Christian Child Ministry

Compassion International is a Christian child ministry devoted to helping poor children by releasing them from spiritual, social, economic and physical poverty.

Since 1952, our ministry has touched the lives of more than 1 million children, and today more than 728,000 children are part Compassion’s child ministry in more than 20 developing countries around the world. You can learn more about forever changing the future of one special child by following the links below.

• Ways to sponsor a child
• Learn more about sponsoring a child
• Child sponsorship photo tours
• Financial information
• Christian child sponsorship testimonials
• Learn more about our Christian child ministry
• Explore charitable giving opportunities

Our Child Ministries throughout the World

Compassion is a worldwide network of child ministries that are connected by one common goal: to improve the quality of life for impoverished children. Our child ministries are staffed by dedicated people who are native to the countries in which we work. Currently, Compassion works through a global network of child ministries located in four areas of the world:

• Africa
• South America
• Central America
• Asia

Compassion’s child ministry serves more than 180,000 children in seven developing countries throughout Africa. Famine, drought, AIDS, cholera and economic hardships are just a few of the issues countries in Africa must face. Ongoing local conflicts have killed thousands of people in Africa and halted economic progress. There is hope, however, and our Christian child ministry is dedicated to changing this troubled region one child at a time.

We also have child ministries in South America, Central America and Asia. Each of these regions has millions of impoverished children who need our help.

Sponsoring Children through Our Child Ministry

A tax-deductible donation of just $32 a month will not only connect one special child to you, it will connect him or her with a loving, church-based program through our Christian child ministry. Our sponsorship program provides:

• Educational opportunities
• Health care and supplemental nutrition, if necessary
• Opportunities for safe, healthy recreation
• Opportunities to learn about important life skills
• Most important of all, sponsoring a child offers the chance for one special boy or girl to hear about Jesus and be encouraged to develop a lifelong relationship with God.

When you sponsor a child through our Christian child ministry, you can change the future of one deserving little boy or girl forever. Our child ministry will connect you to one special child who will know your name, write to you, and most importantly, cherish the very thought that you care.

Many children in poverty feel unloved and unimportant, but you can change that. By sharing your love and prayers, you can make a remarkable difference in your child’s life.

Ways to Sponsor a Child

Our child ministry offers a variety of different ways to sponsor a child.

• Browse child photos
• Select a child for me
• Search for a child

Thousands of children around the world are participating in our Christian child ministry, but have not yet been sponsored. You can bring hope to one of these deserving children by looking through photos of unsponsored children, reading their individual biographies, and selecting a child to sponsor.

You can also search for a child to sponsor who has certain characteristics — such as a common birthday or name. Using our search feature allows you to select a child by age, gender, region, country or even birthday. Find a child with the same birthday as you, or possibly one with the same birthday as your children or grandchildren. You can also look for an orphaned child, or one who is physically or mentally challenged. Our child ministry gives you the opportunity to sponsor a child with unique characteristics that match your preferences. If you are unsure as to which child you would like to sponsor, you can let us select a child for you. By submitting a request to our Christian child ministry, you can either choose a child with certain characteristics, or the child that has been waiting the longest.

The Financial Integrity of Our Child Ministry

At Compassion, we are very serious about stewardship. That is why we allow you to see exactly where your money is going through our annual reports.

Our child ministry allocates more than 80 percent of all our expenditures to program activities for the children. We conduct audits that show both the program and support expenses of our child ministries, and we also insist on program audits to measure the effectiveness of these programs in the lives of children.

Compassion’s financial integrity has been recognized by numerous publications and financial accountability groups around the country, including:

• Forbes’ “Giving Smartly” Charities 2001 Listing
• The NonProfit Times’ “Top 100 Revenues”
• The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s “Philanthropy 400”
• The American Institute of Philanthropy’s “Top Rated Charities”

When you sponsor a child or make a charitable donation to our child ministry, you have assurance that your gift will be to help improve the lives of numerous poor children around the world.

Each day, an estimated 30,000 children die because of preventable causes. With our Christian child ministry, you have the opportunity to not only improve a child’s life, but to sustain it.

By making charity donations to Compassion's nonprofit organization, or by sponsoring a child through child ministry, you will profoundly change the future for a child in need.