Compassion: More than Sponsorship
There are moments in life when you realise that something small can become something far bigger than you ever imagined.
In 2019, a group of us from Oasis travelled to Thailand to visit some of the children our church sponsors through Compassion Australia. We had already begun our partnership with Compassion the year before, but seeing the work firsthand completely changed the way I understood sponsorship.
One story has stayed with me ever since.
We met a woman named Ying. She was gentle, humble, and full of joy. As she shared her story, we learnt that she herself had once been a sponsor child. Growing up in poverty, sponsorship helped her see that there was hope for a different future. Through the local church, she heard about Jesus, was discipled, and experienced the love of God in practical ways.
There are moments in life when you realise that something small can become something far bigger than you ever imagined.
In 2019, a group of us from Oasis travelled to Thailand to visit some of the children our church sponsors through Compassion Australia. We had already begun our partnership with Compassion the year before, but seeing the work firsthand completely changed the way I understood sponsorship.
One story has stayed with me ever since.
We met a woman named Ying. She was gentle, humble, and full of joy. As she shared her story, we learnt that she herself had once been a sponsor child. Growing up in poverty, sponsorship helped her see that there was hope for a different future. Through the local church, she heard about Jesus, was discipled, and experienced the love of God in practical ways.
Years later, Ying and her husband felt called by God to move to a remote area to plant a church and share the gospel with people who had never heard about Jesus. To do it, they sold everything they owned, even their wedding rings! All so that they could begin a church plant and build a place for ministry.
And now, through God’s grace, that one act of generosity (sponsorship) is seeing whole families hear the gospel and come to know Jesus! Incredible… Praise God!
This Sunday, we’re excited to welcome Michael from Compassion to Oasis to share an update on the incredible work God is doing around the world through local churches. As a church family, Oasis is currently supporting 206 children, helping release children from poverty in Jesus’ name.
What we love most about Compassion is that it isn’t simply about meeting physical needs. Compassion partners with local churches who know the children, love the families, and faithfully share the gospel. Sponsorship helps provide education, medical care, discipleship, encouragement, and hope: all in the name of Jesus.
This Sunday is an opportunity for us to prayerfully consider how God might use us. Maybe that means sponsoring a child. Maybe it means praying faithfully for children and churches around the world. Maybe it means encouraging others to step into this partnership.
As you prepare for Sunday, please pray:
- For children who are waiting for a sponsor
- For local churches around the world faithfully discipling children and families
- For hearts that are open to God’s leading
- For sponsors to be led to pray for and write to children
What a joy to be part of something far bigger than ourselves: seeing children, families, and communities transformed through the hope of Jesus.
See you on Sunday, friends.
Emma
