Wrap Around Families

By Mike Glenn

Last year, my wife Jeannie and I got to make an interesting decision. After thirty-two years, I was stepping down as Senior Pastor of Brentwood Baptist Church and beginning my transition into retirement. I was going to work with pastors and churches in Middle Tennessee. So, I started the Engage Church Network. In our conversations, I told Jeannie we were fortunate in that we could live anywhere we wanted to live and we could go anywhere we wanted to go. So, what did she want to do?

Photo by OC Gonzalez on Unsplash

‘I want to be 15 minutes from Rowen,” she said. That was easy enough. We were already 15 minutes from Rowen. Rowen is our special needs granddaughter. Because our son and daughter in law live so close to us, we get to be part of Rowen’s and her brother’s life almost on a daily basis. Jeannie and decided we would stay close to her and her parents so we could be there whenever they needed us. Do her parents want to go out to dinner? Fine. We’ll babysit. Do I need to pick up Walker, her brother, from school? No problem. I can do that. Jeannie and I want to be close enough to Rowen and her family so we can say “yes” whenever they call us. 

And just like that, we became a wrap-around family. Jeannie and I have adjusted our schedule so we can be available when Rowen or her parents need us. Now, Jeannie and I aren’t heroes. We’re blessed beyond measure. Rowen brings incredible joy to our lives, but this doesn’t change the fact that raising her is complicated and yes, hard.

I first heard of the term “wrap around” family when our church started getting involved with families going through the adoption process. As most of us know, the adoption process can be expensive and complicated. After months, even years, of waiting and working through the mountains of paperwork, a family can be overwhelmed with the arrival of a baby or child. Once we began to understand the pressures endured by adopted families, we began to encourage other families to wrap around the adopting families and share the journey with them. 

I believe local churches should be at the forefront of adoption. I believe every church should have a process to identify, train and support adopting families and foster families. Now, not everyone is in a place to adopt. I’m 67 years old. It doesn’t make sense for me to try to adopt. With that said, however, Jeannie and I can come around a family and be extended grandparents to the adopted child. 

Wrap around families step in with financial and emotional support.They step in practical support such as taking care of the lawn or washing the cars. We can coach little league teams. We can all do something so that every child can have a home filled with love and hope of Christ. 

The Apostle Paul is famous for his “one anothers.” You know – “love one another, pray for one another, bear with one another,” – and this one, “bear one another’s burdens.” Young parents need the church. Adoptive parents need the church. Parents of special needs children need the church. 

And the church needs to be there to wrap around these families. The world needs to see the church wrap around these families – these communities so they can see the love of Christ in real life in real time. Raising children requires an extended family of the church. 

Now, here’s your homework. Look around your neighborhood and find a family that needs someone to wrap around them. It could be a single mom with teen-age boys. Perhaps you’re near a family with a special needs child – reach out. Pray for them. Visit the family and say you’re willing to help where you can and find out where that place you can help is and then, do what you can. 

I know. You don’t know anything about adopting children or special needs children. Guess what? No one does. We all have to learn. So, learn. Then, help. In the name and love of Jesus do what you can. There are no small acts of love in Christ. There are no small kindnesses in the kingdom of God. 

No, you can’t do everything you want to do, but all of us can do something. Do that and trust Jesus with the rest.