When Children Are Suffering
Be the Church Known for Caring
Guidance and resources to help churches care for foster, adoptive, and vulnerable children and families.
2026 All In Foster Care Summit: Build the Way Together
Join West Virginia’s premier gathering of churches, leaders, and communities working to strengthen foster care across our state.
The All In Foster Care Summit equips you with practical next steps, clear roles, and meaningful partnerships so you can move from concern to coordinated action that supports vulnerable children and families.
Not everyone will open their home to children in foster care, but everyone can do something. You and your church can do something meaningful to help struggling children and families in your community.
Local churches and their people care and believe they should help, reflecting God’s love and compassion for the vulnerable; however, many hesitate to get involved due to uncertainty about what to do, where to start, and how to provide meaningful and sustainable support for these children and their families.
Chestnut Mountain Village provides guidance and tools that make it easy for you and your church to effectively care for vulnerable children and families in your community.
Start Discovering Your Something Today.
Chestnut Mountain Village (‘The Village’), a ministry of Chestnut Mountain Ranch, guides and equips churches to care for vulnerable children and families using a proven, step-by-step method. The Village believes that there should be clear, manageable, and proven ways for your church to effectively care for kids and families in your communities.
“Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.” –James 1:27
WHEN CHILDREN ARE SUFFERING:
West Virginia has the highest number of children in the foster care system per capita. For every 1,000 babies born in West Virginia, 24.6 are removed due to maltreatment. This is more than three times the national average of seven per 1,000.
Over 60% of children in foster care are removed due to neglect. In West Virginia, it is estimated that 85% of child cases involve drug use. Over 60% of children in foster care will experience seven or more school changes.
Advocates consistently report that there is an insufficient number of foster families to care for these children. 80% of families who foster stop fostering within two years. Without support and care, the future for these children can be bleak.
THE VILLAGE PLAN BENEFITS:
Organized for Action
Organized, volunteer-led opportunities to support foster care and adoption in your community.
Hope for Children
Children and families are served and experience the love of Christ through the local church and community partners
Growing in Christ
A proven, step-by-step framework for spiritual and discipleship growth.
Join the Movement
Guiding and equipping churches to care for vulnerable children and families using a proven, step-by-step method.
VILLAGE NEWS & UPDATES
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REGISTER NOW: 2026 All In Foster Care Summit
This Summit is more than another date on the calendar. Instead, it serves as a focused gathering that encourages clear action. At Chestnut Ridge Church in Morgantown, pastors and church teams will connect with child welfare professionals, foster alumni, foster, adoptive, and kinship families, and community leaders. Through that connection, participants will strengthen collaboration across […]
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Helping Communities Show Up Well
Resources for Stronger Foster Care Collaboration Bonus Resource: If you came here from our newsletter, we’ve added one more foster care collaboration resource below: a conversation about why meaningful work for children and families is too big for any one person, church, or organization to do alone. Our mission at The Village is to guide, […]
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“We See You!”
Showing Up for Those Who Show Up Every Day Building communities that show up means caring for vulnerable children and families. It also means finding practical ways to support child welfare professionals who serve them every day. “We See You” is part of Care for Caseworkers, a national effort coordinated by Promise686 to encourage and […]
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It Started With One Connection
“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families…” Psalm 68:5–6 (NIV) In one West Virginia county, a young man had been in and out of foster care for much of his life. His experience highlights the importance of strong support for young adults aging […]
Village Resource Center
Visit our Resource Center for articles, posts, and videos to help guide you through supporting children and families who are active in foster, adoption, and kinship care.
About Us
Chestnut Mountain Village (‘The Village’), a ministry of Chestnut Mountain Ranch, is dedicated to creating Christ-centered communities to provide hope and homes for vulnerable kids and families. To do this, the Village guides and equips church partners to care for vulnerable children and families by providing a proven, step-by-step ministry model …