Compassion partners with local churches because they’re God’s chosen way to advance his kingdom and share Jesus’ love.
Local churches are uniquely equipped to fight child poverty because they know their communities, stay long-term and provide the holistic care children need to reach for brighter futures.
Local church partnerships create lasting transformation. Children released from poverty often grow into leaders who return to serve their communities.
Compassion International partners with over 9,200 local churches across 29 countries to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Because of these partnerships, we’re able to know, love and protect 2.4 million children (and counting).
Still, more than 400 million children around the world are growing up without the care they need to thrive. This reality highlights the importance of the local church: Its calling, presence and reach are critical in the fight against child poverty.
This is why we work to equip and strengthen local churches to fulfill their God-given ministry of lifting children out of poverty and into eternal hope. Let’s go deeper, together.
The Church: God’s Chosen Instrument for Advancing His Kingdom
After Jesus’ resurrection, before he ascended to his Father in heaven, he shared the Great Commission:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” — Matthew 28:19-20
By sharing this mandate, Jesus gave his disciples their marching orders — the foundational mission of his Church. On Pentecost (Acts 2), the disciples were given power through the Holy Spirit to carry it out. That same day, one disciple shared the gospel and inspired 3,000 souls to come to know Jesus. Christ’s Church was officially on the move.
In the pages of history after, countless other souls have come to know Christ through his people, underscoring this truth: The Church is God’s chosen instrument for advancing his kingdom.
Advancing the Kingdom by Loving God & Our Neighbor
But making disciples doesn’t just mean preaching the gospel. In the Great Commission, Jesus said that as the Church welcomes new believers, everyone should be learning to obey everything he commanded. And in Mark 12:30-31, Jesus gave his greatest commandment:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
The advancement of God’s kingdom doesn’t happen only through preaching or teaching or even miraculous healing. It happens through embodied love. Love that reflects God’s character, draws people to Jesus, and brings restoration and hope to the broken.
The Church is God’s plan for carrying this love to all nations and all people, especially the most vulnerable. And it has the only mission with a promise of success. Jesus promised that even the gates of hell would not be able to stop, let alone overcome, the Church in the end.
“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” — Matthew 16:18, NIV
Compassion: Equipping God’s Chosen to Fulfill Their Mission
The Church’s God-given mission leads us to places where his love is most desperately needed. Places where the greatest in the kingdom, children (Matthew 18:4), suffer from the brokenness of poverty yet hold the potential to become disciples who transform communities and nations.
And it’s up to the Church to love them, care for them and equip them to do just that.
Compassion doesn’t work with local churches because they’re a convenient way to deliver our programs to children in need. We come alongside these churches, equipping them for the ministry God has called them to in their communities: loving and caring for the least of these (Matthew 25:40).
The Church is the best way to fight child poverty because God chose it. And it’s our honor to help equip churches for their work.
Why Is the Local Church Important for Fighting Child Poverty?
The local church is foundational in God’s call to grow his kingdom. But there are many other practical reasons the local church is important for fighting back against child poverty.
The Gospel in Action
When cared for by pastors, volunteers and staff at the local church, children see the gospel in action daily. Children aren’t given a simple care package and then sent on their way; they’re faithfully cared for and invited to grow into thriving followers of Jesus.
Global Reach
Local churches are found in nearly every community around the world, from the remote villages of the Andes in Peru to the crowded streets of Nairobi, Kenya. They’re positioned to bring gospel hope and restoration to more places than any one organization or ministry could on its own, reaching more children in need of love and care.
Faithful Presence
Local churches are there before we step in and will be there long after we’re needed. By equipping them, we help create lasting solutions to child poverty that endure beyond our involvement.
This ensures children have the consistent care they need to grow into adults equipped to break the generational cycle of poverty within their families.
Capacity for Transformation
Many local churches have existing resources, from volunteers to classrooms, that can support new initiatives. And they already serve the children and families around them.
Because these churches are actively working and already connected to their communities, they can reach children faster with fewer barriers.
Child & Community Knowledge
Local churches are embedded in their communities, so they know the needs of the children and families around them. They’re neighbors who live in the same context and culture, so they’re best equipped to deliver the specific care children need in the most effective and culturally appropriate ways.
Whole-Child Support
Poverty affects every part of a child’s life, so overcoming it requires care for every part too.Because they’re faithful presences who understand children’s needs deeply, local churches can support children in every way they need as they grow.
Whether it’s nutrition for their bodies, education for their minds or encouragement for their souls, churches can meet each need with steady, whole-child care that helps children thrive.
When we partner with local churches, we strengthen what God is already doing through them to release more children from poverty in Jesus’ name.
The Local Church in Action: Impacting Generations in Ecuador
Compassion has been blessed to see countless lives changed through the ministry of the local church. And Pastor Nelson is one of many faithful church leaders making that transformation possible day after day.
Every week, laughter fills Pastor Nelson’s modest church building in Santa Elena, Ecuador, as dozens of children run through its doors. As the leader of his church’s Compassion program, Pastor Nelson works to ensure every one of them knows they’re deeply loved.
“When a child enters this church, I don’t see poverty first — I see God’s image. Every child deserves to know they matter, whether they have a sponsor or not.” — Pastor Nelson
His conviction has shaped the church’s culture. There, children have a safe place where they can discover that hope isn’t reserved for the fortunate; it’s a gift freely offered through Jesus.
Among the many faces that have passed through the church, one story shines as a living testimony for Pastor Nelson.
Adonys: From Poverty to Promise
Adonys grew up in extreme poverty, where uncertainty was a part of everyday life. He was a shy child who struggled to see his value. Surrounded by lack, he had no hope in a brighter future. Yet everything began to change when he stepped through Pastor Nelson’s church doors.
At 11 years old, Adonys was registered into the Compassion program, where he received the support he desperately needed, from nutritious meals to education. He also found mentors who believed in him before he believed in himself. They prayed with him, encouraged him and reminded him that God had a purpose for his life.
Most importantly, Adonys encountered the love of Jesus.
“The church didn’t just give me opportunities — it gave me a family. They taught me that Jesus saw value in me long before I could see it in myself.” — Adonys
Years have passed since Adonys first walked into the church as a shy child. But the impact of the care he received continues to ripple outward. Today, he no longer sits among the children — he walks beside them.
As one of the church’s volunteers, Adonys spends his weekends mentoring children who face the same hardships he once experienced. They gather around him, eyes wide with hope as they listen to his testimony.
He tells them of his impoverished past and the love he received through the church. He tells them about the university classes he takes at night and his job at the local ice cream shop. He tells them about his dreams for the future that are no longer impossibilities.
And through him, they begin to see what their own futures could look like. They begin to see beyond poverty and into their God-given purpose.
“I want every child to know that Jesus’ love transforms everything. It changes how you see yourself, how you treat others and how you dream about your future.” — Adonys
Faithful Servants Bring Change
The center that once nurtured Adonys has now become the place where he pours that same hope into the next generation. And as Adonys serves, Pastor Nelson watches with pride.
For him, this is the picture of discipleship — not simply helping children overcome dark circumstances but watching them become leaders who return to lift others.
“Our greatest prayer isn’t that children simply leave poverty behind. It’s that they become followers of Jesus who will one day lead others to him. Seeing Adonys serve today reminds me that God’s promises never return empty.” — Pastor Nelson
The church’s ministry continues to grow, but its greatest success is not found in expanding programs. It’s found in stories like Adonys’ where the love of Jesus continues multiplying through faithful people willing to serve.
As children step out of the Compassion center, they carry the certainty that someone knows their name. They carry the confidence that poverty doesn’t define their future. And they carry the promise of transformation because faithful servants like Pastor Nelson and Adonys said yes.
Chosen by God to build his kingdom, the local church remains the faithful presence that raises up disciples whose transformed lives go on to transform generations. That’s the importance of the local church and why it’s central to releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name.
