Spotlight Church: Mosaic

For many years, Mosaic Church has been a leader in loving vulnerable kids and encouraging those who are Christ-followers, to obey the scriptural mandate in James 1:27. Led by Pastor Renaut van der Riet, he regularly shares in his messages personal victories and struggles out of parenting 8 kids. The amazing part of Mosaic though, is how Mosaic members actively step into hard places- doing something about the local crisis we have here in Central Florida. Over the years, the number of families fostering and adopting has continued to grow steadily, having one of the highest number of active families loving in hard places around!Mosaic’s Adoption and Foster Care ministry has blossomed as the staff team follows the mandate God has on their own journey with Him. All working from their own personal experiences in these spaces, Pastor Gabe Forsyth, Peggy Bush and Melanie Stimmell, work hard to strengthen families.Peggy Bush, Director of Operations at Mosaic shared, “We know that about half of all foster families do not continue to foster after the first placement. However, if they are supported, they will often continue to foster for years. Being supported by a biblical community who understands God’s calling on their life to foster, is even more helpful.Mosaic has partnered with Commission 127 and is now actively creating care communities around their families. “At Mosaic, we have learned the importance of having a dedicated community of people around a family who commits to serving that family for at least a year. When you have volunteers who want to help, but they aren’t assigned to a particular family, it is harder to keep them connected and committed. It’s not intentional, but just human-nature. Building a relationship with a family makes the experience more personal and fulfilling for everyone,” Peggy said.In these times of uncertainty, it is easy to feel alone as new challenges present themselves, whether as a family or as a body of believers. “God does not intend for us to face challenges alone.” Peggy shared. “God is community, and created community, and we are made in His image, so we need community. We should encourage and support each other, let each other know when we need help, and continually pray for one another. For foster families struggling to keep their faith during these challenging times, we encourage them to let others know that they need prayer and help. It is a blessing to be able to help others, and a blessing to receive help.”Right now, Mosaic is jumping right in offer that support to the many families in their church, as well as encouraging their people to consider what God is calling them too in this season. “We encourage those who want to step into foster care to have a biblical community supporting them. That is vital for them to sustain the call to foster. We can be that support, or join other family and friends already supporting them. Through Commission 127, we now have a wonderful process of creating and maintaining that support through prayer and practical means,” says Peggy.