We believe that every child deserves to feel
safe and loved.
Our Mission
The Restore Network was created to help the church respond. We link arms with those on the front lines of foster care through long-standing partnerships with child welfare agencies and court staff. But, as a privately run organization, we can remain agile in our response to the foster-care crisis, allowing us to respond in realtime, as Christ would.
Goodness
As we engage the foster care crisis, we remember that every person is created in the image of God. Therefore, each person has goodness, dignity, and humanity within them — each wounded foster child, each struggling birth parent, each broken family. Because we value life, we value each life. Every life has incredible value because of God.
Honesty:
We face the world as it is. God created this world good, but it has all been tainted by sin — by what we’ve done, by what’s been done to us, and by the brokenness that has taken hold of creation. Sin has the ability to destroy life through a vicious cycle of personal tragedy and failure, which is often seen in the “cycle of foster care.” By serving the foster care sphere, we are honored to link arms with birth parents who have likely suffered abuse, neglect or abandonment themselves, leaving them without the necessary resources to parent well. We are lights for Christ in this cycle of hurt brought on by our fallen world.
Love:
We put away the pointing finger (Isaiah 58:9) and put on love. Love heals what is broken and restores God’s goodness in each life. We love because God first loved us. We serve a Savior who showed us compassion when we were lost and without hope. He did not save us from far away, but drew near and made His dwelling among us (John 1:14). Our love for birth families is rooted in the compassion that Christ showed us. Henri Nouwen reminded us that compassion means “to suffer with”: “Compassion asks us to go where it hurts, to enter into places of pain, to share in brokenness, fear, confusion, and anguish. Compassion challenges us to cry out with those in misery, to mourn with those who are lonely, to weep with those in tears, to be weak with the weak, vulnerable with the vulnerable, and powerless with the powerless. Compassion means full immersion in the condition of being human.”
Church:
We love the church. We are convinced that God longs to bring healing and restoration to families through the body of Christ. God designed children to grow up in healthy families, but when families are in crisis, God wants to heal them through the church. No other community on earth has the privilege and the power to stand between what is and what shall be in the world. The church is the sign pointing to new creation, the foretaste of what it will be like when all is restored and an instrument by which God restores goodness in the world right now. We work with God to love and to heal, and we rejoice with God when families are restored.
Family:
We see family as a haven and refuge not only from the world but also for the world. Family is not an impermeable sanctuary that one must be born into but, instead, is a hospitable people who share a readiness to welcome others home. Children who have been harmed in relationship will only find healing in relationship. Therefore, families are the primary way to bring healing to vulnerable children.
Support:
We believe that every Christian and every church can participate in caring for the vulnerable. James 1:27 says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” While we are all called to care for the vulnerable, those callings will be different: some will foster, some will adopt, and–just as importantly–some will support. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul calls the church “the body of Christ” in order to make a comparison to a human body. Just as the parts of our bodies must work together, so all believers and all communities of believers must use their diverse, God-given gifts to minister to the vulnerable. Some are called to foster, some are called to adopt and some are called to support, but we are all called.
Commitment:
We are committed to pursuing God’s restoration in the lives of the children we serve. Trauma affects everyone in tremendous ways, and healing is not quick. We enter the journey with realistic expectations, which means we prepare ourselves for a difficult and uncertain journey for the sake of the child. We are committed to being learners for how to parent children from hard places, and we will ask for support and resources during times of crisis.
Scripture:
The Bible is the inspired and infallible instrument for God’s authority being exercised in the world. We submit ourselves to the Spirit’s voice addressing us through scripture to correct error, heal brokenness, reveal God’s plan for restoration and release us for service to the world.
We put
Children
first
We have an unwavering, non‑negotiable commitment to what’s best for each child.
We love
Jesus
The Restore Network is faith-based, but we welcome all to help solve the problem.
We are an
Open Book
Organization-wide financial reports are always available upon request.
See the transformation.
Check out our blog for stories of people, like you, who have impacted the trajectory of kids’ lives for good.
Our Executive Team
The foster care crisis seems overwhelming. So overwhelming, in fact, that – no matter how heartbreaking – it can feel intimidating to act. Surely someone better equipped will respond. We felt that way too, at first.
We took a risk, opened our homes, and now invite you to join us to play your part.
Jordan Bird
Executive Director
As a Southern Illinois native, Jordan has been in ministry for many years. However, it wasn’t until he, along with his wife Riley, began intentionally seeking to engage in relational ministry that they were confronted with the overwhelming need of vulnerable children in the area. They knew immediately that both their family and church had to respond, and they have been all in with Restore Network ever since. As a foster family, they’ve seen a beautiful reunification of one of their kiddos to their biological parents, they’ve adopted a kiddo into their family, and they’re still fostering. Their church also mobilized to launch Restore Network in Williamson County! As a foster dad who gets called for more kids than their family can say yes to, he feels the urgency and is eager to help God’s people in churches all around our state respond to the call to be a light in the darkness.
Ashley Bennett
abennett@therestorenetwork.org
Director of Trauma-Informed Care
Ashley has a Master of Social Work degree from St. Louis University and, since 2007, has worked with foster and adoptive parents, before becoming a foster parent herself in 2014. In 2019, Ashley became a Trust-Based Relational Intervention Practitioner and uses her education and training in trauma-based parenting to equip staff and foster parents within the Restore Network to facilitate healing for the children we serve. Ashley is also the proud parent of three boys that were placed with her through foster care.
Taylor Sunderland
tsunderland@therestorenetwork.org
Development Director
Taylor is a charismatic and passionate individual, with a heartfelt commitment to making a difference in the lives of children and teens. As a mom of three energetic boys, she understands the importance of providing a nurturing and supportive environment for young people to grow and thrive. For six rewarding years, Taylor had the privilege of working alongside her husband, who served as a youth pastor in the community. This experience fueled her passion for working with young people and helping them navigate the unique challenges they face during their formative years. In addition to her work with youth, Taylor has also dedicated herself to advocating for children and families in need. She spent three impactful years working for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), where she saw firsthand the challenges and opportunities that exist within the foster care system. We are excited to utilize her skills, experience, and enthusiasm to an organization that is dedicated to changing the culture of foster care and making a positive impact on the lives of children and families in need.
Victoria Haney
Director of Youth Initiative
Working in her community as a pediatric nurse, serving children and youth ministry in the local church, and becoming foster parents, Victoria sees the value in people. She has spent several years dedicated to learning all she can about trauma and the effects it has on our children and families. She and her husband have 3 precious kids that have come to them through foster care. As the director of Youth initiative, she takes her love for people and her passion for trauma informed care to raise awareness and meet a huge need in our community – caring for the older child from foster care.
Cristalle Turner
Lead Director
As Lead Director, Cristalle seeks to provide cohesion and support to the County Directors serving across all 11 Restore counties. Cristalle and her husband were foster parents for 11 years and adopted 3 children, making them a family of 8! Most recently, Cristalle has served with The Restore Network as the Madison County Director and has counted it a privilege to walk alongside families as they navigate the beauty and brokenness of their fostering stories. Cristalle is passionate about discovering hope in the journey, celebrating everyday moments and clinging to the truth that God is making all things new.
Liz Sanders
lsanders@therestorenetwork.org
Lead Coordinator
Serving as Lead Coordinator, Liz walks alongside the 6 County Coordinators to provide support and a sense of unity. Prior to serving as Lead Coordinator, Liz was the St Clair County Coordinator for The Restore Network, serving local families through event planning, and supporting the incredible team of St Clair volunteers. During her teenage years, Liz came alongside a mama friend in crisis to provide support for her and her infant son. God used this experience to plant the seed of foster care and adoption in her heart, which grew over the years into a passion for serving vulnerable children in the community. After officially licensing as a foster family in 2020, Liz and her husband, Jim, have welcomed 3 kiddos into their home. Liz feels truly blessed to have been called into this ministry, as God has walked alongside their family through the beauty and the brokenness of foster care. Their current family of 5 spend their free time hiking, camping and enjoying this beautiful season of life.
Our Board of Directors
The board is made up volunteer members with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
Chris Smith
Chair | Emmanuel Free Methodist Church
Cheryl Hale
Vice Chair | Retired, OSF Healthcare Medical Group
Tim Carter
Treasurer | Midwest Members Credit Union
Steve Campbell
Secretary | Retired, Lewis & Clark Community College
Ben Winner
Chick-Fil-A
Chad Flannery
The Journey SI Church
Allen Holtsford
Robbins-Gioia LLC
Bobbie Aden
Retired, The Boeing Co.
Shayne Robinson
Redeemer Church
Lisa Myers
Kruckeberg OPS LLC
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Kimberly Brockmeier
Express Scripts
Kyle Triplett
Southern Illinois Healthcare
Use this guide as you pray about your response:
8 Ways Your Family Can End the Foster Care Crisis
(…whether you become a foster family or not).