On Nov. 10, churches around Mississippi will stand with the Christian Alliance for Orphans to pray for orphans in need.

Bobby McKay, pastor of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, said it’s essential that churches follow the biblical mandate to care for widows and orphans.

“Sometimes they are the forgotten ones, and we want to be a force of the forgotten ones,” he said. “That’s a small way we can do that.”

According to the Zacchaeus’ Tree Orphan and Adoption Ministry in Brandon, 39,000 children age out of the system they are in without a family or home, and many of them are far more vulnerable to human trafficking than other children.

“It is estimated globally that there are (more than) 15 million orphans who have lost both of their parents due to death, and countless others on the streets due to abandonment,” the ministry said.

The adoption ministry holds an Orphan Sunday campaign on the second Sunday every November. Over 235 churches in Mississippi will participate, including six in Lincoln County, nine in Copiah County, four in Lawrence County and two in Franklin County.

Chris Gray, the regional coordinator for Christian Alliance for Orphans and Executive Director of the adoption ministry, has adopted two children with his wife Andrea. According to Church of the Way Pastor David Fortenberry, he also speaks to local churches from time-to-time encouraging them to support orphan relief work.

“Any church or organization that would like to be a part of this year’s Orphan Sunday campaign is more than welcome to join,” Gray said. Churches can visit www.orphansunday.org to find material on ways people can pitch in with orphan relief organizations.

Churches that would like to participate in Orphan Sunday can contact gray at ZacchaeusTreeAdoptionMinistry@yahoo.com.