Wess Stafford could be a rising star among evangelical leaders, filling his days with speaking engagements and guest appearances on TV talk shows.

He could be driving a luxury car, living in a mansion and coasting on his achievements as CEO and president of Colorado Springs-based Compassion International.

He wants none of it.

His life is all about helping poverty-stricken kids in the world through the faith-based organization he’s run for 16 years.

“I think I got this job because I care more than anybody else,” Stafford says.

Read the rest of the article at the gazette.com, as well as some edited excerpts from the interview.

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Edouard Lassegue is the Vice President of our Central America and Caribbean Region. He talks about our efforts to stem the food crisis in Guatemala.

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Phil Fleischman of Prime Time America interviewed Rachel Wolf, World Vision’s Communications Director for International News, and our own Mark Hanlon, Senior Vice President of the USA Group.

The eight-minute segment aired on Moody Radio on July 31.

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When it comes to achievement, repeats are impressive. Three-peats are utterly amazing. Any ideas on what we call an eight-peat?

In the world of charities, this translates to “exceptional.” For eight consecutive years, we have been awarded Charity Navigator’s highest rating – four stars – for responsible financial management.

But who is Charity Navigator?

Evaluating more than 5,400 charities each year, Charity Navigator is the largest independent evaluator of charities in the nation. Ken Berger, president and CEO of Charity Navigator, describes our achievement:

“Only 1 percent of the charities we rate have received at least eight consecutive four-star evaluations, indicating that Compassion International consistently executes its mission in a fiscally responsible way and outperforms most other charities in America. This ‘exceptional’ designation from Charity Navigator differentiates Compassion International from its peers and demonstrates to the public it is worthy of their trust.”

This coveted designation is particularly important today as charitable giving is down across the nation. In these tough economic times, everyone is looking for ways to stretch the dollar, and that includes charitable dollars.

For Compassion, though, fiscal responsibility is only part of the charitable equation.

As you know, we work tirelessly to bring hope to one needy child, where once only hopelessness existed. We do this more than 1 million times each day, but in unique and personal ways.

This is our calling and our passion: to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. We do this while staying committed to our cornerstone practice of financial stewardship.

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This is the byline on a recent op-ed piece in The Miami Herald:
“Edouard Lassegue is the Vice President of the Latin America and Caribbean Region at Compassion International, the world’s largest Christian child development organization.”

And this is why Edouard says we should care about what is happening in Honduras:

Poverty in Central American countries is the foundation for all other social justice issues. Honduras maintains an unemployment rate of 28 percent, and two-thirds of its citizens live below the poverty line. The instability the country is currently experiencing is not rooted in politics — it is social. It is hopelessness and destitution.

When Central American economies fail to produce opportunities and jobs — and if governments cannot protect citizens — populist demagogues promising reform but continuing the status quo are elected.

Where poverty flourishes, crime and corruption flourish. This is what we are currently witnessing in Honduras.

Read the entire op-ed piece in The Miami Herald.

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Giving back to the community has become chic for many who are in the public eye and have the resources to do so, but for St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, it isn’t about what’s fashionable or what looks good. It’s about being faithful to a God, Who has given him much, and helping the children he loves in his native Dominican Republic.

As Albert steps off one of Major League Baseball’s many well-manicured baseball diamonds, he often finds himself stepping onto the dusty streets of the Dominican Republic. But he’s not coming to play baseball, nor is he coming to instill in the children who live the way he once lived a love of the game he is now famous for.

His mission is to provide to those who are less fortunate something we in the United States take for granted – rectangular mattresses to sleep on.

For many of the world’s poor in places such as the Dominican Republic, a mattress isn’t a necessity: It’s a luxury. For Albert, this is a tangible and lasting way to use baseball as a ministry in his homeland. Through his partnership with Compassion, he is able to provide to those less fortunate something that will last for months and years to come.

But it’s not just mattresses that Albert is providing to the people of the Dominican Republic. To find out what else he’s doing, read his story in the summer issue of Compassion Magazine.

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Remember Jordan? 17-years old. Raised $500,000 for the Bite Back campaign.

Well, she’s going to be interviewed on CNN.com Live today at 3:30 p.m. EDT. And if you miss the interview, it’ll be archived on CNN’s blog: Young People Who Rock.

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Mark Hanlon, Senior Vice President of Compassion U.S., spoke on Fox and Friends this morning about keeping Jesus’ name in our tagline.

Releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name

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Being involved with Compassion, both as an employee and as a sponsor, has allowed me — and sometimes forced me — to consider things that I used to not give a whole lot of attention to.

One of those things garnering more of my attention lately is the many blessings God has given me.

It’s not that I’ve never thought about my blessings before. I’m very thankful for everything God’s given me — family, friends, food, shelter, clothing — not to mention the many “extras” that we as American Christians get to enjoy.

Working at a ministry, however, has helped me to focus on the greatest blessing — other than the blessing of His Son — God has given all of us. That blessing is people.

Ministry is first and foremost about people. It’s about building relationships that will last an eternity. It’s about sharing with people the good news about the ultimate relationship with their Savior.

I, like most people, have no problem thinking about the family I come home to everyday as a precious blessing from God, but here is where my time with Compassion has challenged me.

My family isn’t just my wife and two kids anymore. My family now also includes my sponsored child, Kimberly, who lives in Guatemala.

Kimberly may have started out as a monthly “feel good” payment, but many letters, pictures and prayers later, she has become — like family — more precious than gold.

There are always competing items in any household budget, but Kimberly, like the rest of my family, has no competition. She has, for me, become as important as putting food on the table for my family.

Although balancing a budget is never easy, many are facing even more difficult choices as jobs are being lost across the country. Yet those who find themselves in difficult situations like this are still making the decision to invest in people and not give up on their relationships.

This article, The Not-for-Profit Surge, in Christianity Today talks about one widow’s decision to continue sponsoring three Compassion-assisted children in these difficult financial times. It also talks about how even in tough times, Compassion is doing better than most people would expect. Praise God.

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I have read various articles, columns and statistics on the state of Christendom in America, and the prognosis isn’t good. Christian commentators across the country are doing their best to encourage our churches to get back to the basics, but their pleas seem to fall on deaf ears.

But underneath the apparent complacency plaguing our churches is a revival that God is stirring in the hearts of our young people.

Like the young boy David who faced the giant Goliath when grown men cowered in fear, it’s times like this that God calls on our young people to bring a revival to His army – to the Church of God.

In my last post, I mentioned how 14-year-old Emily Blake raised tens of thousands of dollars to reach out to as many as 100 children in Kenya suffering from malnutrition and poor hygiene. Now once again, it is another teen who is reaching out to make a difference for children and their families halfway around the world.

Seventeen-year-old Jordan Foxworthy, daughter of comedian Jeff Foxworthy, recently had the opportunity to see the devastating effects of malaria while visiting Kenya with her family.

Being moved to action, she helped start the Bite Back Against Mosquitoes campaign.

Through this campaign, she enlisted many other teens to join the fight against malaria and is encouraging the rest of us to join the fight as well.

Watch a video segment of Jordan talking about the Bite Back campaign on Christian World News.

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