James 1:27 “Religion that is pure and undefined before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from from the world.”
The moment God called my wife and I to lead His Church we knew we would work diligently to show who Abba is to the world and specifically orphans. This house adjacent to the main church building is giving us the opportunity to do this in a very practical way!
The vision of LUX House was birthed the moment we walked into 602 N. 1st Street. The previous occupants were using this single family home as office space. As I walked through each room it became very clear that this house was not fulfilling its purpose to be a home! The purpose of a home is to house people so that those people might give themselves in love and care for each other that would solidify them as a family! The Lord told me that we, as a church, would learn and meet the pertinent needs of our city, not the perceived needs. A very important pertinent need in Richmond as in most cities in our world is the caring for orphans.
LUX House will serve to care for and house foster children who are aging out of the system but have no “family” support to disciple and lead them toward their adulthood. Lux House will be a place where “family” doesn’t have to be genetically connected, it will be where a real loving family can be created with God’s love and the support from not only LUX Church but the entire community.
Here are a few statistics:
1.) 20,000 youth age out of the foster care system between the ages of 18 – 21 annually. The exact time a foster youth ages out of the system depends on where they live. Regardless, roughly 20,000 youth are forced to exit the system every year without having found a forever family, leaving them to fend for themselves.
2.) Within four years of aging out, 50% have no earnings, and those who do struggle with an average annual income of $7,500. After a foster youth ages out, homelessness and unemployment become a plaguing issue. Despite there being more than 34 million entry level jobs nationwide, many foster youth aren’t prepared to be independent and don’t have the skills or resources needed to access the opportunities that could launch them into employment and self-reliance.
We Believe:
1) All Waiting Children Have a Father. (Psalm 68:5)
2) That there are Children Who have been Orphaned Is an Injustice. (Deuteronomy 10:18)
3) The People of God Will Care for The Orphans. (James 1:27)
4) The People of God Share Their Resources With Orphans (Deuteronomy 14:29)
We need the Richmond communities' help to make this house a home, to give these kids a chance to become successful adults, to give them hope for an abundant future, and to show them God’s love and to be their family!
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