Compassion Sunday: One Day, Countless Lives Transformed
On Compassion Sunday, April 26, 2026, churches across the United States will come together to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name.
Compassion Sunday is an event where hosts just like you invite their church members to sponsor a child living in poverty. Through sponsorship, a child receives the hope of the gospel and practical care for their right-now needs, such as medical care, nutrition support and protection.
Each year, hundreds of Compassion Sunday events[BM2] are held in the States. On that one day, thousands of people say yes to sponsoring a child. And each yes represents future lives transformed through hope, love and care.
Eunice’s life is one of them.
One Yes to Child Sponsorship Changed Eunice’s Life
Some of Eunice’s happiest memories from growing up in Uganda were of spending time with her father. He was her family’s caregiver, provider and safety net. Although the family had very little, they knew they were safe with him.
When Eunice was just 4 years old, her father died suddenly, leaving her mother to care for Eunice and her four siblings alone. In an instant, the family’s life was turned upside down.
“Because I Had Less, I Was Less”
When Eunice got a bit older, she was taken out of school to help her mother sell goods on the street. On days they didn’t sell enough, they would go without food. Eunice and her siblings would dig through the garbage to try and fill their gnawing bellies.
Eunice’s neighborhood was rough, and the marketplace was full of violence. Crime surrounded the family on all sides, as well as men who would take advantage of girls like Eunice.
Young Eunice wanted to escape. To go to school. To be around other children her age. But the poverty around her threatened to suck her in. With each day that passed, Eunice felt her dignity being stripped away.
Soon, when the people of the town began to say, “You’ll never amount to anything,” Eunice started to believe it.
“Poverty was cruel. It was a thief stealing my childhood. It robbed me of my dignity and repeatedly told me the lie that because I had less, I was less.” — Eunice
Restored Dignity and Hope
One day, Eunice’s mother heard that the local church was caring for children in partnership with Compassion. She registered Eunice in the program immediately. Soon after, Eunice learned she had been sponsored by a woman named Julie.
For the first time in her life, Eunice was receiving consistent meals, medical care and education through the Compassion center. She was also receiving life-changing encouragement from Julie.
“She would faithfully write me letters and encourage me. She would say, ‘Eunice, you are fearfully and wonderfully made.’ She would tell me that she loved me, something my own mother had trouble saying. God used her words to show me who I was, and he began to restore my dignity and self-worth.” — Eunice
At the center and through her sponsor’s care, Eunice experienced the love of Jesus. At the age of 9, she gave her life to him — and her whole family followed. With her dignity restored and her faith in Christ, Eunice continued to grow in hope each day.
Showing the Love of Jesus to Others
With the education made possible through the Compassion center and Julie’s consistent support, Eunice graduated from college with a bachelor’s degree. Today, she’s a registered nurse in the U.S., working in elderly long-term care.
Each day, Eunice shares the love of Jesus that others have graciously shown to her — not only with the patients she sees every day but also with the two children she now sponsors.
Through her sponsor’s yes, the local church equipped Eunice to leave poverty behind.
“Because someone like you sponsored someone like me, I went from searching trash dumpsters to provide for my family to becoming a nurse and caring for other people’s families. Because someone like you sponsored someone like me, I went from knowing my earthly father as my only provider to knowing God as my heavenly father and provider. Hope came for me through Compassion, my sponsor and the love of Jesus.” — Eunice
Now, as a nurse and a sponsor, Eunice is changing even more lives — a ripple effect of transformation.
One Yes to Compassion Sunday Changed Many Lives
A sponsor’s willingness to love and care for a child in poverty changed Eunice’s life. Another yes — this time from a church — opened doors for even more children to receive hope and a brighter future.
Thousands of Children Sponsored
The Church of Eleven22 in Florida hosted a Compassion Sunday event in December 2025. During this one event, more than 4,500 children were sponsored. It was one of the most successful Compassion Sunday events in years.
Dedicated to putting their faith into action, the church has committed to hosting a Compassion Sunday every year. Over the lifetime of their partnership with Compassion, the Church of Eleven22 is responsible for approximately 28,000 sponsorships.
That’s 28,000 children who can now be released from poverty in Jesus’ name. And it’s all because one church said yes to being his hands and feet.
“When you pick up a packet and sponsor a child, you aren’t just sending money; you are responding to a direct command from God to care for the ‘least of these.’ You are stepping into the gap to provide hope in the name of Jesus Christ to a kid who might be feeling completely hopeless.” — Pastor Joby Martin, Founder and Lead Pastor of the Church of Eleven22
Interested in hosting a Compassion Sunday event at your church? Learn how to get started.
Your Yes Is Powerful
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” — Isaiah 6:8, NIV
Child poverty affects the lives of 412 million children globally. Seeing that number, it’s easy to feel hopeless. You might be thinking, “I’m just one person — what can I truly do?”
One sponsor. One child. One church. One day. That’s all it took to change countless lives in the stories above. They’re proof that just one yes to loving and caring for children can start a ripple of change that can transform communities and nations.
While we can’t possibly fight poverty alone, together we can. But it takes a yes from each of us, including you.
How can you join the fight? By becoming a sponsor. Through sponsorship, you’ll deliver the hope of the gospel and practical care to a child in need. Your yes will help us release a child from poverty in Jesus’ name.
Your yes is powerful. And today, you can give it to a child in need. By becoming a sponsor, you’ll join other sponsors like Julie and churches around the U.S. to fight against the poverty that threatens children’s hope.
