International (MNN) — Nearly one fifth of the world's
population lives in extreme poverty — 1.1 billion. And 600 million
individuals of this staggering number are children whose families make less
than one dollar a day.
Thus, Compassion International and Willow Creek Association
are partnering together to impact global poverty.
Through their program "Church to Church," they will gather the
wealthier church communities of the U.S. to help the broken and poverty-stricken
churches and communities around the world, thus bridging the gap between the world's
richest and poorest and help overcome this global injustice.
Dr. Wess Stafford, Compassion's President and CEO, spoke at
Willow Creek's 2009 Leadership Summit. The summit was held August 6-7 and was the official launch of their partnership.
"We believe this generation has the passion and the
potential to put an end to global poverty. The church is the key to God's
strategic plan to reach the world, and there is a tremendous opportunity now
before us to ignite a passion for the poor in the hearts of hundreds of
thousands of Christ-followers," Stafford said on Compassion's Web site.
This partnership aligns with both ministries' missions and
goals.
Compassion states their ministry's purpose:
"Compassion works holistically through local churches to address the individual
physical, economic, educational and spiritual needs of children–enabling them
to thrive, not just survive."
Willow Creek also said their ministry "works to link
like-minded, action-oriented churches with each other and with strategic
vision, training and resources."
For more information about this program and how you can
involve your church, visit compassion.com or willowcreek.com.
