The Christian Alliance for Orphans presented The Defender of the Fatherless Award to Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife Mary Beth, the founders of Show Hope, an orphan care and adoption non-profit ministry. The Chapmans received the award earlier this month before 2,000 advocates of orphan care and adoption at the Christian Alliance for Orphans' Summit VIII, held at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California.
Each year, the Defender of the Fatherless Award honors bold and sacrificial leadership that has inspired the church and transformed children’s lives. Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman were recognized for the immense impact they have had in
re-awakening Christians to God’s call for orphan care through Show Hope.
Founded in 2003, Show Hope helps to provide waiting orphans with forever homes through financial adoption grants, as well as give medical care for orphans with special needs. Additionally, Show Hope empowers churches, families, and communities to change the world for orphans with adoption and orphan care resources and advocacy efforts.
"Christians across America and beyond are now rising to care for orphans in ways not seen in generations, and no couple has played a more significant role in this awakening than Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman,” Jedd Medefind, President of the Christian Alliance for Orphans, expressed. “From their compelling personal example and public witness to the far-reaching impact of Show Hope, the Chapmans helped spark today's Christian orphan care movement, and they continue to champion its amazing growth."
2012 marks the inaugural presentation of the Defender of the Fatherless Award, which will be awarded annually at Summit. The verse from Hosea 14:3, which reads “In you the fatherless find compassion,” is engraved on the award to celebrate God’s great love for the fatherless and how that love becomes visible when Christians reflect God’s heart in action.
The Christian Alliance for Orphans’ annual Summit strives has become a hub for what Christianity Today recently called "the burgeoning orphan care movement," inspiring and equipping individuals for effective adoption, foster care and global orphan ministry. It has grown from 38 attendees at the first Summit in 2004 to more than 50 times that number in 2012. Summit VIII brought 2,000 pastors, organizational leaders and ministry directors together for workshops and comprehensive sessions.
http://www.showhope.org/ [3]
http://www.christianalliancefororphans.org/ [4]