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This week, history was made.
It wasn't made by one person, or even just a few people. History was made by tens of thousands of college-aged students coming together to worship Jesus in the middle of Atlanta– in the Georgia Dome at Passion 2017.
While the event itself was phenomenal, with amazing worship from bands and artists like Hillsong United and Crowder, and amazing Biblical teachings from people like John Piper, Christine Caine, Levi Lusko, and others, that wasn't even the best part.
The best part was this: Every single waiting child in El Salvador, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Indonesia, and almost every child in Bolivia, were sponsored through Compassion International.
Before the conference started, Passion began a campaign called Make History Together. Their goal was that every waiting child in three countries (El Salvador, Rwanda, and Tanzania) would be sponsored through Compassion. This was something that hadn't been previously done, hence their goal of making history [together]. Not only did they reach this goal, but they went above and beyond it, and I am so glad to have been there to be a part of it.
I've written other blogs about Compassion and why sponsorship is so important, and what it means not only for the child, but also for yourself.
Sponsorship is powerful. Sponsorship is life-giving. Sponsorship is difference-making. Yes, sponsorship is sacrificial, but if anything is worthwhile, then it has to be. How can you expect to make a difference without being willing to make sacrifices?
Sacrificing approximately $1.25 a day (the amount that many in poverty live on) or $38 a month gives so much to a child in need. $38 a month may buy us a few new clothes, a pair of shoes, hair products, or a nice meal at a fancy restaurant. Simply giving up one of those things a month provides children in poverty with necessities such as food, medical care, education, and other life-skills. Also, and most importantly, it gives them the opportunity to be enrolled in a Compassion Development Center where they get connected with a local church and also get to learn about Jesus. All of this for just $38 a month.
We have the incredible opportunity to be a part of what God is doing in the world. It is easy to look at all that is wrong in the world and wonder how such a good God could allow all of this to happen. But it also makes me wonder how there are so many Christians who sit back and watch these things happen and question God about it, instead of joining Him in an effort to bring hope, joy, new opportunities, and freedom to those who need it.
Jesus tells us to love God and to love others. James tells us that faith, if not accompanied by action, is dead (James 2:14-17). Proverbs tells us that the righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern (Proverbs 29:7). Isaiah tells us that fasting that pleases God is fasting that causes us to bring about justice and care for the needy. (Isaiah 58:6-7). James also tells us that the kind of religion that pleases God, the kind of religion that is pure and faultless is to look after and care for orphans and widows (James 1:27). We have a mandate given to us that we need to look after and care for those who cannot care for themselves.
Join Passion in making history. You can go here to sponsor a child in Bolivia and help take every child off of the waiting list. You can go to www.compassion.com to search for another child in poverty who needs a sponsor. Even if you don't want to sponsor a child, you can still give to Compassion and the money will be put where it is most needed in releasing children out of poverty in Jesus' name.
Alone we can do so little, but together we can do so much. Let's make history together.
Let's be Jesus' hands and feet and follow Him as He calls us to care for the last and least of these (Matthew 25:40).
In Christ,
Elisha
**If this has touched you I strongly encourage you to SHARE with at least one other person. Each day we are one step closer to eradicating poverty in the world.