What Can Students Do Practically
For more than 15 years, Show Hope has equipped and mobilized more than 23,500 students on college campuses, in middle and high school classrooms, and through youth ministries at churches across the U.S.
Show Hope Co-founder Steven Curtis Chapman once said, “We’ve all heard it said, ‘Students are the leaders of tomorrow,’ or ‘Children are the Church of tomorrow.’ But what we have experienced firsthand is that students can actually be the leaders or change-agents of today.”
As a student, you may find it difficult to find what you can do practically to serve children and families impacted by adoption and foster care, so we’re giving you a few ideas. Below are a few ways that you can serve children and families in your home and your church community.
One of the easiest and most practical ways that you can serve children and families is to pray for them. You can do this in your own quiet time, or encourage your parents to begin praying for these needs as a family, perhaps at dinnertime. Pray for specific families in your church, or you can use our guide for how you can join Show Hope in prayer.
If your church already has an adoption and foster care ministry, find out ways that you or your youth group can serve. If your church does not have an adoption and foster care ministry, you can reach out directly to adoptive and foster families to ask them how you can serve them. A few ideas include offering to help with lawn care, baby-sitting, or even providing a meal.
As a youth group, consider hosting a fundraiser (or several) to help families fund their adoption, or donate the money to your local DCS or adoption agency. You might even consider hosting a fundraiser for Show Hope.
As a family, youth group, or friend group, you can also participate in Show Hope’s Pause Campaign! Pause Campaign is a seven-day break from social media where students dive into a devotional, designed to educate them on the needs of orphans. More than that, though, Pause Campaign mobilizes students to act and make an impact—today—in the lives of waiting children. Join with students from all over the globe during Global Pause week, November 2-8, 2025.
