It’s 6 am and Rosa Maria Vasquez is already preparing for another day of classes at the National University of Honduras. After a quick breakfast while pulling her books together for the day, she rushes for a taxi and hurries to her faculty. For the last two years this has been the daily routine for Rosa, a bright young woman studying psychology and determined to standout amongst the university’s more than fifty-thousand students.

Looking back on her life, it is easy to see that Rosa has always been meant for something more than a life lived in abject poverty.

A Life Without Hope

Rosa grew up in Minas de Oro, one of the oldest communities in the Republic of Honduras. Founded by settlers hoping to strike gold in 1830, the region has been exploited for its gold, platinum and silver deposits.

In spite of the land’s richness, most people—including Rosa’s family—struggle to survive each day. More than half the adults in Minas de Oro are unemployed, although some work as subsistence farmers.

Rosa’s life began to change when she was enrolled at the Maranatha Student Centre, a Compassion project run by one of its 165 partner churches in Honduras. Here she received education opportunities, health checkups and participated in social activities.

And it was here that she found faith in Jesus Christ.

“I was introduced to the Bible [here]; it was right in this place where I learned about God’s special plan for my life,” says Rosa. “Learning about the Bible had a great impact on me; it strengthened my spiritual life.”

A Dream to Pursue

As she grew older, Rosa’s life reached a crucial moment: Her completion of the Compassion Sponsorship program. Rosa loved being a part of the church project, and actually had a happy childhood because of the love and support of the project staff & volunteers. She discovered a love of children’s ministry, serving as a Sunday school teacher in her church. And she dreamed of continuing her education. She had excelled academically and was extremely diligent, but the expense seemed so far out of reach.

In order to go to University, she determined that she needed to look for work in Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras.

“I told my mother that I was going to move out to Tegucigalpa to look for a job in order to pay for my education. It was a tough decision because I was going to say goodbye to the teaching ministry in my church.”

But Rosa did not know that God had something else in store for her—the chance to pursue her dream as a student in Compassion’s Leadership Development program.

This opportunity carries with it great responsibility as Rosa will be the only one in her family to become a professional. But as a psychologist, she has the opportunity to reach out to many people.

“Ever since I started [studying] psychology, I thought that this would be a great chance to bless others—and perhaps have my own clinic. I enjoy listening to others,” she says.

A Life of Opportunity

While there have been many challenges—moving to a new city, being away from her family and leaving behind the children’s ministry at her church—perhaps the greatest has been adapting to her new life.

Difficult and demanding teachers and the often strikingly different beliefs of her classmates took some getting used to, and it was most difficult to find the right church. She eventually found her way to the Filadelfia Church in her neighbourhood, where she now serves as a Sunday school teacher for children ages 4-6.

At the end of her first year, Rosa’s academic results were quite impressive, completing all 12 of her courses and having a final percentage of 82% overall. Now at the end of her second year, Rosa continues to serve in her church’s children’s ministry and pursue academic excellence.

With the achievement of her goals just around the corner, Rosa continues to pursue her dream with determination, confident in God’s trustworthiness.

“I am extremely happy and blessed because God has been good to me. I’m so grateful and committed to give my best in my studies. God deserves all the credit for it for my success.”

By Yuri Fortin, Compassion Honduras, with Aaron Armstrong, Compassion Canada

But Jesus is With Me.

Alex stands in front of his university’s economics faculty, where he is in his second year. Here, Alex and some friends gather to worship God and share the Bible.

Alex’s father was a hard-working man, a responsible father and loving husband to Liliana. For many years the family didn’t have to worry about anything, but from that moment of his death, Liliana and Alex started to look for any job in order to provide for the daily needs of their home.

Young Alex was already part of Compassion’s program when this event happened in his life. He was registered at the Agape Child Development Centre when he was 5 years old. Five years later, Alex became a Christian.

“It was here where I was introduced to the Lord Jesus. It was here where I started to love the Lord and get to know him each day. It was here where I started to pray and read my Bible. All the Bible stories and teachings inspired me and strengthened my life.”

At the project, Alex learned about proper hygiene & manners, Christian values and to take good care of the environment. He made friends, and felt blessed to see his family become Christians as well.

Life Without His Father

The tutors at the project counseled and supported Alex as he recovered from his father’s tragic death. Still, he needed to help support his family, and for three years worked part time growing corn and beans. He also worked as a mason, and sometimes looked after cattle. Through it all, he persisted in his studies, continuing his education during the night.

After his father’s death, Alex began to see how his life was being used by God to influence those around him. A close friend had lived a sinful and violent life for many years until a powerful experience in a church service led him to become a Christian, setting aside his old ways in favor of following Jesus. Alex, who had always prayed for his friend, was greatly encouraged in his faith. He faithfully served his church, preaching the Bible when he could, coordinating youth events and sharing his testimony.

Discovering God’s Plans for Him

But it wasn’t until the end of high school that he truly began to understand that “that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28). It was at this time that he was accepted into Compassion’s Leadership Development Program, which gives exceptionally gifted students the opportunity to study at the university level. Alex began studying Business Administration at the National University of Honduras, hoping to develop the skills and experience he needed to start a business.

However his career develops, 20-year-old Alex’s ambitions are not for material gain, but the opportunity to help boys and girls who grew up like he did. He wants to use his life to bless others, showing them a life outside of the hopelessness and despair that they face in their circumstances. He wants to show them that a life with Jesus Christ is one of promise and purpose.

A Living Testimony

He continues to share his testimony of all that God has done in his life. At the National University, Alex and 15 of his fellow students gather every Tuesday and Friday to spread the gospel through special meetings that include worship and prayer time as well as preaching the good news of Jesus. He returns home every weekend to stay with his family and serve his home church, never missing the Saturday youth group or the Sunday school service.

“Alex is an inspiration not only to the young people in his hometown, but to sponsors as well. When he’s shared his testimony during sponsor tours, I’ve seen many sponsors in tears. I know for sure that he will succeed because he has proved that anything is possible,” says Alexa Madrid, one of Compassion’s Leadership Development Program specialists.

Alex is excelling in his studies, getting good grades on all of his assignments.

Jesus has always been the difference in Alex’s life; and with Him, he is able to accomplish more than he ever thought possible.

“When I opened my heart to Lord, everything started to change for me. Not everything has been easy for me but the Lord has promised me to be with me always. He has been with me in this stage of my life now that I’m making my dream come true.”

by Yuri Fortin, Compassion Honduras with Aaron Armstrong, Compassion Canada

I was insolent, arrogant, and completely out of control.

I had nowhere to go, until Maggie took me in.

My name was Charity, until Jesus called me Queen.

Poverty needs an eternal solution.

It’s a problem that seems overwhelming—too big to really make a difference.

But a difference is possible.

Meet Queen, born Charity, a 13 year-old orphan from Ghana, born into abject poverty:

She was nearly eleven—too old to be registered in Compassion’s child development through sponsorship program under normal conditions. But this girl’s conditions were anything but normal. Her mother was dead, and no one ever knew her father. She lived with her mother’s sister, a widow with seven children of her own and no job.

Her name was Charity, a child registered in the Saint Peters Methodist Child Development Centre in Ashaiman, one of Compassion’s more than 90 church partners in Ghana.

Behaviour problems are not uncommon for new children at a project, but Charity was different. She was insolent and arrogant. She would steal. She would disappear, only to return home days later without explanation. No amount of care and correction seemed to help. She was completely out of control.

Charity eventually stopped coming to the Compassion project altogether. The staff’s persistence led to the discovery of the young girl’s whereabouts: Her aunt had sent her away to work for a stranger—a situation that put her at risk of abuse, exploitation and neglect. They pleaded with the girl’s aunt, who eventually agreed to bring the girl home, and Charity returned to the project.

It didn’t last long.

Charity was missing again, sent to live with a relative in Afienya, about 32 km away from Ashaiman. Maggie Daitey, the project’s social worker, went in search of Charity, who was no longer attending school; no one was willing to pay her school fees. Maggie found a school in the community, paid the fees in full and Charity resumed school. Her relative even agreed to let Charity attend the Compassion project every Saturday, which she did.

Until she disappeared a third time.

Charity had stolen some money. Her crime had been discovered and facing the threat of being sent to the police, she ran away. Maggie urged the family to help look for Charity, but her relatives bluntly told her that they wanted nothing to do with her. If this nuisance of a girl was ever found, she was not welcome in their home.

Three weeks later, she was found in critical condition, badly injured by a fall from a third story balcony. True to their word, her relatives refused to take her in, instead sending her to Compassion. She was welcomed with open arms and immediately sent to the hospital. At that moment, Charity’s life began to change.

This girl needed a home and a family. Finding these proved easy. Maggie and her family took her in, where they devoted the first week to prayer and fasting, trusting that God would reveal His plans for the troubled girl.

As she prayed, Maggie kept getting the impression that she needed to change Charity’s name. “I felt that Charity [was] a good name so I didn’t take it seriously,” Maggie recalls. But the feeling persisted. “When we gathered as a family to pray. . . I asked God, ‘What name do you want me to call her?’ The response was quick and clear. ‘Call her Esther. She is a queen—Queen Esther.’ I announced to the family her new name. We prayed for Queen . . . and she accepted Christ as her Lord and Saviour that day.”

Charity—now Queen—is living up to her name. This once insolent and arrogant young girl is now very respectful and humble. Her peers are eager to be close to her, and younger children are eager for her attention.

“I do not do those bad things that I used to do because I now belong to Jesus. I know that He loves me and He feels hurt if I sin. I do not want to hurt Jesus. I [want to] be good and he helps me all the time,” says Queen.

She has hope, a plan for the future as a fashion designer, and the help she needs to make it a reality. Three years ago, this would not have been her life. But today, Queen, truly, is a new person.

“[Queen’s] own family denied her what she needed most,” says Maggie. “What she needed most was [our] prayers and the love of Jesus. That is what we gave her.”

by Vera Mensah-bediako, Compassion Ghana with Aaron Armstrong, Compassion Canada

It’s a problem that seems overwhelming—too big for anyone to really make a difference.

But a difference is possible.

The Santhal tribe is one of India’s largest tribal communities with an estimated 5 million people scattered across different states. Santhalis worship a host of spirits that must be appeased with prayer, sacrifices and obligations. They believe these spirits have power to inhabit village boundaries, trees, forests, water, and even induce disease. Maran Buru is thought to be the most powerful of these spirits. Worshippers of this spirit believed him to bring good luck and prosperity.

Ajinta, a young mother from a remote East Indian village, was no exception.

Trapped in the Power of Maran Buru

Ajinta and her family worshipped Maran Buru and other spirits and performed witchcraft to bring prosperity to their home. But instead of prosperity, she found only strife. Sickness prevailed in her home and fights raged, despite their fervent prayers and the sacrifices they offered.

In times of illness, they went to witch doctors to perform the rituals of calling upon spirits for recovery. Their lives revolved around sickness and fear. Instead of being delivered from their plight, Ajinta and Bablu, her husband, only found more tension.

“Bablu started drinking heavily. We fought every day over different issues in the household,” she says. Bablu’s drinking only compounded their problems. Although occasionally employed as a day labourer, he wouldn’t work for days at a time, and food was scarce. He wouldn’t help Ajinta with daily chores or collect fruit and firewood to sell to supplement his income—even in the difficult monsoon and winter months, when she would have to walk in the cold and heavy rains to collect whatever she could find.

But something changed in June, 2007, when a 5-month pregnant Ajinta was enrolled in Compassion’s Bal Vikas Bhavan Child Survival Program. At the project, mothers learn about God through Bible stories that eventually lead many to believe and accept God in their lives.

Who Do You Trust?

Initially, it was hard for Ajinta to believe what she heard because of the strong tribal beliefs and traditions she was raised in. However, a friend from the program, Meena, lived a few blocks away from Ajinta’s home, had been praying for Ajinta’s deliverance from the clutches of evil spirits. As she learned more, Ajinta grew close to God through the stories of other mothers like Meena and their prayers.

Ajinta’s deciding moment came when her son, Robin, became very sick. She had to decide for herself which way she wanted to go—would she trust in God or turn to Maran Buru? Ajinta took a bold step and prayed, believing that God would save Robin’s life.

“Robin got better within 2 days I was convinced it was Jesus who healed my son, not Maran Buru,” Ajinta says.

Ajinta is now an active member of the church and women’s fellowship at Bisni and an example to other women of her community of how faith in the God of the Bible can indeed bring deliverance from evil spirits. She has developed a strong relationship with God and has learned to pray and believe.

Spiritual Consequences

His wife’s transformation had a powerful effect on Bablu and his mother, who both became believers in January, 2008. The whole family was baptized in July 2008. After this, a series of disturbances began in their home.

It was already dark when Ajinta returned home with her husband after work. From a distance, they both saw what appeared to be a man. He stood near the entrance of their home, his back burning in flames. As they ran towards the house, the “man” vanished. There was no smoke. No burning smell.

There was nothing at all.

“We were very scared to enter the house; we prayed, holding hands to ward off any evil inhabiting our premises, and then stepped into the house,” Bablu says. Through experiences like this, Ajinta and Bablu learned about the power of prayer, and God’s ability to protect their family.

“Now when I wake up at night [and hear] unusual sounds in my courtyard, I kneel down and pray; after, we don’t hear them anymore,” she says.

Today, Ajinta and Bablu’s lives are much different. Since they began to believe in God, the family hasn’t sought treatment from the witch doctors and the evil spirits that only brought sickness and terror.

Ajinta’s health improved greatly as she received the care she needed during her pregnancy through the Child Survival program. “I was able to have my vaccinations and medications on time; that helped me to have a [healthy delivery.]”

She’s learning the skills to help her take care of her children and maintain her home. Learning to sew, managing the family’s meager income, and becoming a more organized and methodical housekeeper is making a positive impact. She’s even become outgoing, learning to talk and engage with others in the community.
“I am very happy to be in [the program] because of the fellowship I enjoy with the other mothers,” tells Ajinta.

Bablu no longer battles with alcoholism. Today, he leads the family devotion, and helps his wife with the daily chores before leaving for work in the morning. He looks at Ajinta with gladness, thankful for all that she has learned in the Child Survival Program. “She has learned to read and write; [I am] very proud of her,” he says.

Despite the poverty that surrounds them, their family is filled with great love and hope. Because of their faith in God, they have the strength to overcome the adversities they face as they gratefully worship the God who loves them.

“I feel liberated. My worship is not out of fear, but of reverence [for] the true living God,” says Ajinta, joyfully. “Being enrolled in the Child Survival Program was not by chance—[it was] God’s plan to deliver us from the stronghold of Maran Buru to bring us into his saving knowledge.”

By Provashish Dutta, Compassion East India, with Aaron Armstrong, Compassion Canada

My name is Daniel Obrero.

I have a Bachelor’s degree in Education, a Master’s in Holistic Child Development, and have a year to go on my Master’s in Theology.

I have traveled to minister to men, women and children in Europe and Asia.

I am the senior pastor of Sarrat Bible Baptist Church, a church in one of the poorest communities in the Philippines.

It’s the church I grew up in.

I am a Compassion-sponsored child. 

Poverty needs an eternal solution.

It’s a problem that seems overwhelming—too big to really make a difference.

But a difference is possible.

Meet Daniel, a 29-year-old man who grew up in abject poverty:

“I remember waiting for my father by the door to ask if he had caught some fish for dinner. There were days that we had nothing to eat at all,” says Daniel, the youngest child in his family. Despite his father’s efforts as a fisherman, the family never had a consistent income. Only his family’s faith in Jesus Christ sustained them, believing that God would provide whatever they needed.

At nine-years-old, Daniel was registered at the San Lorenzo Student Centre, a Compassion project running in partnership with Sarrat Bible Baptist Church. Soon after, he was sponsored by Edward & Mary Endicott, a couple from the United Kingdom. “[It is amazing] to think that these people, who are not my blood relatives, actually cared about me. Through their letters, I was convinced that I was loved,” says Daniel.

In 1996, Daniel was asked to join Compassion’s Leadership Development program, a program supporting extraordinarily gifted students as they gain a university education. A degree in Education was followed by an invitation to earn a master’s degree in Holistic Child Development from the Baptist Theological Seminary in Penang, Malaysia.

With his impressive scholastic achievements, he would certainly have found great success as a teacher. Indeed, this was his family’s expectation. But Daniel felt a different calling:

Full-time ministry to children.

A Passion for Ministry

In 2002, Daniel started the Worker’s Holistic Child Development Centre. Through the centre, he fed, clothed and taught the children, many of whom are teenagers today and continue to follow Daniel’s example.

“[At first,] I questioned why he did not teach in a regular school to earn an income,” Felicia, his 72-year-old mother, confesses. “My other children worried how their baby brother could support himself. But now I understand that, for Daniel, doing the Lord’s work is more important than anything in the world.”

In 2006, Daniel went to serve the people of Cambodia in an orphanage run by Solid Rock Baptist Church. “Cambodia is like the Philippines 10 years ago. Poverty there is so pronounced and they need the gospel terribly,” he explains. “In the Tapok-khnong village, the people thought ‘Jesus’ was a type of food.” At the orphanage, he taught children the Bible, assisted in medical missions and feeding programs, tucked them into bed, and taught them English.

“It was a multi-tasking ministry,” he says. “A number of young people heard about my English language class and decided to attend. These youth would otherwise not come anywhere near the church. During the class, I purposefully taught them the words ‘blood,’ ‘love,’ and ‘forgiveness,’ so that, later, I could tell them about Jesus.”

“I want to care for the little ones in poverty…”

Daniel was prepared to spend the rest of his life caring for the Cambodian people; but in April, 2009, he received a phone call that completely changed his life. Sarrat Bible Baptist Church’s pastor had died, and its 150 members asked him to become their new senior pastor. He accepted the role in July, 2009.

Wiping tears from her eyes, Felicia says, “[Daniel] used to wait for me by the window and ask, ‘Nanay, did you bring home food today? I’m very hungry.’ I answered, ‘Just sugar, son; it will do.’ Now he has traveled to many countries, even to Europe—and [he] is my pastor. Who would have thought?”

As the pastor of his childhood church, Daniel is working to reopen the Worker’s Holistic Child Development Centre, start new missions work, and expand his church’s outreach to Nuevo Era, a community located in the Ilocos Mountains. Every Sunday, the church runs their “Faith Feeding Program” to give the people a good meal. They’ve also distributed school supplies to the community’s children, a pen and notebook for each one.

His reason for caring for the poor? It’s simple. “I remember how people cared for me when I was little. [I have] a passion for ministry and a love for children… Jesus loves the little children. I want to care for the little ones in poverty as Compassion cared for me.

“I want to introduce them to Jesus.”

By Edwin Estioko, Compassion Philippines, with Aaron Armstrong, Compassion Canada

Watch these amazing inspirational testimonies of our Philippines students. Each one of these young adult leaders is proof that Compassion is releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name.

Want to know how other Pastors view child poverty? Listen to these Pastors share why they partner with Compassion. Learn how together the church is transforming lives by releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name.

“My name is Átila.

My childhood wasn’t good.

I didn’t play with other children.

I didn’t have any friends.

My parents fought a lot.

I hated my life.

But everything changed when I met Jesus Christ.”

Poverty needs an eternal solution.

It’s a problem that seems overwhelming—too big for anyone to really make a difference.

But a difference is possible.

Meet Átila, a 16-year-old boy from Bom Jardim, Brazil—a boy who grew up in abject poverty:
 

Life is hard in Bom Jardim, a coastal community near Fortaleza, Brazil. Most adults are unable to find employment, but some scrape out a paltry wage working as manual labourers and street vendors. In the midst of crushing poverty and disease, families find it difficult to maintain a shred of hope. Átila’s family is no exception.

The living room of his family’s small, three-room house acts as his bedroom and a store where his mother sells candy and eggs to earn a meager income. As a young boy, he watched helplessly as his alcoholic father argued endlessly with his mother. Átila grew emotionally distant, escaping into a dream world of his own, built on his fears, questions and dreams, desperately looking for meaning in life.

At four years old, Átila was enrolled at the Projeto José Henrique Student Centre, a Compassion project run in partnership with Fortaleza Presbyterian Church. There, he developed into a gifted student, learning to read before any of the other children his age. Although he excelled academically, making friends was far from being his highest priority.

“Playing with the other children was not my favorite thing – I used to run away from group activities,” recalls Átila. His attitude grew worse, escalating to the point that he wanted to leave the program altogether. “My behaviour made me lonely and confused… I was depriving myself of happiness.” Evani Arraes, the project director, saw through Átila’s request and refused to let him leave. She wasn’t ready to give up on him, even if he was. She saw that there was so much more in store for Átila, even though he couldn’t.

His emotional distance grew to despair, and Átila began to desperately desire change.

“He showed me an intelligent Jesus…”

Change came for Átila in 2006, when he was introduced to Jesus Christ and became a Christian. “Thousands of people told me about Jesus at the child centre, but I wasn’t open-minded about it. I started to become interested in Jesus when Pastor Ricardo [Teixeira, of Fortaleza Presbyterian] showed me an intelligent Jesus. I started to study His teaching about how to live among people, loving your neighbour, and I realized that there was something different about him,” says Átila.

He joined the church and began to see that same difference in the people at the Compassion project—the people who loved him dearly, despite his rejecting their affection. As he saw the difference Jesus made in the lives of the men and women at the project, Átila’s heart began to change. He saw that God had given him an opportunity for a new life.

Instead of being distant, he grew close to the mentors and teachers at the project. As a teacher’s aid in the Art and English classes, he began sharing his knowledge with the other students. “I stopped being so selfish and started helping the other children.” The formerly shy and depressed young man found that he loves something previously unimaginable: Drama. “If I can act in a play in front of dozens of people, I can do anything,” he declares confidently.

New Dreams, New Desires

Today, Átila is a new man. His relationship with his parents has improved. God has given him love and mercy for his alcoholic father and a friendship with his mother. His mother, who has joined her son at Fortaleza Presbyterian, beams, “I want all his dreams to come true. I know he can do anything.”

His dream: Becoming a psychologist and social worker.

Átila is a trainee at a non-profit organization and helping transform the lives of children living in desperate poverty. “Social work is my life, and doing something for my community, for this child centre that helped and still helps me, that’s what I want to do,” he says.

“God has shown me His immeasurable love. He converted my arrogance to humility, and transformed my mind. But, I am not an example. I don’t deserve a single blessing God gave me. [I believe] God has great plans for our lives. I have many things to do, to see, and to feel. And what assures me that I will face everything successfully, is the fact that I will never be alone, because he has shown me Jesus, my best friend.”

By Bianka Costa, Compassion Brazil, with Aaron Armstrong, Compassion Canada

In the Beginning

The Bible teaches that God is one being in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – that live in perfect, loving, joyful community, lacking absolutely nothing (Gen 1:1-2, John 1:1). And out an overflow of this perfect, joyous love, God created the entire world and everything in it, including mankind (Gen 1:1-2:3). But the man and the woman were unique among all of creation. They were created in the image and likeness of God Himself (Gen 1:26-27). They were created for perfect, loving community, both with each other and with God.

The Fall of Humanity

Then, sin entered the world when the first man and woman disobeyed God, choosing to do what seemed right in their own eyes, rather than what was right in God’s (Gen 3:1-7). Ever since, all because of one man’s failure, humanity has become spiritually dead (Eph 2:1), with no ability or desire to please God, living under a curse of judgment (Gen 3:14-19). Our once perfect relationship with God and with each other was shattered, seemingly beyond repair. We choose what we want, rather than what God wants for us; we follow the desires of our hearts into ruin (Jer 17:9, Rom 1:18-32). We are all, because of this, children of wrath and sons of disobedience (Eph. 2:2-3).

The Mercy of God

But God, being rich in mercy, has taken children of wrath, dead in their trespasses, and made them alive in Christ (Eph 2:4-5). In Christ, we are no longer cursed, no longer under the wrathful judgment of God, but we are new creations (2 Cor 5:17). When Jesus Christ – the second person of the Trinity – was crucified, all our sins, our nature as children of wrath, were given to Him (Gal 2:20). And in its place, we were given His righteous standing with God.

New Life in Jesus Christ

Because of his great mercy, we have been saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8) from our sins into the ministry of reconciliation, serving us as ambassadors of Christ, to reconcile the world to Himself (2 Cor 5:18-19, c.f. Eph 2:10). We share the great love that God has shown us – Christ crucified – with the entire world, in anticipation of the day of Christ’s return. On that day, He will restore creation to it’s original perfection (Rev 21), where sin and death will no longer reign (c.f. Rev 22:3), and all God’s people will rejoice forever – living once again in perfect, loving community with God and with each other (Rev 22:3-5). ]]> http://www.thedifferenceisjesus.com/?feed=rss2&p=13 10 http://www.thedifferenceisjesus.com/?p=10 http://www.thedifferenceisjesus.com/?p=10#comments Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:26:18 +0000 admin http://www.thedifferenceisjesus.com/?p=10 Transforming People

We believe a nation can only be transformed as its people are given hope. That’s why we equip the local church with an approach that focuses on individuals, nurturing children from the womb all the way through a university education.

From Birth

These churches minister to mothers and caregivers in their communities – providing them with the crucial skills they need to care for babies and young children in the most critical years of life.

Through their Formative Years

As children grow, they are engaged with different learning opportunities, geared to age and understanding. They receive regular health check-ups and learn valuable life skills like proper hygiene. They participate in social activities, including drama and dance. And every child receives Christian teaching – they hear the gospel, are taught the Bible, and are mentored by staff and volunteers within their church community.

To a University Education

Those children – now young men and women – with exceptional academic ability and leadership potential have the opportunity to gain a university education. As doctors, lawyers, teachers, pastors, politicians, and business people, these young adults are equipped to change the course of their nations and help bring an end to poverty.

From the womb to adulthood – educated, engaged and equipped with the gospel of Jesus Christ through the local church to bring transformation and hope to their nations.