Sometime back, a commenter on another blog post asked questions about sending gifts to our sponsored children:

• Do they make a difference?
• Should we wait until we hear about a need?
• Do the children appreciate our gifts?

One of my earliest lessons in the importance of our gifts came from Tausi (Tanzania). I began sponsoring her soon after her stated birth date (which later proved to be wrong, but…) and immediately sent a gift of $25. (more…)

Moody Bible Institute scholar Tony Beltran shares his amazement and excitement about a child he met who was determined to help others, just like Tony’s sponsor.

Christian child sponsorship: kids get it.

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
— Theodore Roosevelt

When I was asked to write my first post for this blog, I sent an e-mail to my family and friends joking, “Apparently my ability to drone on and on, (and on), about Compassion International and child sponsorship has gotten back to the organization. I have been given a public forum at last!” I have no doubt there was some good-natured snickering around many computer terminals in Iowa that day.

Let me put it this way. If you know me, AT ALL, you know I sponsor children — you know how I feel about Compassion — and you know that I think child sponsorship is one of the best possible ways to help children in poverty. It is a regular topic of conversation for me and I am known for it.

Jesus told us to let our light shine before men. We are not to light our lamp only to put it under a bushel. If someone who had been a friend for a long time suddenly came to me and said, “I had no idea you believed in Christ!” I would feel that I had not done my job as a Christian. If my faith was so absent in my daily activities that there was no outward sign of it, what would that say about me as a follower of God?

I feel exactly the same way about my ministry with Compassion. And that is what I consider child sponsorship to be — my ministry. What kind of a ministry would it be if I told no one about it and gave no one the information that would enable them to participate? To minister is to tell others — to share the good word! Why would I keep it quiet?

So my challenge to everyone today is to BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED. Think about how you can share your Compassion ministry, wherever it is you may be.

Not all of us are great orators. Speaking in front of a crowd of more than 10 would probably give me a rash or hives of some kind. Not all of us are good at the “hard sell,” so I’m certainly not suggesting you go door to door. But I know there is some way that is immediately available to you to put Compassion out there, front and center.

Compassion advocates, can you offer some suggestions on how the average sponsor can share Compassion with others?

Sponsors, is there something unique you have done to get the word out to family and friends?

Has anyone taken advantage of the free brochures, posters, etc., that Compassion offers? If so, how have you used them?

Please share…

And thank you!

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.

Social media is my job. I manage this blog. I send out the tweets for @compassion. I create the photo sets in Flickr, upload videos to YouTube, update our Facebook status, etc.

I have a good job. I like it a lot. I don’t want to do anything else. My fellow webbies are great peeps. Lots of fun. And I love seeing and being a part of the conversations you have with one another. But amid all that I can still be a bit jaded at times.

Since this blog is a place of honesty and transparency, I have to admit that I have been known to say “Who cares?” to a tweet or two. Not any I send, of course.

I also admit to not putting much effort into managing “my personal brand” in those spaces, and that includes our newly launched OurCompassion.

However, on Wednesday, I learned what OurCompassion is really about. (more…)

For five years, I had the privilege of leading the tours of our Global Ministry Center in Colorado Springs. It was exhilarating showing adults and children the part they could play in bringing poverty to an end by sponsoring a child.

God blessed me over and over during my years as a tour guide and allowed me to see His spirit move in the hearts of tour guests on behalf of children in poverty. During that time, He also revealed to me the presence of a small but powerful lie being used against us every day – the lie of poverty.

First, poverty lies to the poor by telling them over and over that they do not matter, that no one cares for them, and that they are forgotten. Poverty speaks to the heart of a person (especially children) and tells them, “Give Up!”

But that’s only one part of the lie of poverty. The lie is actually a double-edged sword, and it cuts us as well.

With stealth and determination, the lie of poverty tries to redefine what sponsorship means. It causes us to doubt to the difference we are making in the lives of our children.

Have any of these thoughts ever gone through your mind?

• My sponsorship is insignificant, and letters to my sponsored child don’t matter.
• How can a simple thing like a letter make any difference in the life of a child?
• It takes so long for my letter to get to my child, there’s no way a relationship could ever be built.
• They don’t know me and I don’t really know them! Poverty is so big, a simple letter couldn’t possibly be the weapon to use to fight it.

Have you bought into the lie of poverty? Has it fooled you?

As a sponsor, I take great pride in fighting the lie spoken to the poor. I fight it diligently and with fervor. I have to because our enemy is diligent and determined, too.

The truth is that our letters may be the most critical element in releasing our sponsored children from poverty.

The time we spend on writing is sacrificial. The letters we write are mighty weapons that slay the enemy and cut him down at the knees.

I have seen the faces of sponsored children when they talk about receiving letters from their sponsors. They have told me with tears in their eyes how letters from you are the very strength that gives them the courage to keep going and to not give up.

I have met sponsored children who are now adults and still have every precious letter and sticker their sponsors ever gave them. Letters matter!

Letters are weapons against the enemy! Sponsorship makes ALL the difference in the world! Don’t be fooled by the lie!

Write your child now.

We’ve noticed variations of these questions popping up in several of our posts about letter-writing. So we approached Bill Dunigan, a man for the people and a team leader in our contact center, to help us address them.

Thanks Bill.

Can I stay in contact with my child if he or she graduates or leaves the sponsorship program?

If you tell us you want to continue writing to your child, we’ll send you information to read, sign and return to us.

The form we send will describe what your new relationship will look like and will give us permission to share your contact information with our country staff, who will then share it with your child. If your child wants to keep in touch with you also, he or she will send you a letter or an e-mail to begin the conversation.

The main thing to keep in mind is that translation services no longer will be provided —something to consider if you do not speak the child’s language.

Also, since the child will be out of our program, we cannot make any guarantees about the regularity or quality of the correspondence from the child. Plus, we won’t be able to help with questions that may arise.

And finally, it’s important to know that sharing your information means you could potentially be contacted by others, such as your child’s relatives, friends or acquaintances who might want to contact you for personal gain.

Why do children leave the sponsorship program before graduation?

The reasons children leave can vary.

• Sometimes kids leave because their family’s financial situation has improved and the family thinks Compassion is no longer needed.
• Often we see a child leave because the child needs to be at home to take care of a younger sibling while the parents or guardians work.
• But the most common reason is the family has moved to a place where we do not have a child development center, and the move typically occurs because the family is seeking a better life with greater economic opportunity.

What happens to a child who graduates from the sponsorship program?

It’s a good question.

With more than 1 million sponsored kids in 25 developing countries, the answer could be as varied as a response to: What do young people in the U.S. do when they complete high school or college?

While the specifics are different in an environment of severe poverty, young people in developing countries have the same general aspirations as we do: They want to create a better life for their families, the people of their communities and themselves.

In releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name, our sponsorship program focuses on each child’s spiritual, economic, social and physical needs. When a child completes the program, he or she has had opportunities to know and understand the Bible, and receive Jesus as Savior.

Also, the child has been reminded of the importance of making thoughtful decisions about health, nutrition and sexuality, and will have learned at least one income-generating skill.

Finally, social skills gained while in the program will help the child be comfortable in personal interactions as well as in the larger context of community.

All of this combines to highlight our holistic distinctive, with the Good News of Jesus at the core.

But what does a child do when graduation arrives?

Our country staff tell us of young men in Africa who become car mechanics, or earn a living as a bus driver in their country’s tourist industry.

Some kids go on to higher education in the country, possibly through our Leadership Development Program.

A girl in Haiti may use her sewing skills to make and sell clothing in the market. A boy in Uganda may use his agricultural skills to raise a crop to sell.

Many Compassion children are taught the art of serigraphy — making T-shirts or decorative cloth using the silkscreen process, to sell in a local market or as a street vendor.

Often, children learn about hydroponics, cultivating plants in a nutrient-rich solution rather than soil.

Last year, Compassion U.K. published a feature in its magazine about this very question. It’s called “The Class of ’85: Where Are They Now?” Take a look.