What do you think is the greatest threat facing our world today? Is it the danger of terrorist attacks, possible environmental disasters, collapse of global economies, or the rise of immoral lifestyles? What if it’s none of the above? What if the real threat is a complacent Church?

The Church is made up of you and me ― the Body, the Bride of Christ. The “enemy” already has the world: the unbelievers and all those who follow false religions. Now, he’s going after the one true prize that could foil his plans for ultimate destruction ― the Church.

As our ministry works to build on a culture of trust, oneness, empowerment and a pursuit of excellence in everything we do, who do you think is working against us? That’s why it’s so important that we do not fall into complacent Christianity. Instead, we need to be cognizant Christians.

The cognizant Christian life happens when you read the Bible because you want to; you’re hungry for God’s Word ― not because you have to for a prayer group you might be leading.

It happens when you’re honest before God about a struggle you’re dealing with instead of reciting nice, but empty words that make you sound more like a pageant contestant than a repentant follower of Christ.

Basically, the cognizant Christian life happens when you remember why you are serving God in the first place ― because you love Him.

So, if you’re experiencing a conflict at work or at home, a doubt or pain that just won’t go away, how do you fight it?

You fight it by putting aside the deeds of darkness or complacency, and putting on the armor of light.

Complacent religion never achieves anything. Continuous and courageous prayers do.

“And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. … So, let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” ― Romans 13:11-12 (NIV)

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

With programs in 26 countries, many people wonder how we maintain the excellence and good stewardship of our operations around the world. In addition to annual external audits, we ensure the highest integrity in our programs through internal auditing.

Internal auditing, both in the development centers and country offices, is designed to determine how well our operations are running and to identify weaknesses that are causing goals and objectives to go unmet.

The first type of audit is known as a Center/Partnership Audit. Its primary purpose is to ensure that development centers are complying with our standards.

“These are conducted by a Partnership Auditor who resides in the country office,” says Walt Hintz, Compassion’s Field Audit Manager. There are about 50 Partnership Auditors worldwide. Partnership Auditors look at both financial and operational issues.

The center audits cover areas such as management, structure, budget, Christian development, finances and program communications. The focus is to make sure that the kids are communicating with their sponsors, that they are attending the centers, that funds are being used for their intended purposes, and that the program is being implemented the way it should be.

The first step of the auditing process is planning. The Partnership Auditors coordinate the auditing schedule with the Partnership Facilitators (who are the link between the country offices and the child development centers) and the directors of each center.

Before any audit takes place, the Partnership Auditors review past information from each center. This includes previous auditing results, Monthly Financial Reports, and Complementary Intervention (CIV) Fund proposals and reports. The Partnership Auditors assess this information before arriving at the center so that they can have a clear understanding of the potential risks and issues.

Finally, the Partnership Auditors may interview country office staff, such as the accountant, the CIV administrator, and the communications staff who have experience working with the center, prior to visiting the center. Then it’s time to visit the centers.

On average, a Partnership Auditor spends eight to ten hours in each center. While there, the auditor conducts interviews with the teachers and students and goes through financial records, child attendance records, child files and organizational documents.

A typical risk auditors look to assess involves proper documentation of expenses. Many of the countries we work with are cash societies, and receipts are not typically given. Center workers often have to ask the vendor to hand write a receipt, and it is up to the auditor to emphasize the importance of proper financial documentation to the center leaders.

After the audit takes place, the auditor communicates the findings with the center leadership, the Partnership Facilitator and the Country Management Team. Communicating the risk areas will ultimately lead to improving the partnership between Compassion and the local church.

Post audit, the auditor conducts an exit meeting to discuss the findings from the audit with the church partner and the Partnership Facilitator who is responsible for the relationship between the center and the country office.

During this meeting, the Partnership Facilitator and Partnership Auditor will document “Action Items,” — the important issues that need to be dealt with — and rate the items according to the level of risk. The Partnership Facilitator will work with the Implementing Church Partner to develop a plan to address the risk areas.

Afterward, a the completed audit report will be sent to the Country Director, the Partnership Facilitator, and Program Implementation Manager.

Our corporate standard is that 60 percent of centers must be audited each year with no more than 30 months between audits. This audit frequency prevents centers from going unaudited for more than two-and-a-half years. Also, it ensures that higher risk centers will be visited more frequently.

In between audits, the centers are frequently communicated with and visited by the Partnership Facilitators to ensure all is well.

Similar to the Partnership Audits, the second category of internal audits is the Country Office Audit.

Country Office Audits are holistic reviews of the operations and administration of our country offices. In order to improve business processes, these audits cover areas such as organizational management, human resources, payroll, financial reporting and program communications.

Typically, this includes four to eight center visits, and unlike center audits, these visits look for larger trends that reveal management, country or process issues.

Country Office Audits are conducted by four Senior Field Auditors, who are responsible for performing audits within a geographic area.

Like the Partnership Audits, the Country Office Audits are primarily risk based. Country offices are audited approximately every 24 months.

Once in the field, the auditor has an initial meeting with the Country Management Team (CMT) of that country office. This is followed by a series of individual interviews and center visits. For a period of about two weeks, the auditor conducts interviews and reviews documentation in both the country office and the centers.

Based on what the Field Auditor finds, certain issues will become “Action Items.” At the conclusion of the audit, the Auditor provides a list of these action items to the country office and the CMT during the exit meeting. The office staff determine how to address and resolve those items. The plan is then approved and it comes back to our Global Ministry Center in Colorado for filing. Internal Audit staff receive updates as the plans are completed.

Most issues are resolved within 90 days. Sometimes, action items are dealt with immediately, and sometimes complex issues may take years. Even though the issues range in severity, the vast majority of issues are considered low risk. Very few are considered high risk.

In the end, our goal in internally auditing both our centers and country offices is to uphold our core values and provide accountability for the goals and objectives we have set out to achieve.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

Thanks to the Leadership Development Program (LDP), Talita is living in the best moment of her life, not only professionally, but also spiritually. Her life story is about striving for excellence. Her dedication makes her an example to be followed by others and a reference of struggle and Christian character.

Petite and delicate, 20-year-old Talita teaches the 5- and 6-year-olds at her former child development center. God, the Father, has made her a great woman.

The public system of education in Brazil is full of contrast. The best universities are public, and to be accepted in to one, the student has to have a good and strong education during high school. But when talking about a young person who’s attended a public school, the odds are small.

Public schools are the worst ones and rarely prepare for the next step. Besides all the hardship and risks children in poverty have to face, their academic and professional path can be compromised due to the lack of good education.

Talita attended a public school in her town, Tauá, a small city about 330 kilometers from Fortaleza – the capital of Ceará state. But different from most of the students of lower class who barely finish their studies in order to get a job and help their families, she devoted herself – and still does – to study. She overcame the statistics and got a vacancy in a public university – the “Universidade Estadual do Ceará” (University of Ceará State).

“The challenges in my life are still many, but smaller in comparison to my childhood. I hadn’t even been born when my mother had to ask my drunken father to choose between us and ‘the bottles.’

“At a certain time in our lives, she was pretty concerned over me and my brother. Then my father decided to leave us and never came back. I have never accepted growing up without him.

“But despite all the feelings my mother could have had at that moment, she had to be strong for us, working hard and trying to teach some good principles to me and my brother Tiago.”

At the age of 10, Talita had a decisive moment in her life, at her child development center. She finally understood all the teachings she had been learning about Jesus Christ and discovered that she had a real Father who gave His own life in order to save hers, and would never abandon His little girl.

“The educational support, the investment on my self-esteem and hope I have received through Compassion contributed to make me feel loved and protected. This is what I want to teach to my students. God has been transforming my difficulties into victory.”

Talita also recognizes the blessing of being sponsored from 3 until she turned 18 years old.

“This relationship was fundamental in my personal development … someone who just stopped, looked at you and cared about your life was very edifying. Without such a thing I am sure I would have taken a different path. Maybe I would be a single mother, or would be working as a cleaning woman instead of teaching my children.”

After her graduation from the Child Sponsorship Program, Talita could not accept just being seated at the church. She was willing to make the difference, and the LDP was the answer.

“I prayed a lot, asking God a way to be used by Him and that what is happening know. For a moment I did not believe that I could be accepted in Compassion LDP, and my approval was a surprise; but I had never lost faith. I think I was chosen due to my commitment with Christ and my great desire to serve people.”

Besides attending college at night, Talita spends her whole day at her former development center.

“Talita is an inspiration,” says Sélia, the director of the center. “We saw how much she grew and how blessed she is. We hired her as a teacher due her life testimony and dedication. She used to be a volunteer, but her love and commitment impressed us.”

Talita’s time to study is only after 11 or on weekends, when she reads and does research. She suffers with the distance from her LDP friends. In order to take part in the LDP meetings, Talita has to travel from Tauá to Fortaleza, which takes about 4 1/2 hours – but she knows she has friends whom she can count on.

“He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). – Mark 5:41, NIV

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

What is excellence? Excellence is answering God’s call to the best of our abilities with the gifts and resources He has given us. It is carrying out God’s work with an attitude of enjoyment.

Excellence is exceeding the expectations of the world and striving to meet God’s standards. Excellence honors God.

To be excellent one must be grounded in Christ, as He is the source of all strength.

At Compassion, we desire to imitate God in all we do, and as a result we commit to excellence so that we may carry out our mission in a way that honors Him.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” – Colossians 3:23 (NIV)

Listen to Dawn Williams, Vice President of Finance, talk about the importance of striving for excellence.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates