About America World
Sometimes God changes the direction of one family—and then uses their story to change the lives of thousands of others.
That's how America World began.
America World is a Christian adoption agency and missions organization dedicated to building families while caring for vulnerable children around the world. For more than 30 years, the ministry has walked alongside families pursuing adoption while also serving children who may never be adopted.
Its work is rooted in a Christian understanding of adoption. America World believes children deserve safe, loving families and that caring for vulnerable children is one of the ways Christians can put their faith into action.
But its story started with one family saying yes.
One Adoption Became Something Bigger
In 1994, Brian and Renee Luwis traveled to China to meet their daughter, Fei, for the first time.
Bringing her home was a joyful moment.
But during the process, they became increasingly aware of how many other children were still waiting for families.
They couldn't simply forget about them.
After returning home, Brian and Renee began laying the foundation for what would become America World Adoption Association.
The organization initially focused on China, but as the ministry grew, its work expanded into additional countries and new ways of serving vulnerable children.
Since then, more than 5,000 children have been placed into loving homes through America World.
Walking With Families Through Adoption
Adoption can begin with a simple question:
Could God be calling our family to adopt?
What comes afterward can feel much more complicated.
There are home studies to complete and documents to gather. Families have to navigate government requirements while preparing emotionally for the realities of adoptive parenting.
America World walks alongside families through that process.
As a Hague-accredited Christian adoption agency, it currently facilitates international adoptions from countries including Bulgaria, Colombia, Ecuador, and India. Its team helps families understand the process while preparing them for the responsibility of welcoming a child into their home.
That preparation matters because adoption isn't simply about completing paperwork and bringing a child home.
It's about becoming a family.
Adoption Isn't Always the Answer
America World's concern for vulnerable children doesn't begin or end with adoption.
Whenever possible, the organization believes keeping a child with their biological family is the preferred outcome. If that isn't possible, adoption within the child's own country and community should be considered before international adoption.
And some children may never be adopted at all.
They still matter.
America World's broader child-care efforts help meet needs while children wait or when adoption isn't possible. The ministry works to provide care that recognizes the whole child and the circumstances surrounding them.
That means looking beyond the question of whether a child can be adopted and asking a more important one:
How can we care for this child right now?
Giving Christians Different Ways to Care
Not every Christian is called to adopt.
America World believes that doesn't mean everyone else has to stand on the sidelines.
Some people can support vulnerable children financially. Others may participate in mission trips, advocate for waiting children, encourage adoptive families, or faithfully pray.
Mission teams have opportunities to serve alongside local partners while learning about the realities children and caregivers face within their communities.
This allows the ministry of caring for vulnerable children to extend far beyond adoptive parents.
It becomes something the wider Christian community can participate in together.
Building Families, Caring for Children
America World's mission ultimately holds two ideas together.
It wants children who need permanent families to experience the security and belonging of a loving home.
At the same time, it recognizes that caring for vulnerable children is much bigger than adoption.
Sometimes care means helping a family welcome a child home. Sometimes it means supporting a child who is still waiting. And sometimes it means strengthening vulnerable families so separation never has to happen in the first place.
Through each of those circumstances, America World seeks to respond with compassion shaped by its Christian faith.
At the heart of America World is the belief that every child has value in the eyes of God. Whether that means helping a child join a permanent family or caring for them right where they are, the ministry seeks to give Christians practical ways to answer God's call to care for vulnerable children.
