At TFI, we’re passionate about seeing local churches engage with their foster care community. And we’re passionate about listening and learning from foster care agencies about the needs of this community. Church and agency. Listening and learning. These are foundations for us as we think about ministries. But, we’re also passionate about something else—something else that makes all of this sustainable. The thing that allows a ministry to dive deeper, to expand, to do more. It offers greater joy in the journey. The thing that leaders desire.

A Team.

A community of people who walk alongside the leader and are in this work with them. A group that shares the passion and wants to see the work of the ministry multiplied. A group that can share the responsibility of providing direction to the ministry.

You have now stepped into this role! You’ve said yes to supporting your TFI Advocate and walking with them in this journey. You’re a TFI Coordinator!

How TFI Advocates and  Coordinators work together.

Each team member has a unique role. What a TFI Advocate does looks different than what a TFI Coordinator does. Both roles are valuable and needed. They support one another. They are committed to the same over-arching goal. And yet, they each have their own area of focus.

In the next three sections we will walk through three areas of responsibility of the leadership team and how this Advocate-Coordinator dynamic plays itself out.

The leadership team believes in the vision of a thriving ministry. They want to see the church connected to the agency. Each person on the leadership team enters with their own conviction and commitment to that goal. They are passionate about this work. But with passion, you need direction. This is where the two roles begin to complement one another.

The Advocate determines the strategy.

The Coordinator shares and refines ideas.

How will your ministry accomplish its goal? What are your next steps toward reaching the vision? There are numerous options you could pursue as a ministry. The Advocate sets the direction for how you are going to move closer toward becoming a thriving ministry.

But the Advocate isn’t leading alone in chasing the vision. The Coordinator shares and refines ideas. Watch this short video for more on this.

Both build meaningful relationships.
The Advocate invests in leaders.
The Coordinator crafts the experience.

An Advocate connects with a leader or a leadership team from a local church or churches. They listen and learn about the church, its culture, and how they can help the church reach its own foster care community.

An Advocate connects with a leader from a foster care agency. They listen and learn about the agency, its culture, and how they can help the agency care for its staff and clients.

And they connect with volunteers who desire to do more, to use their gifts in deeper ways—those interested in pursuing the Coordinator role.

Watch the video to learn more about how the Coordinators craft the experience.

Both grow the culture.
The Advocate models the standard.
The Coordinator exudes hope.

We talk about culture a lot here at TFI. It starts with our beliefs and vision and includes our values and behaviors. The way culture actually takes root in local ministry is through its leaders, starting first with the Advocate. Advocates set the standard. What they talk about and practice is what grows in local ministry. You’ve probably seen—whether it’s in your TFI ministry, your church, or a workplace setting, what your leader does and says matters. An Advocate must be setting the example by putting Jesus first, showing that they are really here for the church and that they care about people. Advocates must be willing to play on team and honor their commitments. They don’t have to have all of the answers, but they must choose joy and live with hope. All of that matters.

So yes, an Advocate thinks about strategy and how to achieve goals, AND they prioritize soul care and healthy rhythms as a ministry.

Coordinators have a role in this too. The Coordinator exudes hope.

Watch the video to learn more about how this happens.

We’ve just laid out broad categories for you. How each Advocate-Coordinator dynamic plays out will be different. This is your turn to talk through what it could look like for you locally.

Before you go there, listen in on how one Advocate-Coordinator combo is navigating the conversation. In this interview, Advocate Cherith Craft and Coordinator Tiffany have a conversation with Sarah about what led them to work together. Cherith shares her journey from skepticism to excitement about the benefits of bringing on a coordinator. From being in a place where she earnestly needed and desired support and help.