- by Ryan Hurlburt -
This is a multi-part series for anyone involved in youth ministry delineating how to not only get your students involved in missions activities, but embody a lifestyle of being on mission for Christ. The complete series will include a list of ten practical ideas to infuse missions into the daily life of your youth ministry.
#8. SPONSOR A CHILD
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” – James 1:27
Take one or two weeks to present a specific ministry that sponsors children, and at the end challenge them to make a commitment. From then on, take up an offering once a week to sponsor a child. Personally, we are big fans of Compassion International. If you have a steadily abundant flow of giving, announce to the students that you will now be able to sponsor multiple children (don’t use excess money to pad your budget – that’s deceitful). If, and hopefully when, you have students who are burdened to sponsor a child by themselves, honor that commitment! The first chance you get, give him/her the floor for 10 minutes to describe the child they’re sponsoring and their home country & culture. This will hopefully energize the rest of your students to come on board. Make sure to take time every so often to talk about the children the students are sponsoring, the parent organization, and why it’s important to give – otherwise your students will grow apathetic and stop their commitment.
If you’ve already done something similar, what pointers would you add? What other organizations do you support?
[...] 8. Sponsor a Child [...]