Point of Grace Teaches Teens About Compassion's Christian Child Sponsorship Ministry.

Denise Jones of the Christian music group Point of Grace stands on a dusty road in Ecuador. Today, Denise will meet Saymi, the child she sponsors through Compassion International. Denise's face lights up as she sees a slight, dark-haired girl standing on the path ahead of her. For a moment, shyness keeps Saymi's feet planted. But soon she breaks into a run and leaps into Denise's outstretched arms.

Saymi doesn't understand that Denise and her friends, Shelley Breen and Leigh Cappillino, make up three-fourths of Point of Grace. She doesn't know about Point of Grace's awards or their radio hits. She just knows that her sponsor came all the way to her tiny village in Agato just to see her.

Point of Grace Teaches Others About Poverty
Recently, members of Point of Grace traveled to Ecuador on a sponsor tour with Compassion International, a holistic child development ministry that releases children around the world from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty, working through local church partners. Heather Payne, Point of Grace's fourth member, was unable to attend because of the recent birth of her son.

Point of Grace launched Girls of Grace, a weekend conference series that teaches teenage girls that a personal relationship with Christ is the only source of self-confidence and peace. Shortly after starting Girls of Grace in 2002, Point of Grace decided to partner with Compassion to promote the ministry's Child Sponsorship Program, which pairs a sponsor with a child registered at a Compassion-assisted child development center.

Each one of the Point of Grace members sponsors a child, and their one-on-one partnerships provide their sponsored children with Christian training, health care, nutritional supplements and educational opportunities.

"We just really wanted to challenge the people attending Girls of Grace to be charitable people," says Shelley Breen, a founding member of Point of Grace. "Teens in general have a lot of disposable income, but it usually goes to clothes and video games. We wanted to talk with them about giving back … about taking care of people around you who are poor and need help."

Shelley admits that she was skeptical at first about how the teen fans of Point of Grace would react. She was amazed at the response and humbled at how God worked through the girls at the Girls of Grace conferences.

"We brought all girl sponsor packs to the conferences so we could foster the notion of older girls helping younger girls," explains Shelley. "It was amazing! More than 400 people decided to sponsor a child  during the Girls of Grace conferences, and it was a real testament to the hearts of these girls."

Point of Grace's Firsthand Experience With Poverty
After seeing the incredible response, members of Point of Grace decided they needed to personally see Compassion's work so they could better inform their audiences.

"Point of Grace has always been very careful to research the organizations we are involved with. We had been telling our audiences that Compassion was providing for the basic needs of poor children, but we knew that once we truly experienced Compassion firsthand we could talk about it from our hearts," says Shelley.

While in Ecuador, Denise, Shelley and Leigh played with Compassion-assisted children in their homes, ate meals with them and their families, and visited villages tucked in the steep mountains of Ecuador. Point of Grace member Leigh Cappillino met her sponsored child, Celia.

"When I hugged Celia for the first time, I literally felt my heart beating in my chest," recalls Leigh in a journal on the Point of Grace Web site. "I just couldn't believe I was standing there, in Ecuador, holding that sweet little girl! My family and I have had the privilege of watching Celia grow into a wonderful, beautiful girl. It was incredible to be able to see the things she does, and stand in her home. I knew this would be a wonderful experience — but I never imagined it would be like this. What a joy and privilege it was to be a part of something so powerful."

Point of Grace's relationship with Compassion continues to grow. In February 2008, Compassion will partner with Point of Grace for the Girls of Grace National Conference. Point of Grace will present Compassion's ministry at this live event in Texas, as well as to thousands of girls joining through simulcast. For more information, visit girlsofgrace.com.