COMPASSION FAMILY WELCOMES NEW

PRESIDENT-ELECT SANTIAGO

‘JIMMY’ MELLADO (page 5)

SPECIAL MESSAGE TO ADVOCATES FROM

WESS STAFFORD (page 4)

MAJOR INDEPENDENT STUDY CONFIRMS:

COMPASSION WORKS (back cover)

SPRING 2013 | compassion.comVOL. 1, NO. 1

Compassion’s President-elect Jimmy Mellado

Compassion Sunday was just celebrated in hundreds of churches across the nation. Was one of them yours?

Every year my excitement grows as I consider all that God accomplishes throughout this ministry during Compassion Sunday season. Implementing Church Partners around the globe register new children in their Compassion child development centers in preparation for this big event. Literally thousands of children are introduced to their sponsors through Compassion Sunday activities. These new sponsors embark on a journey whose impact I’m sure most cannot imagine as they take this first step into the life of a child so many miles away.

Compassion Advocates are at the center of what God is doing around the world through this campaign. During Christmas week, when most of us were enjoying time with our families celebrating Christ’s birth, volunteers at our Global Ministry Center assembled 28,000 Compassion Sunday planning folders. Have you checked out the compassionsunday.com website? One of my favorite resources is the video testimonies from Advocates just like you. I am always humbled by their stories and moved

by their passion. On April 16 Advocates joined staff members and rallied in a global prayer movement for this special day.

Ultimately, a great number of our Advocates hosted Compassion Sunday events in their churches and in other area churches. Are you among them? Have you registered your event and ordered your materials? It’s never too late to join in; the resources are available for any date that works for you and your church.

And in case you can’t secure a presentation in front of your entire congregation, consider presenting to a small group, a Sunday school class or a Bible study group. Check out this year’s presentation video, peruse the many resources available for download, and register your event at compassionsunday.com. And go to my.compassionsunday.com to tell your sponsorship story using your personalized Web page and contacts and social media!

Children are waiting for you to “Change the Story” for them in 2013 by sharing your sponsorship story, and the Compassion child sponsorship opportunity, on your Compassion Sunday!

Greg BirgyNational Advocate Engagement Director

From the Director .............................................. 3

A Special Message From Wess Stafford ............... 4

Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado Accepts Call as Compassion’s Next President ............................. 5

Advocate Update ............................................. 6

Try This! .......................................................... 7

Prayer’s Powerful Ministry ................................. 7

The Bulletin Board ............................................ 8

Worth Writing About ...................................... 10

Growing in Excellence ..................................... 12

Advocate FAQs ................................................ 14

The Power of the Full Story .............................. 15

Compassion Works .......................................... 16

You can CHANGE THE STORY

Network News is published two times per year by Compassion International. © Compassion International 2013. All rights reserved. Amanda Priefer, Editor.

2 // NETWORK NEWS

ADVOCATE ENGAGEMENT STAFF DIRECTORYGreg Birgy, National Advocate Engagement Director

Advocate Network National Management

Jill DeRaad, Advocate Special Projects & Partnerships Manager Ian Durias, Advocate Coaching & Training ManagerAmanda Priefer, Advocate Network & Communications ManagerBobby Sanders, Advocate Youth & College ManagerBecky Splan, Advocate Campaigns & Resources Manager

Event Volunteer Program

Jason Mezey, National Advocate Collaboration DirectorJohn Blanton, Event Contractors ManagerGreg Gipson, Advocate Collaboration Manager (Southeast)Allen Hinkle, Advocate Collaboration Manager (Northeast)Jim Hardaway, Advocate Collaboration Manager (Southwest)Rebekah Jordan, Advocate Collaboration Manager (Northwest)Gwen Petty, Event Facilitators Manager

Volunteer Compassion Program

Jennifer Franks, Volunteer Compassion ManagerAndrea Wise, Volunteer Compassion Coordinator

Advocate Ministry Partner Program

Amy Coddington, Advocate Ministry ManagerRick Schluep, Advocate Ministry ManagerKaren Spencer, Advocate Ministry Manager

Advocate Engagement Support

Valeen Tschamler, Advocate Engagement Support SupervisorKathleen Barkley, Event Volunteer Coordination SpecialistCandy Entingh, Advocate Research & Ministry SpecialistAshley Gutierrez, Advocate Directors SpecialistSean Johnson, Event Facilitation SpecialistDiana Torgerson, Advocate Ministry SpecialistHeidi Woodward, Advocate Coaching, Training & Data Specialist

You can contact the Advocate Engagement Team at advocate@compassion.com or reach an Advocate certified specialist in our phone center at (800) 336-7535.

Visit MY.COMPASSIONSUNDAY.COM to:• create your own Web page, • tell your sponsorship story,• select an unsponsored child to feature, • and spread the word to help a child in need!

NETWORK NEWS // 3

Dear Compassion Advocate,

As you probably know, I will be retiring from my role as President and CEO ofCompassion this year. As I step down from theleadership of this amazing ministry, I am excited about the man God has prepared to assume this role: Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado. (See story on page 5.) I have full confidence that Jimmy is God’s clear choice to lead Compassion International as we move boldly into the future to release many more millions of children from poverty in Jesus’ name.

As I contemplate the end of my tenure, I’ve been reflecting on some of the highlights ofmy 20 years as President of this organization. And one of the things that stands out to me is the selfless dedication and service of those of you in Compassion’s Advocate Network — our faithful volunteers who care so deeply about children in severe poverty that you freely give of your time and energy to find caring sponsors for these precious kids.

You are such a blessing to me! My heart brims with joy whenever I think of you andall the wonderful things you are doing on behalf of the children of the world. You havegenerously helped to staff hundreds of concerts and events, Compassion Sundays, theChange the Story Compassion Experience, and special outreaches. You’ve developedand implemented innovative ideas for spreading the word. And you’ve championedCompassion and children as you share the blessing of sponsorship with individuals andamong groups both small and large.

I know that your contributions of time, talent and treasure have been voluntary andeven sacrificial, and I am so grateful for you. I want you to know that your efforts arepaying significant dividends for the kingdom as more than 1.3 million children now havesponsors — and nearly 500 beneficiaries receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord everysingle day!

So from my heart to yours, I extend a genuine and sincere THANK YOU for yourincredible service to this ministry. You are making a huge difference! Please know that I am very proud of you and am lifting you up in prayer as you continue to step out in faith and attempt great things in Jesus’ name on behalf of the world’s needy children.

May God richly bless you as we serve Him together!

On behalf of a grateful organization,

Dr. Wess StaffordPresident and CEOCompassion International

1996Compassion launches

Leadership Development Program

200,000 children sponsored worldwide

1993Dr. Wess Stafford named

President of Compassion International

180,000 children sponsored worldwide

2013More than

1,300,000 children sponsored worldwide

2003Compassion launches Child Survival Program

500,000 children sponsored worldwide

4 // NETWORK NEWS

Following many months of earnest prayer and an exhaustive selection process, I’m pleased to announce that Compassion’s Board of Directors, with the help of our CEO Search Committee and an external executive search firm, has chosen Compassion’s next President and CEO.

Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado, President of the Willow Creek Association for the past 20 years, has answered God’s call and Compassion’s invitation to lead the ministry into the future!

Jimmy was born in El Salvador to parents with a very strong faith foundation. Due to his father’s engineering career, Jimmy grew up in multiple countries and was exposed to many diverse cultures. After earning an Engineering degree from Southern Methodist University and an MBA from Harvard Business School, he accepted Bill Hybels’ invitation to lead the Willow Creek Association, where for the past 20 years Jimmy has inspired and equipped local church leaders in more than 90 countries to redeem and restore our world for Christ. He is an authentic, visionary, servant leader with a tender heart for God and is accustomed to leading in a multi-cultural context.

Jimmy and his wife, Leanne, as well as each of their three children, are long-time Compassion sponsors who are deeply passionate about

reaching children in extreme poverty with the love and hope of Christ. In fact, you may recall that their daughter Elisabeth (Bizzy), along with Bizzy’s sponsored child from Guatemala (also named Elisabeth), were featured in last year’s very successful Compassion Sunday campaign.

I have known Jimmy Mellado for 20 years and am confident that this remarkable man will wisely steward the ministry of Compassion and boldly lead us into new areas of kingdom impact.

Please know that Jimmy and I will be working closely together during the coming transition period. Over the next several months, Jimmy will be oriented to Compassion’s culture and operational realities in order to create a strong footing from which he can strategically lead Compassion onward. The official leadership transition will take place in September.

I can assure you that my passion for Compassion’s mission remains strong. I’m grateful that the Board has invited me to continue in a part-time capacity with the ministry and I look forward to continuing to speak up for children for many years to come.

Will you please join me in prayer for these ex-citing months of change? Jimmy and I are both committed to honoring God throughout this process and to making this transition as smooth as possible. And I hope you’ll visit compassion.com/newceo to learn more about this extraor-dinary leader who is joining Compassion’s team. Thank you for your prayers and for your contin-ued commitment to this great calling we share of releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name.

NETWORK NEWS // 5

Compassion President Wess Stafford and members of the Global Council surround President-elect Jimmy Mellado and his family in prayer during Compassion’s March 13 chapel service.

Compassion is blessed to work with more than 6,000 local church partners around the world, and the number of partner churches continues to grow. But healthy growth often means process adjustments, so last fall we rolled out a more standardized correspondence program for the benefit of our sponsored children, child development center staff, country staff and sponsors.

Previously, nearly half of our field country offices voluntarily engaged in a reciprocal correspondence program — casually defined as “child receives a letter, child sends a letter.” But because the reciprocal approach was voluntary, it was not followed 100 percent throughout each “volunteering” country, which created an inconsistent correspondence experience for our sponsors.

Every Compassion country office has now established a letter-writing schedule for its child development centers. The schedule requires each child to write his or her sponsor a minimum of two times each year.

The twice-per-year minimum will not only save significant processing time and expense, but also generate a minimum number of letters from children whose sponsors either do not write

or write only occasionally. And with the new guidelines, children who receive multiple letters from their sponsors will be scheduled to reply up to six times per year, depending on the number and timing of the sponsor letters received.

We realize that, for some sponsors, this change to a scheduled correspondence policy may result in fewer letters from some of their children, especially those in child development centers with 100 percent past reciprocation.

In addition to letters from their children, sponsors now will also receive an annual third-party letter

from the field, such as a letter from the child’s church pastor or a development center worker. We hope these letters will enhance the sponsors’ understanding of their children’s world.

Age-appropriate letter templates have been implemented to help younger children (ages 3 to 8) create letters that provide new information for sponsors. Eighteen templates are available, in a recommended sequence, so each sponsor of younger children should receive new information with each scheduled letter. The letter templates also assist center staff as they help children reply to sponsor questions and write prayer requests.

Church partner training for the new correspondence program, which also includes a brand-new tracking system, was completed in September 2012. Most church partners have only recently begun implementing the program, so some transition time should be expected.

The goa l is to provide a more consistent correspondence

experience for a ll sponsors.

Compassion Advocate Win Noren (Okla.) created a special lanyard to which she pinned her Advocate event nametag and photos of her sponsored children. “Having ‘my kids’ on display like this led to several conversations with potential sponsors at an event,” Win says. “The button kit cost only a few dollars at a craft store.” Win is pictured at right with artist Shaun Groves at a recent event for which she volunteered. Showcasing your child’s photos is a great way to start a conversation about Compassion!

6 // NETWORK NEWS NETWORK NEWS // 7

Prayer is one of the most powerful tools God has given us to communicate with Him and to see His work accomplished in our lives. It is because of this that we ask you to join us in consistent prayer for our sponsored children around the world, bringing their needs before our heavenly Father.

We know from God’s Word that He warmly invites us to share our burdens with Him: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11: 28). We’re also assured that He responds to the prayers of His people: “The earnest prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16).

Compassion is blessed with a Prayer Ministry department that began in 1995 under the leadership of the Rev. Ken Stafford, father of our current President, Dr. Wess Stafford. Shortly after the department was established, the Prayer Partner Network was created to include our sponsors in united prayer for the needs of children who live in poverty. Rev. Stafford’s

tender and compassionate heart for children in poverty, and for sponsors who are struggling with difficult issues, set the tone for a powerful ministry that today involves more than 30,000 prayer partners around the world.

In addition to receiving a monthly calendar with prayer requests from around the world for each day, in 2013 we will actively share both prayer needs and answered prayers from our global Compassion family. What an exciting way to stay close to the hand of God in our ministry! If you would like to join the Prayer Partner Network as part of your advocacy, you can sign up online at: http://www.forms-compassion.com/prayerpartner.

Jill DeRaad is one of the newer members of the Advocate Engagement Team. She lives in Denver, Colo. with her husband, Jake, daughter, Hazel, and golden retriever, Lexi. She has sponsored children through Compassion since she was a little girl, and is thankful to be in her fifth year working with Compassion.

Jill DeRaadAdvocate Special Projects & Partnerships Manager

Stacey Baxter (Retention & Engagement Director, CDSP) and Bob Cleary (Product Marketing Director)

Compassion Advocate Anne Nicole Royster (Md.) meets her sponsored child, Natthida Tempiem (pictured on right), in Thailand in January 2012.

Diana Gleaton encourages Advocates and sponsors to read child letters carefully and ask lots of follow-up questions. What she didn’t know until she talked in person with her sponsored child, Andrea, was that Andrea had applied for and been accepted at a national university in Honduras. (She began her studies there in February 2013.) Upon returning home, Diana used her trip as an advocacy opportunity by publishing her story about meeting Andrea in a local newspaper. (Photo, from left: Eddie and Diana Gleaton, Andrea, Andrea’s Compassion center director, and Andrea’s mother.)

Advocate Michael Patterson (Wash.) met this father of a sponsored child in the Dominican Republic. When Michael posted the photo and story via Instagram, it inspired one of his IG fans to sponsor a child too!

“I thought the new displays (KIT-42) were a lot more modern which speaks to my generation a lot better. I liked all of the reading material ... and I think things should start having QR codes so people can read the material and scan the code to go to the supplemented website.” Amanda Goodwin (Ohio) Sent from my iPhone

Third graders at the Norwalk-Ontario-Wilton Elementary School of

Ontario, Wisc. collected more than $281 during a recent Compassion

fundraiser. Compassion Advocate Mark Oelke then matched the funds for

a total of $571. Together, the children and Mark raised enough to provide

seven Compassion Water of Life safe water systems and one mosquito net!

(Pictured from left: Mark with third graders Kylea and Dawson.)

We welcome your submissions for “The Bulletin Board” and other departments of Network News

magazine:

• a photo of you recently meeting your sponsored child; tell us something new you learned from your visit to the field

• a photo or story of you using a resource from the online resource order form

• a photo of you working a Compassion event (please include a paragraph about the experience)

• a question “To the Director” (Advocate Engagement Director Greg Birgy)

• a feature article or story of 400-700 words (please check your idea with us first and ask for our feature writing guidelines)

• a photo of you in action (e.g. doing a “Run for Compassion,” sharing the sponsorship opportunity one-on-one or at an event, or fundraising for Compassion in any way)

Submission includes your permission for the Advocate Network to edit and use information you provide for Compassion publications. All submissions need clear descriptions of people in photos, names, dates and location where applicable, and your home state. Email submissions to advocate@compassion.com with subject heading “Communication Submission.”

Check out how 14-year-old Lizzie is

advocating through blogging!

http://www.lizzieforcompassion.blogspot.com/

8 // NETWORK NEWS NETWORK NEWS // 9

When visiting her sponsored child, Kevin, in Honduras, Advocate

Margaret Lutley (Md.) was impressed by Kevin’s “Mi Plan

Para el Manana” (“My Plan for Tomorrow”) in which he

had specified short- and long-term goals and how he planned

to achieve them. Child development center staff encourage all

Compassion children of certain age to develop such a plan, with

God’s guidance, to instill in them a hopeful vision for their future.

~

I used to think God wasn’t doing much in my life; now I know that God uses the unexpected to fulfill His purposes. You see, I was working at a company that I had no passion for, because I didn’t know what I was passionate about. I’d needed a job and taken what was offered to me. But God was working behind the “seen.”

The company celebrated its 60th anniversary and asked its employees to give a total of 60,000 hours of service back to the community. My team of six committed to 300 of those hours. During that year of serving various non-profits, I received a flyer for a Christian concert. The flyer had a Compassion logo and asked for people to volunteer at a Compassion booth at the concert. To fulfill part of those 300 hours, I eagerly signed up and met Brad Schultz at the booth. He asked if I would consider becoming a Compassion Advocate. I told Brad to send me the materials to read through and then I’d make a decision.

In that packet of materials was the book Too Small To Ignore by Wess Stafford. My heart was changed after reading that book. I knew then that the rest of my life would be consumed with educating myself and others about extreme poverty and the many injustices that oppress children around the world. My time and resources would go toward releasing children from that oppression. That was in 2008, and the floodgates have been opening ever since:

• I was laid off. • I was introduced to Advocate coaching by

Ian Durias.• I went back to school to get my coaching

credential.• I became an Advocate coach with

Compassion.

• I started teaching a Sunday school class of 5-year-olds.

• I was asked to coach inner-city, at-risk youth in San Francisco by a college friend who had started a youth-run supper club for young people in foster care or who had been previously incarcerated (www.oldskoolcafe.org). Note that I had no previous experience working with this population. Talk about an opportunity for God’s power to be made perfect in my weakness!

• I started a justice ministry at my church to educate and engage the Body of Christ with God’s mandate to free the oppressed.

• I’m praying about potentially serving and caring for orphaned children in Uganda.

On a day-to-day basis, I can easily forget how God is moving in my life. But writing all of this out reminds me of what a ride I’ve been on with my Lord. What an honor to be loved, changed, used and guided in such unexpected ways. How fun to look back and see what He has done instead of being scared and stressed about the unknown future! I’m learning that I can rest in confidence, knowing what God has already done in my life and the lives of all His people in His Word.

I used to think that I had to know exactly what God wants me to do in order to make decisions about my future. Now I know that in Him I have the freedom to make decisions, knowing that I will be able to look back and see how He used it to fulfill His purposes in my life.

Jennifer Marshall became an Advocate after volunteering to help staff a Compassion booth at a Christian concert.

I don’t know whom to credit for the quote I used as the title of this article, but whoever said it is a wise person.

Often lost in the celebration of accomplishments are the daily diligences that are the building blocks of achievement. Compassion is with you on your journey. Specifically, we’re excited to serve you through Advocate coaching.

How about contacting a coach today? Go to www.compassion.com/coaching to start a coaching relationship that’ll help you take your advocacy to the next level and beyond.

A year from now you’ll be glad you started today.

Working with a coach is fun! You’ll have the opportunity to explore ideas and try new things. There are no right or wrong answers. Working with a coach is more play than work, and you’ll be surprised at how discovery turns to action. What’s more, your coach will be right there with you, celebrating as you move forward with your ideas and dreams.

It’s all about God leading you. As coaches, we listen for your agenda and hold it up for you

to see. As your agenda changes and develops, there’s your coach, holding it up for you to follow, encouraging and praying for you every step of the way.

Approach your coaching conversations ready to be coached. This means having something prepared to be coached on. It can be anything that you want to explore, clarify, or act on. What can you bring to your advocacy? What’s in the way? What would you like to try? Be ready for a challenge. Instead of talking about what you already know, you’ll find yourself thinking about what you do not yet know. That’s what your coach is there to do for you. And when your coach asks you a question, answer it for yourself, not for your coach. Remember, it’s your agenda.

Don’t expect your coach to simply give answers. It’s better than that! Your coach is there to draw out your creativity and resourcefulness and support you as you implement your ideas.Take notes. Coaching is about action and, by writing things down, you’ve already started.

10 // NETWORK NEWS NETWORK NEWS // 11

Compassion recently launched “Create Compassion,” a new package of ideas and campaigns that equip people of all ages and interest levels to get involved in the Christ-centered, holistic development of children — even if they can’t sponsor children right now.

The website, createcompassion.org, even has ideas for youth and college students interested in starting a campus club or conducting fun, meaningful fundraisers for worthy causes such as digging a water well in Ghana or building classrooms in Bolivia.

Men’s and women’s groups, college and youth groups, families, Sunday school classes, civic groups and even children’s groups interested in conducting a charitable event or campaign can choose from several Compassion ministry categories including Water, Malaria Intervention, Education, Medical Care and Child Survival.

One high school recently conducted a “Cash for Casual Day” and donated the money they raised to help provide surgery for an African child. People of all ages are coming up with their own events and advocating in their own unique ways — and Create Compassion makes this easy!We invite all of our Advocates to check out createcompassion.org and spread the word.

Create Compassion is for anyone at any level of desire for involvement with Compassion’s ministry. You will find several great campaign opportunities at createcompassion.org. Just click on “Pick Your Cause” to find resources for campaigns like:

One Meal One Day Encourage and equip people across America to join together to skip one meal on behalf of children in poverty.

Bite Back Provide malaria prevention and treatment for children around the world.

Compassion Water of Life Provide safe water systems for impoverished children and their families.

Check out these and many other ideas and opportunities at createcompassion.org.

Not long after moving to Colorado for college, Jessica Baarbe joined Volunteer Compassion, the local volunteer ministry at the Global Ministry Center in Colorado Springs. Jessica also joined Focus on the Family’s Leadership Institute and, as part of her completion requirements, helped lead a group in a service project.

Jessica’s love for Compassion’s mission prompted her to share with her group what we do for children and ask them to consider Compassion for their service project. After a little research, the group agreed on raising awareness and funds for Compassion’s “Bite Back” campaign, which supplies mosquito nets, education and treatment to help prevent the spread of malaria in developing countries.

The group planned a coffee-and-dessert event for a Friday night in November. Ben Kinyanjui, a Compassion speaker and graduate of Compassion’s Leadership Development Program, was the featured speaker. The event raised more than $600 for Bite Back.

Jessica passionately intertwined her love for Compassion’s ministry with the practical leadership training she was receiving through her education. She continues to minister with Compassion about 60 hours a year (around her busy school and work schedule). She helps in the production area of the Global Ministry Center, processing child and sponsor mail and doing other projects that support sponsorship.

For information about volunteering at the Global Ministry Center, contact Jennifer Franks at volunteercompassion@compassion.com.

Bobby Sanders might be a new member of the Advocate Engagement team, but for several years he’s been working as the Youth and College Manager for Compassion. His passion is seeing students follow God’s calling for their lives. Bobby lives in Colorado Springs with his wife and three kids.

NETWORK NEWS // 13

Jessica Baarbe (pictured in purple sweater) and her service project team raised funds for Compassion’s “Bite Back” campaign.

12 // NETWORK NEWS

Our message has a more powerful impact when a potential sponsor hears all four parts of our story:

1. The context of poverty. Potential sponsors must first understand the full impact of poverty, that it goes much deeper than physical needs. Help them understand that extreme poverty means a loss of hope and of the God-given sense of dignity and worth, and that the answer goes far beyond temporary relief.

2. Compassion’s purpose. At our very core, our mission is to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name, a long-term solution that breaks the generational cycle of poverty.

3. The programmatic solution. Only through a caring, Christ-centered, whole-child approach to development can a child be fully released from poverty: spiritually, educationally, socially/emotionally and physically.

4. The value exchange to sponsors. While great satisfaction and spiritual growth can result from a commitment to pray, correspond, give, and even meet one’s sponsored child, the sponsor-child relationship is grace-based, with no expectation of what a child may be able to give back. The reward is as Jesus said: “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:13-14).

The optional addition of $7 per month is known as “Sponsorship Plus” and is designated to help fund Compassion’s Complementary Interventions (CIV). CIV funds are pooled and disbursed to where the need is greatest. They are not directly aligned with a sponsor’s child or the sponsored child’s development center, although the benefit may indirectly accrue to the child at some point as various needs are met. Complementary Interventions include Highly

Vulnerable Children’s Care (HVC), providing ongoing care and critical support in situations in which children would otherwise suffer violence, abuse or exploitation. Also included under CIV is Compassion’s AIDS Initiative, helping children and their families endangered by HIV/AIDS, and Partners of Compassion (POC), which meets urgent needs such as disaster relief, safe water, medical care and malaria prevention.

ANSWER:

Are there any other organizations that have a Child Survival Program (CSP) or something similar? If so, how are they alike or different from Compassion’s CSP?

QUESTION:

Rather than make direct comparisons with other programs, we want to accentuate Compassion’s distinctives. Begin with the premise that our overarching mission is to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name, which starts with helping babies survive. Then simply share that our approach to child survival is distinguished by life-rescuing, one-to-one relationships built between our trained, front-line child survival specialists (commissioned by a local church) and the baby’s family. Through regular home

visits, these specialists train and equip mothers to give their babies a healthy start in life and, eventually, to involve their children in Compassion’s Child Sponsorship Program. Thus, CSP is a foundational component of Compassion’s provision of Christ-centered, world-class, holistic child development for children in extreme poverty.

ANSWER:

14 // NETWORK NEWS NETWORK NEWS // 15

Karen Spencer, Advocate Ministry Manager

I was at a concert recently and there were a lot of questions about the two sponsorship options: $38 per month or $45 per month. Does the additional $7 go to the child’s Compassion center or to one large fund that is distributed where most needed?

QUESTION:

Your question may be one that other Advocates are

asking as well! Send your questions to:

ADVOCATE@COMPASSION.COM

Compassion International12290 Voyager ParkwayColorado Springs, CO 80921-3668

Independent research confirms: Compassion Child Sponsorship Works

compassion.com/ItWorks

Independent researchers recently completed an extensive study of Compassion’s Child Sponsorship Program and concluded that Compassion’s program has large and statistically significant impacts on the educational, employment and leadership outcomes of our sponsored children.

The study, published in the April 2013 Journal of Political Economy, calls Compassion’s program “the great equalizer” in that it levels the playing field for children seeking an education in the developing world.

The research team was headed by Dr. Bruce Wydick, a professor of Economics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco. Wydick’s team focused on six nations (Bolivia, Guatemala, India, Kenya, the Philippines and Uganda) where Compassion provided child sponsorship between 1980 and 1992. Using data collected on more than 10,000 individuals (including 1,860 formerly sponsored children who are now adults), the researchers found that

• Children formerly sponsored through Compassion were 27 to 40 percent more likely to finish secondary education than those who had not been enrolled in the Child Sponsorship Program.

• Children formerly sponsored through Compassion were 50 to 80 percent more likely to complete a university education than non-sponsored children.

• In response to the question of which component of Compassion’s program had been most beneficial, the most common response was “educational support” (38.5 percent). The second-most common response related to “spiritual or character development” (29.4 percent).

• As adults, former Compassion-sponsored children were roughly 35 percent more likely to secure white-collar employment than their non-sponsored peers.

• As adults, former Compassion-sponsored children were 30 to 75 percent more likely to become community leaders than their non-sponsored peers.

• As adults, former Compassion-sponsored children were 40 to 70 percent more likely to become church leaders than their non-sponsored peers.

For complete information on Dr. Wydick and the research report, see compassion.com/ItWorks.