From the Vault: What is the River? (feat. Jason Johnson, CAFO)
May is National Foster Care Awareness Month! During this month, we’re not only raising awareness about foster care, but we are also celebrating the beautiful work of collaboration in this space. (Watch our new “As One” documentary series here for some incredible stories about the work happening in our city.) With this focus, we are revisiting the very first episode we shared on The Riverside Project Podcast.
In this conversation, Jason Johnson joined us to break down the parable of the River and how it relates to issues facing Houston’s child and family welfare system. Foster care isn’t an isolated problem but is connected to many other social issues affecting our city. How does this reality change the way we work together to transform foster care in our communities? We also discussed the power (and the challenge) of collaboration, the role of the Church in caring for vulnerable families, and how you can find your place along the River.
Jason is a speaker, writer, former pastor, church planter, and foster parent. He is also the Director of Church Mobilization and Engagement with Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO).
This is an important conversation to revisit this month!
You can also find this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and more.
Key Takeaways
- Everyone can do something. No matter your experiences, skills, and passions, there is something each of us can be doing to make a difference along the River.
- We can no longer work in silos. If we know this is a complex issue, then the solution must include collaboration and connection. Foster care is not an isolated problem. The various systemic issues affecting children and families are interconnected (issues such as poverty, homelessness, addiction, incarceration, human trafficking, etc.). To create real, lasting change, the solution must come through collaborative efforts.
- We have to be willing to go to hard places. Part of coming alongside families and vulnerable children may require that we get out of our comfort zone. We may think that this work involves pulling a child out of a hard place and into our good place, but more often than not it requires us to be willing to go to the hard place and stay there.
Resources
- (BOOK) Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen
- What is the River?
- Learn more about Jason Johnson on his website, Facebook, or Instagram.
Meet the Guest
Jason Johnson is a speaker, writer, former pastor, and church planter. He is also the Director of Church Mobilization and Engagement with Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO). In 2012, Jason and his wife, Emily, became foster parents. Today, he speaks and teaches at churches, conferences, forums, and workshops on church-based ministry strategies and best practices as well as encouraging families that are in the trenches and those that are considering getting involved in the foster care community.
