Crowded Table equips local churches to provide practical support to Davidson County foster families and their caseworkers, in order to increase and sustain the network of people who care for foster children in Middle Tennessee.

In 2019, Sara and her husband Adam said yes to three foster children for one weekend. Eighteen months, two Christmases and one pandemic later,  a permanent placement was finally found and the kids moved out. During that long weekend, those foster kids learned to ride bikes and tie their shoes. They went to their first movie theater. They attended school for the longest consecutive period in their lives. And the eldest got a job that paid more than he thought possible. Even though Adam and Sara had not planned on caring for two teenage boys and their little sister for 18 months and even though they had a revolving door of caseworkers from the Department of Children Services, today those three kids are experiencing success. 

How did it happen? Short answer: the faith community.

Nashville churches as well as family, friends, and neighbors brought meals, donated bikes, connected them to therapists and foster care support organizations, fundraised for counseling, and provided mentoring. One friend sent snacks from Costco on a monthly basis for over a year! Were it not for the sustained, tangible support of the community, they would certainly have burned out. At some point in those 18 months, they started to wonder: 

What if every foster family in Nashville had a community of support like ours?  

What if every church in Nashville was paired with one foster family to provide sustaining support and encouragement? 

And, just like that, the seeds of Crowded Table were planted.

Today, those three kids are doing well. Their successes happened because of the way the Body of Christ surrounded the DeVries family with a constellation of tangible care and encouraging relationships. When congregations in Nashville are equipped and mobilized to support foster families and caseworkers, this success story can become the norm. There are more than enough churches in Nashville to support all of Davidson County’s foster families. In the words of Jesus, “the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” Crowded Table intends to connect the generosity and compassion of the Church with the needs of the foster care community in our city. Thank you in advance for any ways that you might choose to be a part of it.