God's Heart for the Poor

Across the globe, countless communities struggle with the effects of poverty and also lack the healing presence of a local church. Children and families face desperate circumstances without the nurture of a faith community and the hope of Jesus Christ. In response, Compassion works with existing local church partners to help them establish new congregations. Compassion partners with more than 8,100 frontline churches in 27 countries to serve more than 2 million children and their families.

You are invited to join Compassion and a frontline church partner in Honduras to show the love of Christ to children in a community that needs the hope of the gospel. Please prayerfully consider this proposal to build a new church. The new facility will also serve its community as a Compassion child development center. Your partnership will enable the church to meet the pressing needs of hundreds of children and families.

Planting a New Church

Compassion’s church-based efforts are key to its effectiveness. A local church identifies nearby communities that would benefit from ministry and begins to build a reputation there. Compassion comes alongside this “mother church” to support its efforts to establish a new church. The mother church continues to mentor and support the new church until it matures enough to support itself. The church grows through its community involvement and its commitment to meet real needs.

Partnership Opportunity in Honduras

Compassion Honduras recently identified an area in need of an accessible, Christ-centered church that preaches and lives God's Word. A trusted Compassion partner, Iglesia Amor Viviente, is planting a new congregation 28 miles away in the department of  El Paraíso. The mother church currently serves approximately 400 children at its Compassion child development center.

The church plant is located in a community with extreme poverty, where most homes are made of mud and the primary diet consists of beans, maize and rice. The primary sources of employment are in agriculture, sand extraction and informal commerce. Due to the context of poverty, local children often suffer from malnutrition and other health conditions.

Children and families in this neighborhood would greatly benefit from a vibrant Christ-centered church that offers Compassion's holistic child development program. Although there are other churches in the area, they are not focused on reaching children.

Pastor Efrén will lead the new church. He is a trusted member of the pastoral staff at the mother church and he has been a member of the church since he was a child. He is committed to the vision of this church plant and wants to bring the hope of the gospel to families in poverty. Efrén is married to Clara and they have two children. He lives just one block away from the site of the new church.

The mother church will provide support and guidance through regular visits, monthly regional pastor meetings and assistance with the child development center. Pastor Efrén's salary will be paid by the denomination.

The church has land that is secured and ready for construction. After thoroughly investigating the opportunity, Compassion International has agreed to help raise funds for this church plant and presents this proposal for your consideration.

Church Plant Timeline

Depending on location, the average construction of the church building takes between 8-14 months. Many variables will influence the timeline including availability of materials, road conditions and weather.

• Stage 1: Gift funding received by the national office.
• Stage 2: Existing church staff members begin soliciting bids for construction, materials are purchased, and planning is finalized.
• Stage 3: Construction begins. Church leaders from the new church conduct activities in the community to build awareness and excitement. Church leaders identify children who are eligible to register with the child development center.
• Stage 4: As construction progresses, church staff members hire child development center staff. Training takes place and preparation for child registration continues.
• Stage 5: 150 - 200 children are registered with the center. A caregiver orientation is held.
• Stage 6: Construction concludes. The new church opens its doors to the community and the center begins ministry to children.

Your Investment

The presence of a vibrant church and child development center has the potential to make a lasting impact in a community and surrounding areas. Your gift could change the lives of hundreds of vulnerable children in the first year and thousands more in the years to come. An investment of $75,187.97 will fund the construction of essential core structures for the new church and needed facilities for a Compassion-assisted student center. The essential core structures usually include:

• one large meeting room / sanctuary which seats 200 adults
• classrooms
• kitchen / food preparation space
• sanitation facilities or latrines
• electricity and water (when feasible)

*This budget covers all program, administration and fundraising costs commensurate with Compassion’s corporate guidelines.

Join Us

Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church, thank you for considering this important opportunity to build a new church in Honduras. The church will spread Jesus' unconditional love throughout a community that desperately needs hope. Together, we can change hundreds of lives by giving children tools to escape poverty and by bringing effective, Christ-centered ministry to those who need it most.