marriage has come at the expense of caring for needy children.

And they're doing something about it.

Some families are leading by example -- by taking in children from around the world. Parents and pastors are starting ministries. A national coalition that includes Focus on the Family aims to persuade thousands of churches to start adoption ministries.

"For the past 80 years, the church has really abrogated its responsibility to government, adoption agencies and others," said Christopher Padbury, executive director of Project 1.27, a Colorado-based group that has placed 60 foster children for adoption in Christian homes since 2005. "God has really taken a sledgehammer and started pounding on his churches."

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Padbury's group, Project 1.27, is named after the Bible verse James 1:27, which says: "Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."