Every Child Belongs:

After you ask each question, invite the children to share their answers aloud or, if in a quieter space, to think about the answers for themselves.

Who wakes you up?

Who reminds you to brush your teeth?

Who helps you when you’re sick?

Who makes sure you have food?

Who helps with homework?

Who celebrates your birthday?

Who hugs you when you’re sad?

Who tucks you in at night?

Who prays for you?

After several questions, ask:

“How many different people help you every day?”

Explain:

Most of us never stop to think about all the people who care for us. Families are made up of people who love us, protect us, and help us grow.

Ask:

“What do you think the word ‘orphan’ means?”

Explain:

An orphan* is a child who has lost one or both parents, or whose parents are unable to care for them. Some children live with grandparents, aunts, uncles, or foster* families. Others wait for someone to welcome them into a safe and loving home.

Being an orphan doesn’t mean a child is less important.

It doesn’t mean they aren’t loved by God.

It simply means they need what every child needs—a family where they belong.

Ask the children to imagine:

Think of places you belong—your family, your church, your neighborhood, your school.

• What do you feel like when you belong?
• What gives you comfort when you feel scared or alone?
• How might you help someone else belong and feel safe and happy too?

Allow a few responses. Then say:

Every child deserves someone to love them. Every child deserves a safe place to belong and grow.

* words in bold can be found in the glossary

Explain:

Throughout the Bible, God keeps bringing lonely people into families.

Tell several brief stories from the Bible:

Moses

Exodus 2:1-9

When Moses’ own mother could not safely raise him, God provided another family to protect him.

Esther

Esther 2:7

Esther lost her parents, but God gave her a loving cousin, Mordecai, who raised her and helped her become a courageous leader.

Samuel

1 Samuel 3:1

Samuel grew up under the care of Eli in God’s house and learned to hear God’s voice.

Jesus

Matthew 1:18-26

Even Jesus, the Son of God, was raised by Joseph, who chose to love and care for him as his own son.

Ask:

“What do all of these stories have in common?”

Answer:

God made sure his children were not alone.

Read Psalm 68:6 together:

“God sets the lonely in families.”

Explain:

That is still God’s work today—and he often invites ordinary people to help him do it.

Today we want to tell you about friends of our church who are helping God do exactly that.

Setshabelo Family and Child Services (SFCS) is a Christian organization in South Africa. They are people who studied hard to learn special skills to help people who need food, housing, and care get what they need at low or no cost. They are called social workers*.

Optional resource: use this simplified map of South Africa with Botshabelo marked on it

Social workers sometimes help children who don’t have someone to take care of them well or have experienced something really hard by placing them in buildings that provide food and shelter. These places are called orphanages*. 

But in South Africa the social workers do something very special.

Instead of building orphanages, they work to build families.

The social workers at SFCS help children find safe homes with relatives, foster parents, or adoptive families* whenever possible.

They support grandparents raising grandchildren too. 

They train foster parents, people who are trained to help orphaned children feel comfortable in their home until the children can settle into the place where they belong. 

They care for children who have experienced trauma*.

They help families stay together whenever it is safe to do so.

They believe every child deserves more than a place to sleep.

Every child deserves to belong.

That is exactly what God wants too.

Story

Beanie is a social worker at SFCS. While working, she got a phone call to help a child named Moe. Moe now lives with a foster parent in Botshabelo. Beanie had found Moe living on the street and helped him get food, clothing, and a kind foster family. Beanie helps the foster mother understand children who are orphaned and how to best provide for their needs. Beanie is also working with Moe’s birth mother to help her get a home, access to medical care, and be connected to classes so she can have everything she needs for Moe to return to a safe and loving home with her.

Optional video: How SFCS builds loving families with your support

Ask:

What surprised you?

How do you think a child feels when they finally have a family?

What do you think God feels when someone opens their home to a child?

Show a poster of a house with only the outline drawn.

Explain:

This empty house reminds us that somewhere there are children still waiting to belong.

Throughout [insert timeframe: e.g., a month, this season, etc.] we are going to help “build” this house.

Every dollar we give will help color in another part of the house.

As our gifts grow, our house grows.

By the end of our challenge, we hope every wall, every window, every door, and every roof section will be completely filled with color. 

When our house is finished, it reminds us that together we helped another child move one step closer to belonging in a love-filled family and house.

All of the money we donated will be given to Setshabelo Family and Child Services to help them care for children who are waiting to belong. 

How It Works

Print out a house poster and hang it somewhere the class can see it (original size designed for 11×17 sheet of paper but may be printed smaller).

Every section of the house has a fundraising value assigned to it.

For example:

• Chimney ……….$20
• Roof …………. $50
• Front Door ….. $25
• Windows …… $10 each
• Walls ………… $100
• Flowers ………. $5
• Tree …………… $20
• Walkway …….. $25
• Yard …………..$35
• Front Porch ………… $50

As each fundraising goal is reached, children color in that section of the house using markers, crayons, colored pencils, or another preferred method.

Watching the house slowly come alive reminds everyone that generosity builds hope.

Friendly competition between various classes or the kids ministry and youth group is encouraged, but the real goal is for the entire church to help complete one (or more!) house(s) by the end of the designated period of time.

Resource: free house poster to print for challenge

Closing Reflection

Hold up the unfinished house.

Say:

This house is only paper.

But somewhere in the world there is a real child praying for a real family.

God tells us that caring for children is part of our faith.

When we pray, when we learn, and when we give, we become part of God’s answer.

Today we begin building more than a paper house.

We begin building hope.

Dear God,

Thank you for loving every child.

Thank you for giving many of us families who care for us.

Help us remember children who are still waiting for safety, love, and belonging.

Bless the work of Setshabelo Family and Child Services.

Use our prayers, our kindness, and our gifts to help children find families where they are known and loved.

Teach us to love the way you love.

In Jesus’s name,

Amen.

Use this section to help more easily explain some of the tougher terms in this lesson to younger audiences. This also may be the first time they’ve heard some of these words or concepts, so you may find it helpful to have a kid-friendly definition ready to use. 

Trauma – Something very scary, very sad, or very hard happened to someone. It can be hard to stop thinking about it. Children who experience trauma need love, safety, and support to heal.

Scripture: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.” – Psalm 34:18

Orphan – A child who has lost one or both parents or cannot safely live with them. Many children who are called “orphans” still have relatives who love them, but need help caring for them. 

Scripture: “God places the lonely in families.” – Psalm 68:6

Orphanage – A place where many children live together when they do not have families who can care for them. 

Scripture: “Be kind and compassionate to one another.” – Ephesians 4:32

Social Worker – A helper whose job is to make sure children and families are safe, healthy, and have what they need. 

Scripture: “Carry each other’s burdens.” – Galatians 6:2

Foster Care – When a child stays with a caring family temporarily because their parents cannot care for them right now. Foster families show love and help children feel safe while their family gets the support they need.

Scripture: “Love one another.” – John 13:34

Adoption – When a child becomes a permanent part of a new family. That family promises to love, protect, and care for the child forever. 

Scripture: “See what great love the Father has given us.” – 1 John 3:1