Belief that God so loved this world that He sent His only Son Jesus Christ to die for us that we may all have salvation is a core tenet of Compassion’s worldwide ministry. Following Jesus’ example, Compassion’s ministry is dedicated to caring for the poor and giving hope to the hopeless by spreading the good news.

As a Christ-centered ministry, founded on biblical principles, Compassion-assisted child development centers and programs are unapologetically Christian. We are fulfilling the biblical mandate to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. This clear, consistent Christian identity is something we never seek to hide or compromise in any of our communications. Indeed, it is the main reason why many people choose to sponsor a child through us.

Every child attending a Compassion-assisted child development center child development center is given the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ in a way that is culturally appropriate, without pressure or manipulation.

We want every child to see the reality of Jesus lived out through faith and action in the lives of each person involved in every Compassion-assisted child development center around the world.

We believe that when children see themselves as Jesus sees them, when they realize their worth and identity in Christ, that they will flourish, grow and develop in all areas of their lives.

CHURCH-BASED

We believe that the Church is God’s chosen instrument to transform a dying world. That’s why Compassion works exclusively with churches in developing nations to deliver our comprehensive child development model to children living in impossible poverty.

Compassion equips, trains and provides resources to these local churches so that they may realize their vision of changing their communities for the better by helping the children they serve grow and reach their God-given potential.

In addition, Compassion engages churches and Christian individuals in the developed countries to support their brothers and sisters in Christ around the world. Churches in developing nations, empowered by God, supported by Compassion, and fueled by believers, thus become unfailing advocates for children in poverty — children who live in their own communities. This child advocacy, at the root level, ensures Compassion programs are delivered with integrity, efficiency and, most importantly, God’s love.

The local church provides much-needed continuity, stability and security to some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable children. Indeed, our experience has shown that the church provides greater stability as an agent of continued development than do political, educational or judicial institutions in a community.

Often local church leaders are the most trusted individuals in the community. They can identify the children and families who are in the most need. With no regard to their faith or ethnic backgrounds, our local church partners register these children in Compassion-assisted child development centers. And, empowered by Compassion supporters, these local church leaders serve as the hands of God, offering solutions and resources. They see families transformed as they are drawn, without coercion, to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. In this way, Compassion-assisted child development centers become a powerful tool for evangelism.

Because of this, Compassion’s ministry is often viewed as the ministry of the local church, not that of a large international organization halfway around the world. This is our distinctive and a major reason why our ministry is successful.

This partnership with the local church is essential to Compassion’s ministry success and is key to our commitment to releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Without the local church, Compassion’s ministry would be hard pressed to penetrate the often impassable walls poverty can create in a child’s life.

SPONSOR EXPERIENCE

As Christians, we have a biblical mandate to help the poor. Partnering with Compassion offers a strategic, efficient and life-affirming way to live out the Great Commission. Compassion donors’ and sponsors’ monetary support of our ministry translates into advocacy which in turns has a tremendous effect on eliminating poverty around the world. Sponsors have the satisfaction of knowing their monthly gift provides children with educational opportunities, health care, safe recreation, vocational training and the opportunity to hear the gospel.

While it may seem impossible to change the world, Compassion sponsors know they are making a real difference by transforming the world for one child and his or her family.

For the children, having caring adults — even those living miles away — love, nurture and care for them helps them realize their value and self-worth in Christ. This knowledge guides them to understand that they are vital to God’s plan for this world.

The relationship between one sponsor and one child blossoms into ministry as the sponsor and child exchange photos, letters and prayers. It is this relationship that leads to spiritual growth as sponsors realize they are actually practicing “faith,” with “works.” The whole experience of Compassion sponsorship deepens sponsors’ understanding of the realities of poverty and how best to overcome it. Many sponsors discover that the children they support have much to teach them about prayer, God’s faithfulness, and hope for the future.

PROGRAMME IMPACT

Through our partnership with nearly 4,000 local churches in 24 countries around the world, Compassion delivers a holistic child development program that meets the real-life needs of children living in poverty. Our program breaks down the immense barriers children in poverty face by addressing the “whole child,” including spiritual, physical, economic and social aspects. Our objective is to develop children in poverty so that they will become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults who will:

• Be Christian in faith and deed;
• Support themselves and share with others in need;
• Be responsible members of their families, churches, communities, and nations; and
• Maintain their physical well-being.

We do this by equipping children in the following aspects:

SPIRITUAL — Compassion-assisted churches help children regardless of their religious affiliation. But through the spiritual aspect of our program it is made abundantly clear that Compassion is an evangelical Christian organization and each child will participate in Christian training. Each Compassion-assisted child is introduced to the gospel and encouraged to accept Christ as his or her Savior. Through regular worship time, devotions, Bible study and other activities, child development center staff teach children to live according to the principles of the Bible and encourage all children to assume responsibility within their local churches.

ECONOMIC — The most direct path out of poverty is through education. Each child development center works to ensure that each Compassion-assisted child receives age-appropriate and various learning opportunities to better their economic situation. Whether it’s monitoring school attendance, providing on-site after-school tutoring in reading and math skills or offering vocational training that translates into employment, Compassion child development centers give impoverished children a pathway out of poverty through educational opportunities.

SOCIAL — What we become is to some extent determined by how we relate to others. Often children in poverty who have been abused or exploited have no good experiences relating to other children or adults. That’s why each Compassion child development center becomes a safe oasis where children can develop critical social skills in a protected environment. Children participate in group or special learning activities that help young people to live in harmony, learn teamwork and support and encourage each other. The outcome is a child who is self-aware; exhibits self-control is self-motivated and committed to his or her community.

PHYSICAL — Children in developing nations can go weeks, months even years without seeing a doctor or receiving medical care. Each Compassion child development center is tasked with monitoring the health of each registered child as well as teaching children and their families preventive measures that allow the child to experience healthy development. In addition to monitoring their health, child development center workers teach children about nutrition, offering them a healthy meal and teaching them how to prepare nutritious food. Children are also given the opportunity to engage in child development center-organized sports activities to encourage healthy physical development. By ministering to the “whole child” Compassion’s ministry provides children with the skills needed to succeed in life and to overcome poverty and hopelessness. We are able to do this because of our local church partners and dedicated Compassion sponsors.

In addition, our sponsorship program benefits the child and his or her entire family and the wider community. Sponsorship eases the often insurmountable financial burden families in poverty must contend with. Additional sponsor gifts — 100 percent of which go to directly benefit children — are often used to buy items that benefit the entire family.

The Compassion program engages a community, encouraging it to take responsibility for its children. Community groups, parents associations and church leaders are all involved in the development and ongoing management of a Compassion-assisted child development center.

Every community is encouraged to use its individual skills and resources to benefit the children attending the local child development center. Compassion-assisted child development centers also transform communities by creating employment opportunities and stimulating increased church growth and activity. Many children graduate from the sponsorship program and pursue higher education. They then return to their communities as trained teachers, doctors, engineers and nurses with a passionate commitment to share the skills they have received with the next generation.

INTEGRITY

At Compassion we take stewardship seriously, not only in our finances, but also in our child development program delivery. More than 80 percent of all our expenditures go to program activities for the children we serve. We conduct annual financial audits to show exactly how income is used and regular audits of each of our country and area offices. In addition, we conduct program audits to evaluate the effectiveness of our programs in the lives of the children we serve. Compassion is acknowledged as a charity with outstanding financial integrity by numerous publications and financial accountability groups. We are one of the few charities to consistently receive a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, while The American Institute of Philanthropy recognizes Compassion as one of its “Top Rated Charities.”

Compassion is committed to Christian morals and integrity in our work. We will never engage in bribery with corrupt local officials in the areas where we work. We also reject the practice of “double sponsorship,” where more than one sponsor is led to believe he or she is the only sponsor of a given child.

In our marketing and communications we always strive to reflect accurately the effect Compassion- assisted child development centers have on the lives of individual children, their families and throughout their communities.

When communicating the needs of children, we place great importance on preserving their dignity. We refuse to engage in “the pornography of poverty.” While we believe in being honest about the challenges that children face, we always seek to portray them in ways that show hope and the promise of a positive future.

By keeping accountability and integrity at the forefront of Compassion’s ministry, we make the most of the sponsorship money and gifts that we receive.