Beyond the Crisis

Tom Lukasik 4KIDS Vice President of Engagement

Have you ever thought to yourself, “Can one person really make a difference?” The answer is definitely YES! This particular story starts in the 1990’s when children in South Florida’s foster care system were suffering, being abused and some children even died within the system that was intended to keep them safe. It seemed like every day there was a news article covering another case of egregious abuse within the foster care system. In one meeting I attended in 1996, I heard that Florida was 49th in the nation in child welfare. Around that time, one woman named Irene, who was serving as a Guardian Ad Litem asked herself, “Why isn’t the Church involved?” She began knocking on doors until one church in 1997, Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, boldly believed they could be a part of ending this crisis through Christian families.

I’ll always remember the day when Calvary announced they were going to put their plans to open a private school on hold and pour those resources into foster care. My wife Linda and I were already working in child welfare and we cried tears of joy after hearing that our church would engage in this Godly work. It was then that Calvary formed Child S.H.A.R.E. to recruit and support foster families.

Meanwhile, the Stacy Foundation and other Christian leaders also had a passion to see more kids in safe, loving Christian homes. In 1999, they launched Project TeamWork 4KIDS under the leadership of Rick Englert. This was an exciting time and I was honored to soon join that team.

Project TeamWork 4KIDS’ became the first Christian foster care agency in South Florida with the vision to mobilize churches to solve the crisis. Seeing families so compassionately open their homes and embrace babies, children, teens, and sibling groups, wasn’t just changing their lives, but it was changing the lives of the community all around them.

In 2003, His Caring Place, Calvary’s Child S.H.A.R.E. and Project TeamWork 4KIDS joined forces and created 4KIDS of South Florida with Doug Sauder as the President. By coordinating efforts, 4KIDS became a unique Christian ministry with a full continuum of care.

In 2017, after a three year nationwide search, Kevin Enders, a foster and adoptive parent with 4KIDS, was named President and CEO. Kevin brought with him over 30 years of business experience to lead the ministry. Soon after, he saw the need to improve on our paradigm of hope, homes, and healing, and we expanded our clinical team to provide traumainformed mental health services and parent training for our children and families. In 2020, we launched a new prevention arm to the ministry, CarePortal, to keep children from entering foster care in the first place. God has blessed 4KIDS with people and ministry efforts that are truly effective –and our outcomes prove it! So, in 2021, we expanded to five counties in Southwest Florida and are looking to expand into Miami-Dade County soon.

I could tell you thousands of stories of miracles, as God has led us to fill gaps in an extremely difficult system. Over the last 25 years, no accomplishment or victory was too small; every bit of this work is precious to God. If you’re reading this and you’ve prayed for the children we’ve served, attended an event, given a donation, volunteered, or opened your home to a child in crisis, every single one of those things counts greatly in this work. I have had the privilege of seeing 4KIDS grow, innovate, and expand in countless ways, even beyond what I could have dreamed or imagined sitting in church that Sunday in 1997. And it always comes back to the one – I pray you would read all of these stories as a celebration for the past and inspiration for the future, as together, we keep growing beyond for kids in crisis.