Now, I know the organizational structure of a company is not all that exciting, but it does say a lot about how an organization is run, what its priorities are and how it tries to achieve its objectives.

Just take a look at your church.

If it has a senior pastor, five associate pastors, two youth pastors, three children’s ministry directors, two worship pastors, three small group directors and a congregation of 50 people, that’s a problem, wouldn’t you say?

Top heavy, perpetually over budget, ridiculous amounts of overhead.

Now say it’s located near an inner city and its main goal is to do targeted outreach. Now the church is potentially lacking in both talent and funding to achieve its outreach goals.

Mission and budget are crucial pieces of the puzzle for an organization. They drive strategic planning one year and five years down the road and govern the here and now.

They help dictate the best structure of an organization and enable managers to make important decisions around hiring — Who? For what purpose? When?

Last year alone Compassion grew by 371 full-time employees — a 19 percent increase. We have more than 1,500 International Program staff in the field — 67 percent of our total staff is made up of nationals. That says a lot about how we use our resources and go about our mission.

Organizational structure is important, especially for us as we have been growing so rapidly.

You all know we’ve surpassed 1 million concurrently sponsored children. What on earth does it take to support a boatload of new employees and more than 1 million sponsored children?

Well, let’s take a quick look at the mission-keepers and budget preparers at Compassion. They fit under the umbrella title Global Support Services and are one part of what makes things tick here in Colorado Springs. (more…)

Numbered out! When you’re an arts and letters person like me, waking up to figures, budget targets and terms like “capital depreciation” are like, well…an alarm clock that just makes you want to keep hitting the snooze button.

But face reality I must. Waking up helps, too.

Truth is, there’s some very exciting stuff going on at Compassion. Growth, regrouping, a fresh look at what ministry looks like when the Church is mobilized. We’ve just got to be poised and ready…ready to listen, hear, obey. And act. Act boldly, because we’re given a bold mission that will succeed even in the face of a brazen enemy.

This is how you know you’re onto something, and that — perfect or not — you are in the midst of God’s divine purpose. Things don’t come easy, but they come. It’s not because we’re so good or smart or driven, but because of who God is and what He wants to accomplish through us…and through you. We’re just mobilizers.

Several years ago, I took a life-changing course called Perspectives on the World Christian Movement that gave me a view into the history of Christianity — its ebbs and flows; rises and falls; the good, the bad and the ugly; and the blessing and persecution. What became very clear to me was this: When God wants to move, He moves. He’d rather move through His people rather than in spite of us, but He will move.

The key part for us is finding our place in the movement called the Great Commission. Mine, I learned, is mobilizing — promoting a cause and encouraging others to find their place in it. Yours might be sending others to the mission field (here or “there”). It could be going yourself (mission field, short-term missions or visiting your child). Or it might be praying and supporting. It could be working here or at another NGO that serves those in need. Point is, we each have a part.

Just after I finished Perspectives, God gave me the faith to offer what I thought was a resumé a mile wide and an inch deep. And after that, it was clear He was making my life deeper and wider than I could hope or imagine.

I’m no saint (ask around), but like anyone, if I’m willing I can be a tool of impact in the right Hands. By God’s grace, that even includes crunching numbers.

Nydia Teter works as Compassion’s Field Communications Director, her job is to get the great stories from our country offices to our global partners so they can share the good news about what God’s doing through sponsors and donors around the world.