As the world’s leading Christian child development sponsorship ministry, Compassion International is committed to eliminating the root causes of poverty for children around the globe. Our passion and our purpose reside in our unwavering commitment to our Lord Jesus Christ and the ability of His Church to execute His command to serve the poor.

For more than 50 years, Compassion’s ministry has successfully released children from spiritual, physical, economic and social poverty in Jesus’ name. The essential key to this achievement lies in our focus on the holistic development of a child, cultivation of a one-to-one relationship between that child and a Christian sponsor, and engagement of the local church to nurture this alliance.

Compassion’s philosophy of connecting the local church with committed sponsors through its holistic child development sponsorship program (CDSP) provides the most strategic way to end poverty. Compassion equips the local church with resources and training to help children living in some of the poorest and most vulnerable communities in the world. These children — empowered by the local church and Compassion’s holistic development program — become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults who share God’s heart and transform the lives of their families, communities and nations.

Compassion's distinctives are what we call "The Three C's."

These core values make Compassion a unique child development ministry. It is our goal to be recognized by the Church worldwide as the leading authority for Christian holistic child development. We are committed to excellence and integrity in every aspect of Compassion's child ministry. We commit to the highest standards, clearly evident in our Child Sponsorship Program around the world.

1. We are Christ-Centered. We want to give every child in our sponsorship program the opportunity to respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ in a culturally relevant way. This is our way of responding to Christ's call in the Great Commission.



2. We are Child-Focused. Since our inception, more than a million children have walked through the doors of Compassion's projects. Currently, almost 800,000 children are part of Compassion's Christian child ministry in 24 countries around the world. We have seen over and over again that what happens in the life of a child is much more significant than what happens in the child's environment. Changed environments rarely change people but changed people inevitably change their environments.



3. We are Church-Based. Every child development project is connected to a local church staffed by members of that community. Compassion's child ministry strengthens local churches through partnerships that provide resources to reach out to children and families. The church is the God-given institution meant to be salt and light in a hurting world. Enabling the church to minister holistically to children and their families is at the heart of Compassion's strategy.

Today, Compassion still works to release children from poverty in Jesus' name and help them become fulfilled Christian adults. Almost 800,000 children in 24 countries receive practical help, hope and opportunities for growth through Compassion's one-on-one sponsorship program. To further benefit children, Compassion also supports community development projects throughout the world.