Does Sponsoring a Child Do Any Good?
Recently, I wrote about child sponsorship as one way to help end child trafficking. But, how do we know thought that child sponsorship makes any impact or does any good?
Christianity Today answered this in their June 2013 cover story about a study done on Compassion International and it's impacts.
It turns out that it actually does an amazing amount of good when you sponsor a child. Why? Because you bring them something greater than your $35 per month. You bring them hope.
I can remember dreaming as a child what I'd want to be when I grew up. I'm sure most of us reading this can remember those dreams. We believed in them and knew they could possibly happen.
The kids who need sponsors don't have those same dreams–orr if they do, pretty quickly reality sets in. With sponsorship, a child's possibilities open up. They know they could make a dream reality.
The study found that sponsored students had higher rates of completing education and higher expectations for adult employment. Simply put, Compassion's sponsored children ended up with better futures. As chidlren, they were found to be more happy than usnsponsored children.
Could something that costs less than a tank of gas change someone's life? Read more for yourself (a condensed version can be found here on Ann Voskamp's blog). Then do something about it–and, I'm talking to myself just as much as I'm talking to you.
I've dreamed of changing the world. I always thought it was going to be something big. But, what if I changed just one person's world? Wouldn't that be big enough, especially for that one?
Jamie Lath
Jamie Lath is a middle child that has no baby picture without her older sister in it. Even with only two siblings, she grew up with family everywhere because all her aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and even second-cousins lived in her hometown. With forty people at her birthday parties (all relatives) and her sister in every picture, she knows a little about community, and it's everlastingness. This has brought most of her ministry focus into meeting people where they're at, listening closely (especially to those who feel voiceless and like no one is listening), and helping them find God's voice in the mix. Jamie graduated with a BA in Communication Studies from the University of North Texas. Following a year of teaching English in China, she returned to the states to attend Dallas Theological Seminary. She received a Th.M. with a focus on Media Arts. Her background in the arts (ballet, writing, and acting) has given her an understanding of how creative expressions can give people a safe place to begin exploring how to use their voice and how it can touch hearts to hear God’s voice. She also blogs at I just called to say "Olive Juice."
