Last February we talked about the Compassion International blogger trip to Uganda. This week they’re doing it again, taking eight bloggers and a photographer to the Dominican Republic to see firsthand the work of Compassion’s child sponsorship efforts that help families overcome poverty and discover Jesus.
I love this idea because it’s all about the power of story. Compassion International has an incredible story: Sponsor a kid and save them from poverty. But too often those sponsorship pitches feel like guilt trips. One way to overcome that problem is to tell stories. Instead of focusing on the $32 per month and how easy it is to do, you focus on the actual children and families receiving the help. It creates a connection and the immediate question becomes how can I help.
This year it’s a smaller group of bloggers and they had the unfortunate timing of traveling during the presidential election. But three kids are along for the ride, including 8-year-old Nick Challies who is blogging his experience and two sisters who described meeting the kids they sponsor. Powerful stories.
What kind of stories is your church creating?
And are you telling them?
John Finkelde
November 7, 2008
My wife & I sponsor 2 Compassion kids in Africa. It’s something we love doing even though when I visited one of them it was a gut wrenching experience.
Benjamin Durbin
November 7, 2008
I’m currently in Honduras for a Compassion International sponsored trip courtesy Compassion and the Willow Creek Association. We are learning about their recent partnership, visiting two projects, and attending the Global Leadership Summit. You can read a bit about it at http://www.benjamindurbin.com . We have a videographer with us (did not shoot the video on my blog)from Willow that will be packaging the power of story through video for pastors.
Jeff Goins
November 10, 2008
love it. bottom line is this: stories activate people organically (not systematically). ultimately, telling stories while inviting people to become a part of the story can be one of the most effective ways to market a cause, I’ve found.
James Palmer
November 12, 2008
I like the idea and it fits with what our church is trying to do this Christmas season. Sojourn Instead of focusing on the “normal” commercialism, to focus instead on giving and serving both locally and internationally. We have found that it is hard though. Locally it is hard to find groups or individuals who will let you “in” or they just want a donation, not a relationship. When you look abroad it is hard without a lot of finances to get to the story. Thoughts?