A PROVEN PLAN

The Village believes there should be clear, manageable, and proven ways for your church to effectively care for kids and families in your communities.​

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.

A PROVEN METHOD

​LAUNCHING FAMILY ADVOCACY MINISTRIES.

The proven plan and method used by The Village is called Family Advocacy Ministry (‘FAM’). FAM is a ministry model designed to help church partners care for vulnerable children in their communities. These ministries allow churches to have a positive impact by:

• Recruiting & supporting families to care for foster kids
• Meeting physical and financial needs of foster and vulnerable families
• Ministering to families to meet emotional and spiritual needs
• Serving foster and adoptive families in Care Communities

BUILDING CARE COMMUNITIES.

Care Communities are a primary element of FAMs. In Care Communities, volunteers wrap around families to provide support to foster, adoptive and other families through activities such as bringing weekly meals, supplying practical needs, providing transportation, mentoring and tutoring children, and becoming trained to provide child and respite care.

USING A PROVEN PLAN.

FAMs have a proven, positive impact on both retention and recruiting of foster families and are in place in over 1,000 churches in more than 30 states. The national average of families who continue fostering after the first year is about 50%, and 80% of foster families are no longer fostering after two years. However, when supported by a FAM that includes a Care Community, 90% of families continue fostering into a second year!