The title of this post scares me. I love all of God’s children, but the thought of a room full of teenagers makes me a little nervous. The exception will be this Wednesday night when I travel deep in the heart of Texas for the start of the Hawk Nelson “Green T” Tour. Compassion has partnered with artists for 30 years and in that time almost 200,000 sponsors have been found in the seats of concert venues all over the United States.
My job with Compassion is to build relationships with artists and partner with them when they are out on the road. I love the fact that on my Compassion roster is one of the legends of Christian music, Dallas Holm, and young bands like Hawk Nelson. The common thread between the two is the calling to be an advocate for children throughout the world and a belief that we are called to partner together to release these children from poverty.
One of the great joys of my job is traveling to different parts of the world with these artists so they can see “first hand” the ministry of Compassion.
In January, I took Daniel from Hawk Nelson to Haiti where he met his Compassion sponsor child, Franchioux. Daniel immediately connected with the boy he only knew through letters and pictures and outfitted him with a “Hawk Nelson is My Friend” t shirt written in Hatian Creole for the occasion.
This trip encouraged and inspired Daniel to stand up in 36 different cities for the next two months in front of 2,000 screaming teenagers, parents, and youth leaders and tell them about this 8-year-old boy in Haiti that hears about Jesus every week, is doing well in school, has the right nutrition and medical care, and believes that one day he can be an engineer so he can build better roads in his community. Daniel will stand up each night and invite those 2,000 screaming teenagers to take a stand and join him in the fight against poverty.
Brian Seay is an artist relations manager for Compassion, working with musicians and bands who advocate for Compassion and children in poverty. He was one of the bloggers on the Uganda blog trip.
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I think it is sooo awesome that Daniel has a sponsor-child. It really encourages others to join Compassion. My parents sponsor a Compassion child named Alison.
Does anyone have a Hawk Nelson Green T Shirt that they would be willing to sell? Willing to buy at a premium but must have by May 3 in Indiana. Will pay for overnight shipping. This is for a good cause and am also willing to make a donation to Compassion International or any designated charity once we receive the shirt. Will provide documentation of donation. Again, this is for a good cause.
LOVE this! I have a heart for Haiti and the people here so it’s awesome to see what others are doing in this country!
Is there any way I can purchase one of those tshirts?
Hawk Nelson is coming to NJ in April and I volunteered to staff the Compassion table.
I also took the liberty of contacting the pastor of the church and introduced myself.
Long Story short, we’re going to have a Compassion Sunday presentation at the church one Sunday after the concert in April
God is so good.
This is so awesome. Hawk Nelson definitely has the young band status to go out and be a witness of this program to the young people that will soon be able to make their own choices about finances or are already there and need a push.
Plus, I’m digging the Hawk Nelson is my friend shirt. Pretty sweet.
-bryan
I LOVE Hawk Nelson and was so encouraged to see that one of their band members is a sponsor. God bless the upcoming tour!