Caring for our World: Partnering with Compassion
Valley Church
Here at Valley Church we are passionate about fulfilling Jesus’ commission to “go and make disciples of all nations,” (Matthew 28v19).
As well as reaching out to our friends, neighbours and local communities, we seek ways to impact people globally - to reflect God in nations far away from us, to people we haven’t even met yet. We do this by teaming up with organisations that are already doing a great job of coordinating practical helps with the gospel message.
Compassion is one of our partners. Through Compassion we have the opportunity to invest into the lives of children living in some of the poorest and most dangerous places around the world. We get to develop a personal relationship with the child we sponsor, meaning they know someone else cares about them and values them, and also giving us the opportunity to see through letters, photographs and even a visit the difference we are making. These connections make our own world bigger and help us step into God’s calling of making disciples.
Sunday 5th July was Compassion Sunday at Valley Church where we heard stories from people from our church already sponsoring children in projects in Fortaleza, Brazil, and we gave the opportunity for people to commit to sponsoring a child for £28 a month. Phil Briggs joined us from Compassion UK to answer our questions about sponsorship, and we saw incredible footage of Josh and Iona, a brother and sister who started sponsoring a beautiful girl several years ago, and got to meet her in person through a Valley missions trip. You can watch it again here!
Your response was fantastic! A massive thank you to everyone who said yes to sponsorship, sixteen children in Fortaleza have received sponsorship through Valley Church in the last two weeks.
Hot off the press… we are currently looking at our next trip to Brazil to visit the projects and if this is something you may be interested in we would love to hear from you. Obviously plans are quite tentative at the minute but if you would like us to contact you as these develop you can register your interest on the website or by emailing [email protected]
If you want to know more about Compassion we would love to hear from you, but why not start by reading some stories of people who made the decision to sponsor a child as a result of Compassion Sunday.
The Harrison Family
“We’ve wanted to sponsor through Compassion for a few years now and we’ve been trying to think of how to work it out financially. We had been sponsoring a child through a different organisation and then he moved on through that programme so when Compassion Sunday was coming up, we knew what we wanted to do!
Sara’s profile came up on the screen and she was just beautiful. She’s 10 and she lives in Brazil.
Before we committed to sponsoring a child, we knew we needed to do it responsibly and being in lockdown for the last few months meant that we’d saved in a few areas, enabling us to support Sara. We’re so happy that we get to be a part of her future!”
Rick
“I have previously sponsored a child a few years ago but had to stop for a number of different reasons. I knew as soon as I got chance to sponsor again I wanted to! I also heard stories from three of my best friends about the impact sponsoring (and visiting) had on their lives and knew I wanted to be part of that. So I sent the text and I’m now sponsoring Maria!”
Mike & Julie
“We wanted to give a child a better life and realised that we could do that for the equivalent cost of one meal out a month. We know we are lucky to be in the position and situation we are in. We thought it would be a good lesson for our children to help them understand that not everyone is as lucky as they are. We sent the text and we are now sponsoring Italo.”
The Scholes Family
“We have been sponsoring a child in Kenya for a long time but we were really inspired by Compassion Sunday and the relationship with Valley and the project in Fortaleza to sponsor another one. So we had a chat after the service about ways we could save a little bit of money every month by changing some of our eating habits and cancelling one of our gaming subscriptions. We were sent the profile of seven-year-old Suliane and before we’ve even received our welcome pack, we have been getting our letters and drawings ready to send to her.”
We are so thankful to everyone who has made the decision to sponsor a child through Compassion. Particularly in Fortaleza where the risks of crime, drugs and trafficking are high, we are giving these children an alternative to joining gangs or staying in poverty.
It’s not too late to get involved: if you text VALLEY to 88802 before 25th July, you too can receive a child’s profile and begin the sponsorship process. If, however, you are not in a position for a regular monthly commitment, you can still donate to Compassion itself, as they are currently reaching thousands of children around the world, delivering food parcels, providing medical checks, clothing, financial aid during the global pandemic. Check out the Compassion website to see how their response and ways you can donate to help their work in the most crucial areas of the world right now.
Texts cost your standard network text charge – alternatively text VALLEY to 07984 368 382 if your mobile doesn’t allow short codes. We’ll send you a confirmation by text with a link to complete your sponsorship. For more information about how we process your personal information, visit compassionuk.org/privacy