Last week I had the amazing opportunity to go to Kenya on a vision trip with Compassion International. You can read about my experience here, here, here, and here. If you’re not familiar with Compassion, they are a Christian based organization dedicated to fighting child poverty, currently in twenty-six countries.
I always thought of Compassion as a child-sponsorship program, and while that is a big part of what they do, it’s not all they do. They also have programs dedicated to child survival, leadership development, and complementary interventions.
When you put all these programs together, you see an organization that is making a huge impact in the world today. Not only are they fighting poverty, they are also seeing children and mothers come to Christ at an amazing rate.
If you currently don’t have a missions ministry at your church, or even if you do and you just want to take it further, I want to highly encourage you to consider Compassion.
Here are four reasons why:
- They Work Through the Local Church.
Compassion forms partnerships with churches that are already active in reaching children in their communities. Compassion realizes that while they come alongside and provide financial support, it’s the local church’s responsibility to disciple children and families.
- They are Focused on Bringing Up the Next Generation.
From day one, Compassion’s focus has been releasing children from spiritual, economic, social, and physical poverty. Today, they currently minister to more than 1.3 million children. They realize the best opportunity we have to introduce someone to Christ is when they are children.
- They have Financial Integrity.
I’m sure we’ve all heard stories of money that has been donated to various organizations only to find out later that a very small percentage actually went to the people who needed it. This is not the case with Compassion. Compassion is so serious about stewardship that it is mandated that eighty percent or more of their expenditures go directly to improving the lives of their sponsored children.
- They are Growing Future Leaders.
Graduates from Compassion’s Child Sponsorship Program who show exceptional potential for leadership are recruited to participate in the Leadership Development Program. This program enables students to receive a university education and Christian leadership training to help them become effective Christian leaders and make a positive difference in their communities and countries.
After spending a week experiencing all that Compassion does, there’s no doubt in my mind that they are one of the best run organizations that I have ever seen, and they are making a huge impact in the world today. I would highly encourage you to join them in their mission to eliminate poverty in the name of Jesus.
Are you currently working with Compassion? What has your experience been like? Leave a comment and let us know, and if you haven’t already, make sure to subscribe to the blog to get tips on leadership, church growth, and more delivered to your inbox each week.
