Bestselling author, pastor David Platt shares his heart about caring for orphans during Convocation

McLean Bible Church lead pastor and renowned author David Platt was Liberty University’s special guest at Wednesday’s virtual livestream Convocation, where he talked about his family’s personal connection to adoption, one of the world’s most prevalent needs.

A New York Times bestselling author, Platt was at one time the youngest megachurch pastor in America when he was hired at the age of 26 to lead the Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Ala. Platt then served as president of the International Mission Board for several years before focusing solely on pastoring his church in Northern Virginia.

Platt said that he and his family have been in a lengthy process of adoption for months now and were preparing to travel overseas to bring their little boy, J.D., home when COVID-19 travel restrictions intervened. For the past six months, the Platt family has been unable to bring J.D. to the United States.

“We’re trusting God with timing and we know that God loves him far more than we do,” Platt said. “He’s the Father to the fatherless and he’s been his Father far longer than I have.”

Platt, along with his wife and their four children, are on an indefinite pause as they await news of the adoption. He said that through this time of waiting to adopt for their third time, he and his wife have learned to lean into God’s goodness.

“There is a rest and a peace because you just know that God has been leading all this time and He’s still leading and He’s still guiding,” Platt said.

He added that the adoption process is something that involves the entire family.

“God’s doing a work in my heart, in my wife’s heart, and in (my children’s) four hearts,” he said. “But it’s been so good. We are learning to persist in prayer together, we are learning to trust God together.”

Platt said that adoption relates so well to how Christ adopted us as children of God.

“The whole beauty of the Gospel is that the bloodline of Christ transcends family lineage,” Platt said. “We are all adopted into God’s family.”

Platt was able to witness the beautiful spiritual adoption process when he and his wife were adopting their first daughter. Platt said that during the month that he and his wife spent with their daughter overseas before bringing her home, she was quite resistant to the Lord. But as the little family was preparing to travel back to the United States, she told Platt that she was committing her life to Jesus.

“That’s it,” Platt said, explaining that that is the end hope of our mission on Earth as believers in Christ. He then warned students to be cautious of only viewing the Lord as a judge and not a father as well.

“I pray that you will know and experience intimacy with God as Father,” he said. “And if that even sounds in the slightest sense foreign to you, if that feels distant to you, then I just want to encourage you in a fresh way today that God desires that for you.”

Platt said that the church should be a place where families that are adopting can go to find support, adding that not every family may be able to adopt a child but everyone can help their church body care for orphans and families in need.

“The Church is built for this—  if we’ll just step in and do it,” Platt said. “Every orphan’s greatest need is the Gospel, reconciliation with God the Father.”

Platt concluded by reminding students that Christians need to care for every life beginning at the moment of conception.

“We need to care for children at every step,” Platt said. “From in the womb to out of the womb.”

David Nasser, Senior Vice President for Spiritual Development, reminded students that they can be a part of caring for expecting mothers and their soon-to-be newborns by volunteering at the Liberty Godparent Home in Lynchburg.

During Convocation, students were also informed about this week’s Serve Expo event, taking place through Friday. The annual event aims to inspire, inform, and connect Liberty’s Community with opportunities to serve in Lynchburg through their passions, talents, and academics. For more information, visit the link above.