I don’t play music or speak outside anymore. Especially not at anything called a festival. This is because the only reason I tour anymore is to release kids from poverty, to ask the audience to sponsor a child through Compassion International. And, truth is, folks have a hard time paying attention to one guy with a guitar strumming and talking in the Summer heat…especially when there’s no shade…and there usually isn’t…and there’s funnel cake in the air. If I can only play for Compassion’s kids ten times a month (we limit my schedule to that) then I choose to do the gigs held in ideal listening environments: air-conditioned churches and colleges mostly, sans sun and funnel cakes.
So, you understand, don’t you, why I said “no” to Joan when she asked me to come play and speak at her church’s festival at three in the afternoon in the middle of a dirt field at an “ag center” without shade trees?
Then my friend and booking guy Ben told me more about Joan and her church and I had to change my mind. I had to meet this woman and her church.
Joan’s a member of Hilltop Assembly of God. Actually, she’s the pastor’s wife. A while back Joan got the idea to hold something she calls a “tea” – I have no idea what this is – to raise money for something missions related. The missions group she had in mind didn’t work out and so she went looking for someone else to give to. She called Compassion International and a guy named Mark from their church engagement division called her back. By the end of that first conversation, Joan was convinced that what Compassion does is worth supporting.
Specifically, Joan wanted to partner with Compassion to take care of babies and their mothers through what’s called the Child Survival Program (CSP for short). This is a program that meets the physical needs of unborn children and little bitty kids and the physical, social, economic and spiritual needs of their parents.
Joan and her church decided to sponsor an entire CSP project in Ethiopia serving dozens of families for $20,000 a year. They raised that money in all sorts of creative ways, enlisting the help of their entire church, and paid for last year’s CSP sponsorship with money left over. And they’re doing it again this year with the goal of not just sponsoring their project in future years but also giving “seed money” to other churches so they can multiply it and sponsor CSPs of their own through Compassion International. This was Hiltop’s idea and not Compassion’s, by the way. No one’s done this sort of thing before.
The festival was a fundraiser, sure, but so much more. It was created to celebrate what Compassion International and this church are doing together, to create awareness about poverty, and to ask people in the community to become child sponsors. A mock-up of an Ethiopian home complete with chickens and a dirt yard was constructed. Vendors paid to sell their wares out of tents. A former Compassion child from Uganda, now an adult, spoke to the crowd. I played. There were concessions and face painters and blow-up things for kids to jump in. And I’ve never had better sound or better treatment in general at any festival.
The best part was meeting Joan and her team of volunteers. Together they inspired me with their story and their stats (I love me some stats):
69 child sponsors are in the church
99 children are sponsored by them in 24 of Compassion’s 25 countries
12 child advocates in the church (people trained as volunteers to serve at Compassion events like my concerts)
About 40K raised for CSP so far (Joan, please correct me if I’m wrong on that number. I didn’t write it down.)
Now, how large do you think Hilltop Assembly of God is?
On average, when I speak about Compassion International to a group of people, 15-20% will sponsor a child. But that’s a little higher than normal. On the lower end, recently, a church of about 40,000 sponsored just over 1,000 kids after their pastor did a great job talking about Compassion with them. That’s 2.5%. So, working backwards, with 99 kids sponsored by Hilltop, it would make sense to guess Hilltop is a church between 3,960 people (2.5%) and 495 (20%). Following me?
But Hilltop Assembly of God has only 96 members and 200 people attending on Sunday morning (a lot of those are kids)!
That means that more than a third of those in attendance are sponsoring children through Compassion International. And that’s not all they’re doing. This church is also ministering to people in their own community and supporting missionaries around the world and caring for orphans in the third world as well. This church isn’t only supporting Compassion’s children, but many others experiencing physical and spiritual need at home and around the world. And everyone is involved in the efforts, creatively raising awareness and funds to care for people.
Take Emery, for instance. I met Emery and her mom at the festival on Saturday and I caught some of her story on tape. Here it is.
Meet Emery from Shaun Groves on Vimeo.
I have never seen this percentage of generosity on behalf of Compassion International before. And, according to Mark, neither has Compassion. But we’d both like to see it again. If you are a pastor or church leader and you would like your church to be involved with Compassion International, please go to Compassion’s page for church partners and learn more about how your congregation can doing something together to release children from poverty. You might just change your own children for the better in the process.
Thanks Joan, your army of workers and Emery for the inspirational Saturday.
euphrony says:
Pretty awesome! It’s amazing what happens when people act with passion for serving God and His creation – much kudos to these people for their efforts and commitment.
Endora Devilbiss says:
The blog was awesome and Saturday was a great day. Thank you for being there and you are a very talented artist. I am a member of the church and one of the advocates all i can say is God was there and he is awesome.
Again thank you for being there.
Ellen says:
Shaun your heart for Compassion is amazing and a blessing. Yeah you aren’t crazy enough to give a confiction like Paul gave in ACTS. Just when I thought I was doing enough full realization came Sat no I am not. Getting down to 1 pair of jeans and 2 shirts will be interesting
Thank you so much for being there on Saturday.
anne jackson says:
absolutely incredible.
BUSH says:
this is so great. i can’t wait to get this kind of stuff rolling for us in the fall. it’s going to be good times.
come visit us in austin.
Mandy says:
Thank you for being a humble servant. Your music is inspirational. It’s amazing what God can do with a few willing hearts.
Marisa Lykins says:
Hey Shaun, its Marisa in Knoxville.
I am so proud of the work (and I know its not work it’s a priveledge) that you do for Compassion. I have been to Columbia and Guatemala with them and are currently waiting for the trip to Kenya that had to be canceled to be rescheduled – I have felt so drawn to there for two years now.
Our listeners sponsored all the kids of a brand new project in Guatelmala recently in May!
Thanks for sharing the inspiration of Emery and Hilltop – sound like they are all truly that City on a Hill…
I love Compassion and believe it it so strongly.
I also have always had a special place in my heart for you and your burden to challenge and wake up the church to do what it should do literally be Christ on this earth and truly love one another – you’ve always done that for me personally.
God has blessed you and others through you… I definitely count myself as one of those others my Friend!
Marisa Lykins
Love89.1FM
Knoxville, TN
Chris says:
I didn’t see what we’ve done as anything so special. All the attention you and compassion have given us has made me think more deeply about; “what are we doing… really?” You said it’s hard to listen in the sun at a dirt filled “ag center” (the demolition derby one week earlier was cool by the way) but I was walking from one end to the other, chasing each of my 4 small children and I was listening… You touched me to the core when you spoke about God giving us wealth to meet the needs of the poor, and, while I’ve heard it all before, God spoke to me once again. a fresher, newer message of compassion. What are we doing? What is the secret? Those who are truly generous are those who have allowed God to speak to them in new ways even when hearing an “old” message. You spoke that message again on Saturday. I was touched and I thank you for listening to God’s call on your life.
Chris says:
Oh! …and I love your music too!
RevJeff says:
Umm … hello ? They only have children in 24 of the 25 Compassion reached countries?
WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?
Oh yeah, it’s Jesus’ love… pretty awesome
(Ha, you thought I would put a smiley here didn’t you)
Chuck Guth says:
I am not a member of Hilltop but I am an Advocate that had the privilege to be there for the event and help. I am blown away by the spirit of this church and could not wait to be there to help. Truly God is alive at Hilltop and “they all get it”. I only wish other churches felt the same as they did for then we could really make a difference for The Kingdom.
Thanks for deciding to be there…your testimony and music just made the day more special and reaffirming!
God Bless!
PB says:
Update…were 25 for 25