Roger Cooke and Tash McBride share updates, encouragement and prayer points related to Home for Good’s work across Northern Ireland.

A Promise Of Hope

It was great to see so many churches across Northern Ireland making use of our Christmas Resource in December. We loved that one of the stories of hope was from our own Champion extraordinaire, Isobel Bingham: it’s always lovely to hear a Northern Ireland accent on our videos! The fundraising element of the Christmas campaign brought in over £40,000 but we’ve also heard lots of stories from those who used or engaged with the material, including this message…

"I was in Northern Ireland with my parents over Christmas. I had asked for prayer from a number of my friends in England as I was going to bring up the idea of me fostering with parents over Christmas. I went to their church on Christmas eve – Hamilton Road Presbyterian in Bangor. The church showed a Home for Good video as part of their service. This gave me the perfect opportunity to discuss my plans with parents, and also able to mention doing the foundations course with yourselves. I have signed up for another information session to learn more about fostering."

Building trust

As has been mentioned in previous updates from Northern Ireland, Home for Good enjoys a very positive working relationship with all five Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland. As part of this, Roger and Tash have the privilege of participating with leaders from all five trusts in the NI-wide fostering recruitment working group. It’s been great to see trust built and opportunities developed as we seek new ways to engage the Church in foster care. Please do pray for these strategic relationships, particularly with the Southern Trust with whom we partner closely.

Back on the road

Over the past couple of months, Roger and Tash have been out and about, meeting with volunteers, speaking in churches and exploring opportunities to grow Home for Good’s reach and impact across Northern Ireland. As part of that, we’ve decided to hit the road again for a series of local events to inspire individuals and churches. We’re planning to host six events between March and June.

The series kicks off with an event in Armagh on Monday 11th March – taking place at Vibe church. If you live in or near Armagh, we’d love you to come along and invite others to join you for an evening of stories, inspiration and connection. Find out more about the Armagh event

Facebook it

A quick reminder – we have a private Home for Good NI Facebook group. We’d love to see this group grow in numbers and in the sharing of updates, encouragements and prayer requests. If you are on Facebook (or could be persuaded to reconnect) – find us by clicking the link above.

One year on

It’s just over a year since Tash McBride, our Northern Ireland Coordinator, joined the Home for Good team and we’ve asked her to share some of highlights and encouragements, one year on…

"One year, what a year! The last 12 months have been so full that it feels fitting to take stock and share a little of that with you. 

As the work of Home for Good continues to grow in Northern Ireland it becomes increasingly apparent that the Church has a crucial role to play, and this excites me. I love connecting with local churches - with leaders and individuals who want to make a difference and who choose to journey with us to bring about transformational change. I’m especially thankful for the opportunities we’ve had to share our vision for finding and sustaining homes at churches and larger events such as NUA, Wondrous, Methodist Camp, United Festival, Hope Ireland and Tobar.

A significant highlight is our ongoing partnership with the Southern Trust. From Fostering Comes to Town to Country Comes to Town, it has been a joy to come alongside our friends and colleagues in widening our reach and inviting others to consider opening their homes to fostering, adoption or supported lodgings. It's been an honour to work together with the various teams within the Southern Trust, finding ways to inspire and support new and existing carers. We have had numerous church engagements which range from speaking in Sunday services and mid-week gatherings, to attending and sharing at carers breakfasts and seminar inputs at larger conferences. More and more churches are engaging more deeply; new people are signing up to volunteer with us and support groups are emerging across the area. I look forward to what's to come from our collaboration with the Southern Trust.

Looking back there have been many moments of gratitude and celebration. One being the generous giving over Summer 2023. Jonny's Road to Rome involved him cycling from Belfast to Rome to raise funds and profile the work of Home for Good. Then there was Hannah, who instead of walking 18 miles over the summer for our Walk With Me campaign, chose to go a few steps further and walk 18 miles a day. There are scores of stories from this past year, known and untold, of individuals and churches who have invested in our work financially - and at times it’s simply blown me away.

Our Home for Good roadshows and NI Summit are personal standouts of 2023. Getting to widen our reach across our little nation was amazing, so good in fact that we plan to do it again this year - stay tuned. Holding a NI Summit, a coming together to tell a better story, one of hope, felt timely and boy did we love it.

It's easy to say that I am very excited about this year and the activity that is to come. I hope you will continue to be part of it."

What can I be praying for?

Please continue to pray with us as we work together to find and sustain a family home for every child who needs one in Northern Ireland. 

• Give thanks for the positive stories and opportunities that have emerged from our Christmas campaign and our engagement with churches across Northern Ireland. Pray that God would produce fruit from these seeds.
• Pray for our partnership with the Southern HSC Trust and for more homes to be found in the area as a result of Tash’s work with churches and volunteers. Pray that God would bless Home for Good’s relationship with all five trusts and for increasingly positive connections with churches.
• Give thanks for Tash’s first year with Home for Good and pray for her and for Roger as they continue to seek ways to widen the reach and deepen the impact of Home for Good’s work in Northern Ireland.
• Pray for the upcoming roadshow series, that many people will come along and will be inspired and encouraged by what they hear
• Continue to pray for foster, adoption and supported lodgings families within the Home for Good network in Northern Ireland – and for the wider network of support and care. Pray that more children will find the safety and security they need.

Check out our prayer resource, Let’s pray, for additional thoughts, inspiration and points to guide your prayers.

Are there any events happening soon that I can attend?

Head over to our Northern Ireland page to find out what is happening in the area.

Take me there

How do I get in touch with a member of the Home for Good team in Northern Ireland?

Tasha or Roger would love to hear from you. You can email them via the links below:

Roger Cooke – NI & Nations Lead

Tasha McBride – NI Coordinator