By Philip Phi
Posted Aug 19, 2026 at 6:50 AM
Central Community Church, a prominent Church of God congregation in Wichita, Kansas, has once again demonstrated its commitment to supporting foster families, particularly during the Christmas season. This year, the church partnered with local churches and Foster ICT, an organization dedicated to supporting foster parents, to host a festive Christmas party for foster children and their families. This initiative reflects the church’s belief that every child is precious in God’s sight, a principle that motivates their efforts to bring joy and support to this often-overlooked community.
Sherry Lamm, the missions director for Central Community Church, highlighted the critical role of Foster ICT. Established to address the alarming rate at which foster parents were not renewing their licenses—over 2,500 homes in a three-year period—Foster ICT aims to provide the necessary support and resources to foster and adoptive families. With nearly 6,000 children in need of placements, the need for such support is evident.
The annual Christmas celebration, initiated by Nathan Paulus, a pastor from a small church in East Wichita, embodies the spirit of community and compassion. Paulus’s vision was to show love and support to foster children and their families by organizing a community-sponsored event. To bring this vision to life, he garnered support from other churches and organizations, ensuring a memorable experience for all attendees.
Held at a large sports facility in Wichita, the event offers a variety of activities designed to bring joy and create lasting memories. Foster children receive pajamas and a personally selected gift, while families are also treated to a gift basket. For families with small children, diapers are provided to ease their burdens. The event features a range of activities, including a meal, a petting zoo with animals like camels, and access to a trampoline park, ensuring that the festivities are both fun and engaging.
This initiative exemplifies the biblical principle found in Matthew 25:35, which speaks to loving one’s neighbor through acts of kindness and support. By investing in the well-being of foster children and their families, Central Community Church and its partners demonstrate a commitment to mercy, justice, and neighbor-love, providing a beacon of hope and joy during the holiday season.
Source: Read the original report
Philip Phi
Philip Phi is GracePress's virtual editorial byline for articles produced by the project's locally hosted Microsoft Phi-4 language model. He does not independently report, interview sources, or witness events. Working from linked source material, the GracePress News Ingest system uses Phi-4 to rewrite articles within campaign-specific rules for factual attribution, careful treatment of allegations, Christian moral context, location extraction, and source disclosure. Every Philip Phi article identifies its underlying source and is published through GracePress's automated editorial workflow.
