“In response to the Great Commission, Compassion International exists as an advocate for children, to release them from their spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enable them to become responsible and fulfilled Christian adults.” (Mission statement)

History

U.S. evangelist Everett Swanson’s life changed when he saw orphaned children on the war-torn streets of Seoul, Korea, in 1952.  They were cold, naked and hungry, with nowhere to go, no one to look after them.  Walking the streets in the mornings, he watched as workers kicked what appeared to be piles of rags and then threw them into a truck; in fact, the “piles of rags” were children who had died during the night.  After the war, God led Rev. Swanson to raise funds and start Christian-run orphanages in Korea.  He then developed the program of child sponsorship that was, for more than 50 years, the sole core program of Compassion International.  Fifty years later, South Korea came on board as one of Compassion’s funding partner countries; today, South Koreans are sponsoring children around the world by the thousands, just as many of them were once sponsored.  Compassion Korea also has identified at least 300 pastors who were once sponsored children!

We currently serve more than 1.1 million children in 25 developing countries, with Togo as our most recent addition.  Sri Lanka will become number 26, opening in spring, 2010, with only the Child Survival Program, at first.

Why Compassion?

“Isn’t Compassion just like [other child sponsorship organizations]?”  No.  First, Compassion is not just about sponsorship; it is a holistic child-development organization addressing every area of the child’s life, to develop her physically, economically, socially and spiritually, taking her beyond the basic survival needs.  No amount of money will change a child’s life. It will affect his circumstances, but only Jesus can change a heart and, thereby, a life.  As an involved, praying, letter-writing, encouraging, loving, nurturing sponsor, you can make Jesus real to a child.  The current cost of sponsorship is $38 per month.  That’s about a buck-and-a-quarter per day; you can’t go to a movie or buy a cup of designer coffee, for that!

Distinctions

Compassion is characterized by our “4C’s.”  Compassion is:

Christ-centered – The very hope we proclaim to the children is founded in Him.  We’re all about “Releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name.”  Because of Compassion’s commitment to direct evangelism, 160,000 Compassion-assisted children made first-time decisions to receive Jesus Christ in fiscal 2009.  Family members often follow, as in the case of a 6-year-old girl in Thailand who, as of January, 2008, had brought 20 family members to Christ!  Compassion recognizes children as being very strategic in world evangelism.

Child-focused – Sponsorship dollars provide medical care; Bible instruction; a safe place to play and develop social skills; help with tuition and other costs related to school, and supplemental nutrition, as need; supplemental academic tutoring; the opportunity to learn a life skill in order to provide for his family; and much more.

Church-based – In the U.S. and funding-partner countries, Compassion partners with willing churches, providing an effective means of making world evangelism more personal than merely “giving to missions.” We offer a variety of ways and levels of partnership.  Churches who have partnered most effectively with Compassion over a period of a few years typically report that overall giving increases, contrary to the fears of many other church leaders.  As individuals and families find “missions” taking on a face or faces, their world view enlarges, along with their hearts and love for the people whom God loves.

In the field, Compassion partners with churches who meet several criteria, including an existing effort to reach and provide for children.  We currently partner with more than 4,000 Protestant churches, representing about 65 Protestant denominations and non-denominational groups.  Compassion comes alongside the church with support for the church’s own children’s ministry, provides the standards to be met for the project, assists with training the project staff, and subsidizes the costs of running the project (aka student center).  Projects are staffed by local residents, and a committee of church and project staff decide which children will be registered, based on need.  All benefits flow through the local church, so that families come to recognize the church–in Jesus’ name–as the source.  (The partnering church also provides a ready center for relief provisions when disasters strike.)

Committed to integrity – Regular audits are done at every level of Compassion’s ministry:  field projects, field-partner countries, funding-partner countries and the Global Ministry Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Charity Navigator has awarded Compassion its highest rating for the past seven years, putting Compassion in a very elite group.  Other organizations also give Compassion high ratings.  Anyone can view the yearly financial report and other information on Compassion’s website.

Among the top five or six child-sponsorship organizations, Compassion ranks highest in two areas:  emphasis on development of the personal relationship between child and sponsor, and direct evangelism.  In Fiscal 2009, 160,000 Compassion-assisted children made first-time decisions for Jesus Christ.  Sponsors can do so much to influence a child in that direction, by caring, writing, encouraging, loving and praying for the child, reinforcing the child’s importance to the God who loves him or her.

Other means of contributing

Read about: the Leadership Development Program, which offers eligible students the chance to obtain a university degree, along with intensive studies in Biblical leadership principles. The Child Survival Program, working with children “from the womb, up” provides pre-natal care and other services to pregnant women, many of whom have watched one or more of their children die from mostly preventable causes.  Our “Complementary Interventions” (CIV) provide a ribbon of services that run through the core programs and are implemented where needed for the benefit of registered children and their families, often benefitting the whole community.  These include the AIDS Relief, Malaria Intervention, the Global Food Crisis Fund, Disaster Relief, and others. Compassion also partners with Healing Waters, for clean water; and Opportunity International, for microenterprise opportunities.

Child Advocacy - While God has mandated that all Christ-followers are to advocate for widows, children, the poor, the oppressed, the captives–to “speak for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute” (Proverbs 31:8)–some sponsors come to believe that God wants them to be more actively involved with Compassion’s ministry.  The Advocates Network accepts applications from any sponsor who senses such a call, and offers two basic levels of activity.  Interested sponsors may also contact Vicki Small with questions.