Presentation Guide


[PDF]Presentation Guide - Rackcdn.comhttps://2f6f9f21c655dcba80f4-5bdaf0a086c14c5ecb76e1191595be4d.ssl.cf1.rackcdn...

3 downloads 476 Views 5MB Size

Presentation Guide

WHOEVER IS KIND TO THE POOR LENDS TO THE LORD, AND HE WILL REWARD THEM FOR WHAT THEY HAVE DONE. Proverbs 19:17 (NIV)

PRESENTATION GUIDE 02

Thanks for your desire to help find sponsors for children in poverty. This booklet will help you plan and prepare a great Compassion Sunday. We’re here to help you every step of the way. Just call us at (888) 503-4585.

Dear Compassion Advocate, Imagine the day when no child goes to bed hungry. When no mother fears that her baby won’t live to see age 5. When no teenager loses hope that God has a plan for his life. Will you help that day come sooner by hosting a Compassion Sunday to find sponsors for waiting children? I saw firsthand how sponsorship changes lives when I visited the Dominican Republic with my husband and our three children. We met so many families whose heartbreaking stories are becoming stories of hope thanks to Compassion supporters like you and me.

Meet Grace: She’s a spunky 9-year-old who hosted a Compassion Sunday at her church last year. Read her inspiring story inside!

We have the chance to change even more stories! By sharing your heart on Compassion Sunday, you can inspire your church family to sponsor children desperate to know they matter. So read through this Presentation Guide, pray about the possibilities, and I’m certain God will use you in powerful ways! Blessings,

Candace Cameron Bure Actress, Author, Mom and Compassion Sponsor

PRESENTATION GUIDE 03

LET’S DO THIS! Read the Quick Start Guide: It’s included in this packet and gives details about meeting with your pastor and setting a date.

Register your event: Once you have permission from your pastor, please register your event so we can send you additional Compassion Sunday resources, child packets and table display materials. There are three easy ways to register:  nline: compassion.com/RegisterToday •O • P hone: (888) 503-4585  ail: Send in the enclosed registration card. •M

Decide on length and format: Your Compassion Sunday event can be a short presentation within your service, or it can be the theme of your full worship service. Meet with your pastor to choose the best option.

• F ull worship service

You can include relevant worship songs, Scripture readings, video, a presentation by you, and a sermon or comments by your pastor that tie in with the overall theme.

• 1 0- to 12-minute presentation

Share a personal presentation about your heart for children in poverty, and how sponsoring a child can change the story for a boy or girl in need. Show our newest video as part of your presentation.

• 5 - to 8-minute presentation

If time is short, you can still have a big impact by sharing a few personal thoughts, showing the video, and inviting people to sponsor a child in need.

Questions? Call us at (888) 503-4585.

PRESENTATION GUIDE 04

Notes:

PRESENTATION GUIDE 05

SUGGESTED PRESENTATION Here is a suggested outline to get you started.

I. Introduction “Hi, my name is (your name). Welcome – it’s great to see everyone. “Today is Compassion Sunday, and Christians across the country are speaking out on behalf of the world’s poorest children. “I just want to start by showing a brief video that shows how each of us can transform the life of a child in poverty and make an amazing difference in the name of Jesus.”

II. Show the video (If you are unable to show the video, simply move on to the next section.)

III. Your experience as a sponsor “This video has special meaning to me because I’ve been sponsoring a child through Compassion for (number of years/months).” (Hold up the photograph of your sponsored child). “This is (name of child), a little (boy/girl) I sponsor in (country).” (Share a little about the child — age, community, etc.)

• S hare your personal thoughts/feelings. How has this blessed you? What have you learned?

• H ow has it impacted your family … your faith? How has it changed you?

• W  hat are your hopes/dreams for the child you sponsor? PRESENTATION GUIDE 06

Notes:

IV. Thoughts from the Bible “Sponsoring a child has helped me respond to the many scriptures about reaching out to care for the poor.”

• S hare a favorite verse or scripture reading (see suggestions on page 12).

V. Closing thoughts “Today, I believe there is a little boy or girl who needs you. I want to invite you to sponsor a child of your own. “This is a great ministry opportunity for people who are younger, older, single, married or raising a family — virtually all of us can enjoy the opportunity to share our faith and help someone who is so very vulnerable — all in the name of Jesus. “As a sponsor you have a special role to play in encouraging your child. As you give your love and share prayers, letters, and birthday and Christmas gifts, you will be saying to the child, ‘I’m here for you. You are important and your life matters.’”

VI. Call to action “If you feel God is calling you to help a child in need, please sponsor a child today right after the service. “I’ll be at a table (give location) where you can choose a specific child and begin your sponsorship experience today.” (Hold up a couple of child packets or show them on the PowerPoint, or just give some of their names. Share any final thoughts as God leads you.) “Thank you and please be sure to stop by the table after the service.” PRESENTATION GUIDE 07

PRO TIPS

Check out these helpful hints on speaking well and making your presentation memorable.

Speak from the heart using your own experience and words.

Practice, practice, practice! Rehearse out loud with all the equipment you plan on using.

Pause, smile and take your time before speaking.

Concentrate on the importance of your message, not yourself.

Pray and know that we’re simply called to speak up for the poor — God’s in control of the outcome.

PRESENTATION GUIDE 08

Notes:

Personalize Your Presentation To help your audience really connect with the kids who need them, use any of these three strategies to personalize your presentation.

Child packets Show the child packets as a powerful addition to your presentation. Bring one or several with you and hold them up as you speak. Seeing the faces of these children, along with your presentation and personal testimony, will really encourage people to take action by visiting your sign-up table.

Child letters Bring copies of letters you’ve received from your own sponsored child. Perhaps there are a couple of key sentences or phrases you can pick out and read as part of your presentation. Hearing children in their own words adds authenticity to your relationship and inspires others to sponsor a child of their own.

The Compassion App Download our mobile app to your phone, connect your account, and use it in your presentation. Briefly let people know that the Compassion App will connect them to their children, remind them to pray, send critical information, and deliver letters to and from their child.

PRESENTATION GUIDE 09

COMPASSION SUNDAY STORY OF IMPACT

Grace and the 3,739-Mile Mission Learn how a 9-year-old brings a heart for global missions to her church on Compassion Sunday. Written by Brandy Campbell | Photography by Casey Scofield

When the adults in her life describe 9-year-old Grace Farrell, they use words like “strong,” “determined” and “fearless.” But the one word that crops up, over and over, from everyone from her teachers to her pastor to her parents, is “passionate.” It takes a special kind of passion to inspire a thirdgrader to pick up a Compassion Sunday packet off the kitchen counter of her family home and say, “I want to do this.” It takes a special kind of parent to say, “You can do that.” “I’ve prayed for her for a long time, that God will use her to do amazing things,” says Grace’s dad, Justin. And it takes a special kind of church to say, “We’ll support you.”



I just smile every time I think about Grace because she is just so full of passion and energy.” - Kathy Braafladt

Kathy Braafladt is the co-pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church, where the Farrells attend. “It was a no-brainer to say, ‘Yes, we’re going to help you in any way to make this happen.’”

PRESENTATION GUIDE 10

At Messiah Lutheran, the congregation has adopted the “1-mile mission” – a focus on ministering to children at schools within a 1-mile radius of the church. The church has provided school supplies, clothes and back-to-school activities for children in their figurative backyard. It’s a ministry that the Farrells participate in and are passionate about. The Farrell family sponsors two children, but Grace has an especially strong connection with Gabriela, a 10-year-old in El Salvador. Gabriela became the center of Grace’s Compassion Sunday presentation. “So, we have the 1-mile mission at Messiah,” said Grace at her Compassion Sunday event. Behind her, a picture of Gabriela appeared, with a map of El Salvador. “At my house we have the 3,739-mile mission.” After her presentation, Grace stood behind a table scattered with child packets, ready to help others expand their mission radius. “Look at this one,” she told a woman in a choir robe. “He would be just perfect for you!” At the end of the weekend, 26 children had been sponsored. Twenty-six people began their sponsorship journey. All because one 9-year-old believed in the importance of serving others.

Top: Grace prepares her Compassion Sunday table. Left: Church members peruse the child packets at Grace’s display table. Above: Grace shares her heart for her sponsored child to the congregation. PRESENTATION GUIDE 11

RESOURCES BIBLE VERSES These verses will help you prepare for Compassion Sunday. You can use them as part of your presentation or as personal encouragement. There are more online at compassion.com/FindResources. “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me ...” MATTHEW 25:35-36

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. PROVERBS 31:8

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” LUKE 18:16

“Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.” EXODUS 22:22-23

Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked. JEREMIAH 20:13

Note: All scripture here is from the New International Version of the Bible.

PRESENTATION GUIDE 12

“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” MATTHEW 10:42

May he defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy may he crush the oppressor. PSALM 72:4

“Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor?” JOB 30:25

This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. PSALM 34:6

My whole being will exclaim, “Who is like you, O LORD? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.’” PSALM 35:10

Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. PSALM 82:3

POVERTY FACTS • Every day, nearly 800 children worldwide die of malaria, a preventable and treatable disease. • An estimated 61 million primary-school-age children worldwide don’t attend school. • About 767 million people live on less than $1.90 per day, making them extremely vulnerable to natural disasters, illness, food shortages or instability of any kind. • Around 45 percent of deaths of children under 5 are linked to under-nutrition. •3  85 million children — that’s 19.5 percent of the world’s children — live in extreme poverty. • Each day, 7,000 newborns die worldwide — most of them in developing countries. • An estimated 821 million people worldwide are undernourished. • There are 2.1 billion people globally who don’t have safe water at home. Sources: UNICEF, World Bank and World Health Organization. Figures reflect the most recent data available as of September 2018.

SPEAK UP FOR THOSE WHO CANNOT SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES, FOR THE RIGHTS OF ALL WHO ARE DESTITUTE. Proverbs 31:8 (NIV)

PRESENTATION GUIDE 13

RESOURCES FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS I’m not sure I can get my pastor’s OK. What do I do?

What do I do if I have leftover  child packets?

We have a dedicated team of church specialists who can talk to your church and pastor on your behalf. You can reach them directly by emailing [email protected].

If possible, use the event kit materials to display unsponsored children for as long as possible. Please note the expiration date on the back of each packet. These packets are unique to you and your church; please do not send them back to Compassion. The cost of postage to return them is more than reprinting, and they become tattered as well. The best way to handle unsponsored child packets is to display them at your church or personally give them to friends and family for sponsorship.

 What if I’m not able to host Compassion Sunday on May 5? No problem. You can choose a date that’s right for you and your church. Talk to your pastor about what weekend would work best for your church and then register your event.

PRESENTATION GUIDE 14

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS What is in the Event Kit? 

The Event Kit has everything you need to run a successful Compassion Sunday at your church. It includes posters, a tabletop display, information sheets, sign-up forms and an instruction guide with a helpful event checklist. It will also include one of our new T-shirts.

 Can I host a Compassion Sunday outside my church? While we encourage you to host in your home church, sometimes that’s not a possibility. Compassion Sunday can work well in other settings like Bible studies, small group meetings, Sunday school classes, school classrooms, book clubs or any other group.

How can I communicate that  Compassion is trustworthy? Compassion has more than 1 million alumni around the world whose lives have been changed. They are doctors, pastors, lawyers, government workers and community leaders. Research indicates that child sponsorship is a reliable and effective way to help children. But Compassion goes further by working exclusively through local churches to deliver our program. Our program cares for children’s spiritual and physical needs — all through a local church just like yours. Plus, Compassion submits to an annual audit, and sends field auditors to thousands of program sites each year to ensure your funds are used properly and only to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. We are 100 percent committed to working with local churches — and have more than 7,000 evangelical Christian church partners delivering services and ministry to more than 1.9 million children.

If you need any advice or support please give us a call at (888) 503-4585.

PRESENTATION GUIDE 15

3 easy ways to register: Go online to compassion.com/ RegisterToday. Mail the enclosed event registration. Call us at (888) 503-4585.

Compassion International, Colorado Springs, CO 80997 (888) 503-4585 CompassionSunday.com