Sponsor a child in Ethiopia

The lives of 500 children are about to change forever.

In partnership with Compassion International, Mars Hill Church Bellevue launched an initiative this week that will spread to all Mars Hill locations beginning next week. The goal is to sponsor at least 500 children from Ethiopia, providing desperately needed food, shelter, education, healthcare, and, through it all, the truth about Jesus.

Mars Hill Church has been supporting church planters in Ethiopia since the spring of 2012. Pastor Sutton Turner traveled to the country during the process of adopting his son and, as he did, saw firsthand that the people had little to no opportunity to hear the gospel. Mars Hill soon began partnering with church planters to build churches, print and distribute Bibles*, and spread the good news about Jesus throughout the nation. During the course of working in Ethiopia, the opportunity to partner with Compassion to sponsor the country’s impoverished children was just too good to pass up.

Compassion International was founded in 1952 to meet the needs of children orphaned during the Korean War. Today Compassion serves more than 1.2 million children through local churches in 26 different nations. In the last year alone, more than 125,000 children and parents invited Jesus to be their savior.

Compassion is committed to breaking the cycle of poverty in families around the world and they do this primarily through sponsorship. Sponsoring a child is a long-term commitment of $38 per month that lasts until the child graduates from the program (between the ages of 18 and 22, depending on the country). But sponsorship is far more than a financial transaction. Children and sponsors exchange letters and photos. Sponsors receive periodic updates on their child and have the option of providing gifts to children and their families. Every child in Compassion has the opportunity to hear the gospel and learn about Jesus while being empowered to escape a life of poverty.

Compassion describes itself as Christ-centered, child-focused, and church-based. Working with local churches allows more individual attention for children and empowers the local church to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the children they serve.

The integrity of Compassion as a charitable organization is astounding. They have been included on Forbes’ 50 Largest U.S. Charities and lauded by multiple independent agencies that study the financial management of non-profits, including The American Institute of Philanthropy and the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance. Charity Navigator, the largest charity reviewer in America, has consistently rated Compassion International as a top charity.

For the next 10 weeks—the entirety of the James sermon series—you will notice a table set up in the lobby at your local church. Take a moment before or after the service to get more information and prayerfully consider becoming a sponsor today! If you are part of the extended family of Mars Hill Global, go here for more information on how you too can play a part in changing the life of a child in Ethiopia. The goal is to see at least 500 children from Ethiopia sponsored by the people of Mars Hill Church, effectively altering the course of Ethiopia, and the world, for generations to come.