At Safe Families we know that the local church long to make a genuine impact in their communities and we believe that the church is Christ’s primary vehicle for community transformation. We are a faith-based charity, and our mission is to equip the church to bring hope and belonging to families who feel alone.
We believe that God wants people to be in community, to transform lives and we believe in a God who can do more than we ask or imagine.
Our mission is to see people brought into community through offering love and the gift of God’s presence.
Safe Families is a national faith-based charity who are trusted by 40 local authorities across the UK to bring love and hope to over 13,000 children and their families. We enable over 1100 churches to bring isolated, lonely people into community. Many are isolated due to illness, bereavement, disability, or trauma. We believe everyone deserves to belong and we provide a safe, supported way for the local church to reach out and help those on their doorstep. We see stepping out in faith to love our neighbour as an act of worship.
“true worship that God our Father accepts as pure and blameless is to care for widows and orphans in their distress” – James 1 v 27
Many conversations with local church leaders confirm that Safe Families have a role in serving the church to provide a safe, supported way to put Christians in touch with families who need their help. Our local team of family and volunteer managers provide advice and support, even out of hours and also free approved, accessible training with further free optional training in subjects such as trauma -informed practice, financial capability, and therapeutic parenting. In essence whilst many mission opportunities involve trying to make connections in the community, we offer the opportunity to connect with families who want community and support. We take care of all of the safety aspects and the church does what it is best at – providing love and friendship. We are here to serve the church and we love to champion and celebrate everything you are doing with gifts, celebration events, social events and to join with you in prayer for the families.
In the West Midlands Safe Families is currently equipping over 100 churches to bring hope to over 150 families. Every week we see lives transformed by Christ’s love in action.
Lives like that of a mum with two small children who had been rehomed having escaped an abusive relationship. We put her in touch with her connect friend who supported her on the phone and built her confidence. We found out that she was not able to let her children play outside as she had no fence and the neighbours had aggressive dogs. Safe Families resource friends spent a couple of hours blessing this mum by making her garden safe. This witness led the mum to ask us to put her in touch with a local church as she wanted to experience the same love she was being shown. This family are now part of this local church community.
We have three ways that leaders can encourage their church to get involved. We believe in the power of prayer and we love people to commit to praying by becoming prayer partners. There are no costs involved in getting involved but as we are a charity, we are hugely grateful to supporters who give either financially or by providing items that often our families need.
Finally, people can offer hope and belonging through befriending. There is no regular commitment required – even an hour a year can make a huge difference. Volunteers receive emails about local needs and respond as they feel led. Often a few volunteers support one family. Family friends offer support to families in the same way you might care for a member of the church who was struggling. Perhaps by offering some phone support or practical help with DIY, form filling or gardening.
Video Stories
Films – here are links – from church leaders...
and one story from a family...
Interview with a Vineyard Church in Birmingham recently...
We long to see more lives transformed by the power of God’s love and we would love your church to be a part of that vision. Thank you for taking the time to find out about Safe Families.
If you would like to talk more about our training or partnering with us, please contact Helen Hoarle 07387417210 helenhoarle@safefamilies.uk
