The relationship you build with the child you sponsor through letter writing is crucial! Your letters can inspire them to study harder at school, to be more confident in their relationships and to draw closer to God. Over and over, graduates from our Child Sponsorship program point to your letters and prayers as the top two things that gave them hope, courage and the belief that they could overcome their circumstances.
We know that writing a letter doesn’t always come easy. So we put together 80 letter-writing prompts to help you write your next letter. The prompts are questions for you to answer about yourself, but many of them can serve as letter-writing ideas and questions you can ask the child you sponsor, too.
Prompts about your childhood
- What activities did you enjoy as a child?
- Who was your favourite teacher? What was the teacher like?
- Who did you admire as you were growing up? Why?
- How did you get your name? What does it mean?
- Did you grow up in church? How did you come to know Jesus?
- What was a challenge you had to overcome as a child or teenager?
- What was your favourite part of school?
- What was your least favourite part of school?
- What happened during a typical school day?
- What was your first job like?
Prompts about your daily life
- What is your typical day like now?
- What do you do at church/work/school?
- What do you like most about your hometown?
- What are some interesting facts about your province or hometown?
- How do you like to relax?
- What’s your favourite holiday? How would you describe the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of that holiday?
- What’s your biggest challenge at the moment?
- What other human understands you better than anyone else? How did you come to know this person?
- What are you learning right now?
- What’s one of your favourite Bible stories or passages? Why?
Prompts about your family
- What are your closest family members like?
- What happens when your extended family gets together?
- What do you believe is God’s purpose for your family?
- What is your biggest challenge as a family?
- How has God been faithful to your family?
- What prayers has God answered in your family?
- Who else in your family knows Jesus? How did they come to know Him?
- What’s your favourite thing about your family?
- In what way does your family work together best?
- What role has your family played in your faith journey?
Prompts about your spiritual life
- How has God recently answered your prayer?
- How have you sensed God’s leading at different points in your life?
- Who is your spiritual role model?
- What is your favourite characteristic of God?
- How has God comforted you in trouble?
- Why do you love God?
- How did you become involved in your local church?
- What do you believe are some of God’s purposes for your life?
- What was the latest sermon you heard or class study about? How has it impacted you?
- What is a challenge in your relationship with God?
Prompts about your local church
- How would you describe your church?
- What do you like about your local church?
- What role do you play in your local church?
- How do you use your gifts, skills and passions in your church?
- Who is your best friend at church, and how did you become friends?
- Why is your local church important to you?
- How is your church active in the community and world?
- How does being a part of the church challenge you?
- How do you know God wants you to be part of this church?
- How did God lead you into ministry within your local church?
Prompts about your Compassion child’s life
- What is your prayer for your Compassion child?
- How do you remember the child throughout the week or month?
- Why does this child matter to you?
- What have you recently learned about the child’s country?
- What do you hope the child will learn about God or spiritual life? (This could be a truth or skill.)
- What do you appreciate about this child? (Comment on a recent letter, the child’s prayers for you, artwork in a letter, smile in the photo or something else.)
- What do you want your Compassion child to remember when facing discouragement?
- What concern of yours would you like your Compassion child to pray about?
- What do you think about the child’s latest letter or picture you received?
- How has being a Compassion sponsor changed you?
Prompts about food
- How would you describe one of your favourite meals?
- How do you prepare one of your favourite meals?
- Who taught you to cook, or who cooks for you now?
- What role does food play in holidays or celebrations?
- What’s your favourite holiday food/special food?
- Does your family have any food-related traditions?
- How does your typical family/group meal proceed?
- Who is the best cook you know?
- Where did your family’s favourite dishes originate? How did they become favourites?
- Have you ever eaten a dish from your child’s country? What did you think?
Prompts about current events
- What’s something significant occurring in your town or region right now?
- How are you praying about a significant event in your child’s country or region?
- What does the Bible say in relation to a current event that concerns you?
- How do you overcome anxiety when facing worrisome events?
- What goals have you set for yourself? How much progress have you made?
- What news has recently made you happy?
- How has a recent event impacted your faith?
- How does your life fit into a larger trend or situation in your area?
- What role has your church played in an area event?
- Why do you care about what’s happening around you?
Children treasure the letters you write to them.
Written by Rachelle Dawson for Compassion International. Republished with permission.
