Around the time when Steven Curtis Chapman thought his kids' bedrooms would become guest rooms, his family suddenly needed three nurseries.

    Now, at 41 years of age, the singer adds good night hugs and under-the-bed monster checks to his nightly routine. His wife Mary Beth also finds herself doing things she didn't expect at this stage of life, like reading bedtime stories and making sure that one plus one still equals two. The Chapmans' house once again has bare feet slapping the floors, sticky fingers leaving smudges on the walls, and volumes of laundry filling the hampers. "Kid food" (the kind that comes in boxes with vignettes of superheroes and cartoon characters caught mid-adventure) crowds the cupboards. And, instead of decorative pillows and chenille throws, blankies and assorted stuffed animals add a special touch to the living room decor.

    Only God could have convinced Steven and Mary Beth to adopt three orphan girls from China and subject their house to such treatment for a second time. He began to speak to them through the prayers of their oldest daughter, Emily, who came home from a mission trip to Haiti asking for an adopted little sister. At first Steven and Mary Beth assumed it was just a phase, like the child who begs for puppy each Christmas, but loses interest in it once the pet is acquired. But two years later, Emily was still pleading with her parents to adopt.

    However, Steven and Mary Beth did not decide on adoption merely because their daughter insisted on having a little sister; their actions resulted from searching God's Word. They were confronted with the challenge of James 1:27 —"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress. . ." (NIV)

    In March of 2000, they took a flight to China to adopt a baby girl named Shaohannah Hope. From the moment of their first embrace, Shaoey brought the Chapmans abundant blessings, including the confidence and desire to adopt again. Stevey Joy joined the family in May of 2003, and Maria arrived in July of this year.

    The desire to adopt Shaoey, Stevey, and Maria (now ages 6, 3, and 1 respectively) came from Steven's love for people and a longing to see them know Christ. "The bottom line of adoption is that it is the greatest tool of evangelism God ever gave us," he says. "If you want to know that you have been a part of leading someone to an eternal relationship with their heavenly Father, you bring them into your home, you love them, you walk through every part of life with them."

    The events of the past seven years have convinced Steven that adoption is one of the most compelling pictures of the Gospel. Scripture shows us clearly how, through Christ, we are adopted into God's family as His beloved children. In Romans 8:15-17, Paul explains that we can come to the Lord and cry "Abba! Father!" because we "have received a spirit of adoption as sons." For Steven, physical adoption has provided a platform to share with others about his own spiritual adoption.

    But why would God call a couple who already had three biological children to adopt? "For us, I think it was really a response to the Gospel. It was a response to the love of God," which seems to be something Steven, a self-professed "recovering legalist," always struggled to comprehend.

    It was this love that compelled him to become involved in adoption in the first place. "We can respond to God's great love for us by doing something that is a 'visible Gospel' to the world around us." Such visible demonstration shouldn't be difficult for a performer who has sold 9 million albums and received more than 50 music awards. But Steven's intense faith pushed him outside of his comfort zone.

    He admits there were times he doubted God's direction. He wondered if it was wise to bring another baby into the family, considering the organized chaos in which they already lived and the serious depression his wife battled. "This was a big leap of faith for us, and I was scared to death," recalls Mary Beth. "Would I be able to love this child as much as my biological kids? . . . Am I not going to feel the same emotion? How am I going to deal with that?"

    But God worked in their hearts, and they were soon willing to trust Him. Steven recalls God's message to him: "I will reveal Myself to you in ways that you won't ever really experience unless you go to those places where I said you would find Me—I said you would find Me if you clothe the naked and care for orphans and widows."

    The Chapmans still marvel at how God chose to show Himself amidst the diapers and squeaky toys of three lively little girls—especially since Emily (now 18), who started the whole thing, is going to college and sons Caleb, 15, and Will Franklin, 13, are not far behind. Steven and Mary Beth call the reappearance of bottles and burp cloths "phase two" of parenting and often apologize to their older children for all the mistakes they made during phase one.

    These days, an older and wiser Steven is convinced that everyone needs to care for orphans in some way. Even the simple act of supporting a friend in prayer can be extremely effective and, in fact, crucial.

    Steven hopes that both churches and individuals will join together to rescue the world's millions of orphans from a life without Christ, one child at a time. "The miracle of adoption is that it makes us be what we are supposed to be—the body of Christ," he says. "It brings so much delight to the heart of God when He sees us working together, loving each other, encouraging each other."

    About once a month, other local families who have also adopted bring their little blessings to the singer's house just outside of Nashville. Full of boundless energy, 15-20 children spend the day laughing together and running around a barn on the Chapmans' property.

    Steven once feared adoption would overburden his family, but Shaoey, Stevey, and Maria have brought a renewed sense of purpose and joy to his home. No matter how much their house suffers the scrapes of toys dragged across the floor or spilled glue on the carpets, Steven rejoices at the thought of three more children of God one day residing in a heavenly mansion.

— Linda M. Canup

November is National Adoption Awareness Month. For more information on Shaohannah's Hope Foundation, visit www.shaohannahshope.org.