Poverty » the Barna Group

Our Business Model Is Out of Date. Help Us Innovate.

Chris Giovagnoni — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 07:02:11 +0000

At the end of April, Compassion held an “innovation summit” in Colorado Springs. More than 100 people from multiple areas within the organization attended the two-day event.

One of the speakers was David Kinnaman, president of The Barna Group. At the end of his presentation David bluntly told everyone assembled that Compassion’s business model is out of date.

He didn’t suggest it. He declared it. As fact. “Your business model is out of date.”

He didn’t say it might happen in the future. He said it’s here.

He didn’t position it as his opinion to consider. He delivered this “truth” directly, firmly and respectfully. It was refreshing.

A month later, Jon Dale, of Dale Interactive Group, told me the same thing over lunch.

In our highly connected digital world the technology exists for you to speak directly to your sponsored children, via Skype, Facebook, Twitter, etc.. So the idea of developing a meaningful, one-to-one, cross-cultural relationship via handwritten letters that can take up to three months to travel in one direction and another few months to travel back is outdated.

There are reasons we don’t yet offer you the ability to communicate directly with your sponsored children via social media. And there are reasons we ask that you don’t accept or initiate friend requests with your sponsored children via social media.

But we know that we must replace our antiquated communication process with one that offers you compelling ways to communicate with your sponsored children. We know that we can’t wait any longer to do this.

However, it’s not just the communication process we need to address. We also have to carefully consider what one-to-one child sponsorship should look like in the digital world. How can we use the tools of technology to make your participation in the development of these children more than just financial support and writing letters?

Although we’re not a sponsor-focused organization – we’re child focused – or a sponsor development organization, we know that “we” don’t exist without “you.” We can’t succeed without God’s blessing and your support.

What do you think about what I’ve said? Do you agree with David and Jon … and me? What do you think Compassion needs to do or consider when redefining what child sponsorship delivers to you?

Now is the time to share your opinions, particularly if you don’t normally comment. As our leadership team begins to answer these questions, it’s better that they know what you think rather than make assumptions about what you think.

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What’s More Important to You?

Chris Giovagnoni — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 07:56:10 +0000

Election day is less than three weeks away. Do you know how you’re gonna vote? I do.

But that’s not what I’m really interested in. I’m interested in what you think about this.

When it comes to ending global poverty and fighting the war on terror:

80 percent of those surveyed* by the Barna Reseach Group, who self identified as strong McCain supporters, believe fighting the war on terror should be a more important priority for the next president than the global effort to end extreme poverty.

11 percent of McCain’s strongest supporters feel the opposite; the fight against global poverty should be a greater priority than the war on terror

Whereas, on the other side of the political aisle, 30 percent of Obama’s strongest supporters place a greater priority on fighting terrorism than on ending global poverty. And 45 percent reverse that priority.

What do you think about that?

*1,005 U.S. adults were surveyed in the custom research Compassion commissioned Barna to conduct.

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Cultural Compassion

Amber Van Schooneveld — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:41:55 +0000

Here are some numbers for you to chew on today.

The Barna Group did a survey asking “born-again” Christians and other Americans what they had done in the past 12 months to help those in poverty. Among the results were:

75 percent of born-again Christians gave material resources, not including money, directly to the poor.
74 percent of other Americans gave material resources, not including money, directly to the poor.
50 percent of born-again Christians donated time to personally serve needy people who live in the community.
45 percent of other Americans did the same.

Hmmm … That’s not a big difference. Regarding the statistics, David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group said,

Given the extensive comments in the Bible regarding the importance of taking care of the poor, we expected to see a larger distinction between the responses of born-again Christians and non-Christians.

This isn’t a beauty pageant — we’re not competing with those around us for “Best Do-Gooder.” But one would expect the followers of Jesus — the most compassionate man who ever walked this earth — to be a bit more radical in their compassionate deeds, a bit more out of the ordinary.

I think America is a pretty compassionate country, thanks in part to its Judeo-Christian roots. So I have to ask myself: Is my compassion just a result of my do-gooder culture? Or is my compassion a radical outpouring of following Jesus, knowing him, and becoming like him?

What matters isn’t how I measure up to the average American around me, but whether I’m seeking Christ and following his example, “who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant” (Philippians 2:6-7).

What do you think? Are you culturally compassionate? Is your compassion an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in your life as you follow Jesus?

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